Taleb Rifai, secretary-general, UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) talks about how tourism is a powerful job creator and what governments need to do at a policy level to ensure that the social benefits of tourism are fairly distributed. By Sudipta Dev
What, according to you, will be the key inflection points for the tourism industry in the next decade? Any key trend that will make a significant difference?
I will not go with inflection points, but elements that will direct future trends, and there are three major changes, besides other minor aspects. One is the economic redirection of the world today. Obviously the centre of gravity, economically and politically, is shifting east and south. India is a sheer beneficiary of that, I can see now from the changing economic trends and difficulties that Europe and north Ametrica is having. Number two is the environmental aspect. The world will become more and more conscious and aware of what we call responsible and sustainable policies. On a secondary level we have to look at what is changing the world of travel and tourism, and the changing profile of the travellers. We need to be in tune with the profile of the tourists. Technology is also changing the face of the business, more players are entering the market, social networks are playing a big role and the consumer is more empowered now. These are the main changes for the next decade, besides the many secondary ones.
UNWTO has a strong focus on tourism and poverty alleviation. What do governments in developing nations need to do to at policy level to adopt tourism as an economic
activity?
Tourism is a powerful job creator, it is excellent for the young people – their first entry to the labour market. It creates jobs where people live, they don’t have to move to another location. In terms of social benefits we have to ensure that the benefits of tourism are fairly and equally distributed amongst the largest base of polulation and policies have to make sure that income of tourism stays in the country. That can be ensured by policies that encourage small and medium sized enterprises, the consumption of local produce and hiring of local people as much as possible. The Govenment of India in this case has started in the right direction by acknowledging a medium to do that, other things will fall in place.
In what way are you supporting such initiatives? This is of particular importance to India as for the first time the Planning Commission outlays that the tourism sector will generate 25 million additional jobs (direct and indirect) in the country, by 2017.
We offer our support in three ways – we produce data and knowledge base and make sure that govermments and other stakeholders are aware of it and it is at their service. Secondly, we are engaged in specific programmes and projects promoting the use of tourism for development purposes, in particular for poverty alleviation and job creation. For example, the ST-EP project (Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty). It funds and encourages small and medium sized projects all over the world.
This apart, we are engaged in bilateral kind of discussions with governments on their specific policies and strategic plans. When India comes up with a strategic plan they discuss it with us, we give them our advice. We are helping governments to move in the direction of sustainable tourism.
Is it possible for developing economies to actually focus on and practice sustainable tourism? People might not be very educated or skilled in certain ways, so how does the message percolate down to the grassroot level?
It is not only possible, it is crucial for developing countries not to recommit the mistakes that were done by the more developed; there is an opportunity there. Embarking on a course of sustainble tourism is not costly, on the contrary it ends up becoming a more resonable way of resource utilisation. It is an issue of awareness and adopting the correct policies; it is not an issue of how much money you have. The responsible way of developing tourism is a matter of political will and awareness. The country need not be an affluent one to embark on these policies. We have seen excellent examples of developing countries setting examples for more developed countries.
What kind of response have you received from the APAC region for your Millennium Development Goals ? What about from India ?
Millennium Development Goals were set up by the United Nations 15 years ago to achieve certain objectives. We in the travel and tourism industry are linked to that in many ways. First, the Millennium Development Goal regarding poverty alleviation is an example of that. Our industry contributes to poverty alleviation and we have seen benefits around the world. Then there is gender empowerment and empowerment of women that we are championing for. Our industry employs 60 per cent women, but in leadership positions they still need to be supported. For environment our industry champions many initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. In many ways we are working towards linking travel and tourism industry to millennium development. India is one of the countries that is at the heart of Millennium Development Goals and there is much that needs to be done. We believe that India can use tourism in a positive way towards that.
What has been the response of the government and the private sector in India ?
I must say that things have changed dramatically in the last 10 years. A decade ago you would not have anyone in India talk about tourism linked to development. The last decade has seen emergence of fantastic brands and lot of investment. This is a reflection of government concern and affluency of the private sector. I am very happy about what is happening and we need to accelerate the interest in India.
What would you like to communicate to the travel and tourism industry and the government in India?
Global trends in the world of travel and tourism have become so overwhelmingly positive all over the world that you cannot take the tourism industry as a secondary activity. It employs one out of 12 people in the world and it accounts for five per cent to nine per cent of the world’s GDP and 30 per cent of the world’s trade in services.
For a country like India that is so important and positive now in its economic outlook it must pay attention to travel and tourism as its benefits for India is tremendous. India is a country that has incredible wealth and assets in terms of natural resources, cultural and human aspects, so by all measures it is one of the most attractive destinations around the world. Brand India by itself is fascinating and the success of the Incredible India brand is proof of it. My message to India is to take advantage of the rising power of tourism, and position the country in the right place that it deserves. Plans would require specific and deliberate policies that are tourism sensitive across the board in the public sector and encouragement to the private sector too.
