Independent study outlines organizational refinements

The results of an independent assessment presented to delegates of the APEC Tourism Working Group "reflect where we are now and where we can move forward", said Javier Esteban Guillermo Molina, leader of the TWG.

The independent assessors gave more than 20 recommendations including suggestions that the TWG consider priorities as outlined by the APEC EcoTech and ministerial directives while establishing criteria to prioritize actions to be undertaken in the work plan.

In funding, greater weight should be given to projects "that are supported by funding from economies with an interest and commitment to the project". The TWG will give highest priority to those projects with greatest regional application and value.

The report called for an agreed agenda on communication between TWG meetings to transact administrative business.

The assessors found that there "is often a rush to meet deadlines and the meeting schedule is often not able to be aligned with the funding timetable for projects".

The report also called on the TWG to consult formally with other organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the World Travel and Tourism Council and the UN World Tourism Organization.

"The recommendations themselves are practical and strategic, with no doubt," said a delegate from Russia. "But the major point would be implementation."

He said that the member economies need "hard, hard work" to implement the recommendations.

His idea was echoed by many other delegates.

The US delegate said they "really need to be proactive in looking at what the recommendations are and trying to set goals so we can implement them by actual dates".

"Otherwise I can just see us having these conversations again down the line," she said.

The delegate from Papua New Guinea, who said the country "has not participated as actively as other member economies in the TWG", agreed that the recommendations are practical and realistic.

But "in term of implementation, we have to rely on the APEC secretariat as well for their advice", she said.

The Malaysian delegate said recommendations can be fulfilled "phase by phase", suggesting that some of them can start immediately such as making a standardized reporting template, then make short or long-term plans to achieve all of them.

The TWG was established in 1991 in recognition of the importance of travel and tourism and its importance to economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Travel and tourism has been a strong economic driver of growth over the following 23 years, a resilient and a major contributor to the region through employment and investment.

With the increasing importance of the service sector to the APEC economy and the growth in travel and tourism in the region, the TWG said it continues to be a productive vehicle for the coordinated development of policies and guidance, and to exercise leadership for the tourism sector in the region.

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