Pacific Tourism at UNWTO Global Summit

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is currently participating in the 34^th Joint Meeting of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia (34th CAP- CSA), in the Maldives.

The Summit comprises of a Ministerial Roundtable and the UNWTO Global Summit on Community-based Tourism. Attended by Asia-Pacific Ministers and industry leaders on 14^th June, the Roundtable highlighted innovation and digitalization during the post-pandemic era. On the other hand, the community-based tourism summit, scheduled for 16^th June, will focus on the contributions of community-based tourism to the achievement of sustainable development goals and its accompanying challenges.

Speaking at both the Ministerial roundtable and the Summit, SPTO CEO Christopher Cocker will discuss SPTO’s collaborative partnerships which seek to

• Reset through digital transformation
• Rethink through innovative collaboration regionally and globally
• Rebuild through responsible sustainable tourism recovery that depends on research & data insights

Moreover, Mr Cocker will highlight the Pacific as a unique, untouched and must-see destination whilst also acknowledging community-based tourism initiatives such as SPTO’s Pacific Tourism Waste Action Initiative and the Sasakawa Foundation’s Palau Eco-Tourism Project.  

SPTO acknowledges the UNWTO, Maldives Ministry of Tourism and Sasakawa Peace Foundation for enabling the CEO’s attendance at the 34^th CAP-CSA, which coincided with the Maldives 50th anniversary celebrations marking the birth of the Maldives tourism industry.