Madrid, Spain / 14 January 2010 – UNWTO activities will build around the challenges for global tourism in the current economic situation, without losing sight of long-term sustainability commitments outlined in the UNWTO Roadmap for Recovery. FITUR 2010 also sets the stage for two innovative tourism initiatives – Investour and FITUR Green.
Latest international tourism figures
FITUR 2010 will be preceded by UNWTO’s annual news conference (18 January) where UNWTO will present the latest edition of the World Tourism Barometer, along with the Organization’s main policy highlights for the near future and the new UNWTO Management Team.
Moving ahead on the Roadmap for Recovery
Perspectives and Responses for Stimulating the Recovery (21 January) will bring together a diverse representation of the global tourism sector to examine and debate solutions following recommendations in the UNWTO Roadmap for Recovery, such as ‘How to understand the market and respond rapidly’.
The Roadmap is a set of strategic guidelines that were endorsed unanimously at the 18th session of the UNWTO General Assembly (October 2009) in the midst of a the global economic downturn. The Roadmap sets out how the travel and tourism sector can recover from the global downturn, support global economic recovery and play a lead role in the Green Economy.
Investment for Africa
UNWTO has joined together with FITUR and Casa Africa to promote sustainable tourism development in Africa and will hold the first edition of the Forum on Tourism Development in Africa – “INVESTOUR” (21 January) at FITUR Madrid.
This event recognizes the potential of the African continent as a destination for tourism investment, as well as the importance of this investment for socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. This forum seeks to mobilize Spanish tourism investment in Africa thus contributing to sustainable development across the continent. African destinations will have the opportunity to present their proposals to potential investors.
FITUR Green 2010: Hotel Energy Solutions
The hotel sector is the tourism industry’s largest drivers of employment and economic revenue making it one of the most energy-intensive, emitting 21% of the total CO2 emissions from tourism. Against this background, UNWTO will be co-organizing with FITUR and the Madrid Tourism Board the specialized forum “Hotel Energy Solutions & FITUR GREEN to present and consider products designed to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of the hotel sector.
Within this forum, the 1st Annual Hotel Energy Solutions Conference “Hotel Energy Solutions: Towards a more Competitive Industry”, will bring together Europe’s leading hotels and destinations who will present practical examples of how they are already saving energy, becoming more competitive and reducing greenhouse emissions through the use of renewable energy initiatives and technologies.
In addition to the conference, there will also be interactive workshops held on 22 January presented by the technology specialists exhibiting in FITUR Green – a special exhibition area dedicated to energy and tourism, centred exclusively on presenting energy technologies for the hotel sector (20-24 January). Hoteliers will have the opportunity to meet directly with the experts to discover how a better energy management strategy can boost their business profits and reduce their carbon footprint.
Hotel Energy Solutions is a European Commission co-funded initiative coordinated by UNWTO.which brings together key organizations in the fields of tourism and energy technologies,
Relevant Links:
o Perspectives and Responses for Stimulating the Recovery: http://www.unwto.org/afiliados/pdf/en/fitur10/Fitur_eng.pdf
o Investour: http://www.unwto.org/investour/index.php
o Hotel Energy Solutions/FITUR Green: http://www.hotelenergysolutions.net/
For complete information on all UNWTO activities at FITUR 2010 go to www.UNWTO.org.
Please visit the UNWTO stand at FITUR: 8D22
