Diversifying tourism and enhancing education quality are crucial for building a resilient and sustainable tourism sector in the Asia-Pacific region. This message was highlighted at a recent joint meeting of UN Tourism’s Commission for Asia and the Pacific (CAP) and the Commission of South Asia (CSA), which saw over 130 delegates from 25 countries and territories come together.
The meeting, held amidst the region’s strong tourism recovery – with tourist arrivals reaching 82% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024 – addressed the challenges and opportunities for achieving lasting positive change. UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili underscored the importance of working together to support education, drive investment into the sector, and strengthen public-private partnerships to build resilience and advance sustainability.
Reflecting the high-level support for tourism and UN Tourism’s mission, the Philippines, the host country for the meeting, was represented by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. President Marcos commended UN Tourism’s focus on education and training and stressed his commitment to wider sustainability efforts. “Education is always going to make any industry better and certainly tourism is no different,” President Marcos said. “We need to raise the standards and practices in this crucial sector by investing in education, training, and skills upgrading of all the personnel who are working in this industry.”
The Philippine government, under President Marcos’ leadership, expressed interest in establishing a new Academy in partnership with UN Tourism, joining the UN Tourism network of education centers tailored to regional needs and future tourism skills.
During the joint Commission meeting, Member States discussed the importance of green transformation to boost tourism competitiveness and resilience. They emphasized developing innovative and sustainable solutions to enhance the sector.
In Cebu, gastronomy tourism was identified as a key avenue for diversifying tourism products and accelerating regional recovery. UN Tourism held its inaugural Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia and the Pacific, bringing together public and private leaders, top entrepreneurs, and chefs. The forum concluded with the Cebu Call to Action on Gastronomy Tourism, urging leaders to integrate gastronomy into tourism policies, promote cross-sector collaboration with agriculture and creative industries, support small businesses, and encourage sustainable practices.
Secretary-General Polikashvili challenged tourism players to further capitalize on the region’s growing reputation as both a destination and leader in the field of gastronomy tourism. “My proposal is to leave a legacy… to create something an education center or gastronomic center here in Cebu,” he said.
The meetings concluded with the acceptance of Indonesia’s offer to host the 37th Joint Meeting of UN Tourism’s Asian Commissions in 2025. The exact dates will be announced later.
