Malaysia Plays Host To World Tourism Leaders - World Tourism Conference 2010 (WTC 2010) held for second time here
MALAYSIA PLAYS HOST TO WORLD TOURISM LEADERSWorld Tourism Conference 2010 (WTC 2010) held for second time here
KOTA KINABALU, 3 Oktober 2010 - A total of 490 participants converge here for the World Tourism Conference 2010 (WTC 2010), which is jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) together with Sabah Tourism Board.
The conference will be attended by nine ministers from Brunei, East Timor, Gabon, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Chad, Nepal, Laos and Swaziland. Two deputy ministers from Kenya and Sri Lanka also have confirmed their attendance to participate. More than 30 media organisations, both local and international, have also arrived here.
The three-day conference starting tomorrow until 6 October 2010, will be officiated by the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin bin Mohd Yassin.
With a record breaking success of World Tourism Conference 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, the WTC returned for the second time this year. The conference was held for the first time in Manila, the Philippines in 1980, followed by Acapulco, Mexico in 1982. After an absence of 25 years, it returned to Malaysia in 2007.
The conference is aimed at uncovering the secrets of leading destinations and organisations in the tourism industry which can be adopted and adapted to generate income and accelerate growth in the industry.
It is also designed for policy makers, industry players and relevant stakeholders to share experiences and information on tourism mega trends and innovation, government initiatives and tourism business success stories.
In addition to that, it is expected to draw attention to innovative Tourism Product Development and Marketing Strategies, Sustainable Growth and partnership for tourism to chart the strategic directions to enable the public and private sectors to harness and maximise the potential of tourism.
UNWTO believes that sharing the experience of successful destinations and organisations will help increase total world tourism to the advantage of all, and will also help spread the benefits of tourism to less developed countries, thereby making an important contribution to one of the organisation's principal goals - poverty alleviation.
This conference will be of particular interest to national, regional and local tourism organisations that brings together a wide range of reputed world leaders in tourism, high-level policy makers, specialists and experts from both the public and private sectors, to share experience, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for future tourism development.
There will be 12 leading speakers - three speakers form Malaysia including His Excellency Dato' Dr. Ong Hong Peng, Secretary General, Ministry of Tourism Malaysia; Mr Azran Osman Rani, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia X, Air Asia Berhad; and Dato' Seri Tengku Dr. Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahmod, Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board.
Other renowned speakers include Professor Kaye Chon (Hong Kong Polytechnic); Mr. Albert Stafford (Director, the Stafford Group); Mr. Paul Nursey (Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Communications), James W McBride (Canadian Tourism Commission); President of YTL Hotels and Properties; Mr. Frederic Pierret (Executive Director, UNWTO); Mr. Daniel Levine (Executive Director, the Avant-Guide Institute); Mr. Valere Tjolle (UNWTO Consultant); Ms. Susan Warren (Director, MTW Associates); and Mr. Hans Dominicus (Director Research, Development & Market Intelligence Amsterdam Tourism and Convention Board).
Each of the sessions will be followed by a panel discussion in which the ideas presented will be analysed and practical recommendations for action by other destinations will be developed.
The organiser has also arranged city tours around Kota Kinabalu namely the Monsopiad Cultural Village, Kinabalu Park, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and Marine Ecology Research Centre at Gayana Eco Resort and Mari-Mari Cultural Tour.
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