The
Charter was drafted with the help of
numerous international bodies, including
PATA. PATA believes implementation of the
Charter will further enhance its own
objective to grow the quality and quantity
of Pacific Asia travel and facilitate
investment, accessibility and
sustainability.
Indeed,
it was alongside the PATA Annual
Conference in Hong Kong SAR on April 29
that the agenda for the Seoul ministerial
meeting was agreed upon. The background
work was done by APEC's Tourism Working
Group (APEC TWG) which has convened
several times over the last few years to
make tourism fully involved in the overall
APEC plan for regional economic
development.
Other
international organisations that helped
draft the Charter include the World Travel
and Tourism Council (WTTC), the World
Tourism Organization (WTO), the United
Nations and the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD).
At
the 12th TWG meeting in Mexico City, Korea
(ROK) offered to host the first APEC
tourism ministerial conference and then
played a major role in convening it. A
secretariat was established as early as
November 1999, as well as a Web site
containing all relevant information and
registration details.
Korean
(ROK) President Mr. Kim Dae Jung himself
presided at the opening, noting in his
speech that this was the first time that
Pacific Asia tourism ministers had met to
recognise the role and importance of the
tourism industry in the economic growth of
Pacific Asia and to clear the way for
private companies to do business (see
sidebar).
SEOUL
DECLARATION ON AN APEC TOURISM CHARTER
The
declaration captures the spirit of
agreement and shared purpose for the
development of tourism within APEC
countries. It reflects a collective
commitment to improve the economic,
cultural, social and environmental well
being of APEC member economies through
tourism.
The
policy goals and processes adopted in the
Charter are consistent with the goals for
free and open trade and investment
established in APEC's "Bogor Declaration"
and the general principles for trade
liberalisation and economic and technical
cooperation established in the Osaka
Action Agenda.
The
ministers recognise the significant
contribution tourism makes to APEC
economies and
the goals of APEC, and sign off on their
intent to further develop this
contribution through
tourism.
The
Charter states, "The high level of
intra-regional tourism and the experience
of the recent Asian currency crisis has
highlighted the importance of APEC's
broader goals to strengthen our respective
economies and provide a stronger platform
for sustainable development, economic
growth and cooperation. We therefore
affirm these broader goals and encourage
their achievement in the interests of
advancing tourism in the APEC region and
the benefits tourism delivers to our
economies."
The
ministers also "recognise and value the
many non-economic benefits that tourism
provides for our respective economies," in
particular fostering cross-cultural
understanding; promoting local and
indigenous cultures, arts and heritage;
highlighting the need to preserve the
social and cultural fabric and integrity
of host communities; and promoting world
peace by developing international
cooperation in a spirit of friendship,
dialogue and understanding.
The
Charter also defines a clear business plan
and work programme for the TWG which has
also been tasked "to move quickly to
implement the Charter and provide regular
progress reports to future tourism
ministerial meetings."
While
most of the issues raised in the Charter
are directly within the portfolio
jurisdiction of tourism ministers, it
recognises that there are many other
issues outside the ministers' jurisdiction
that can further enhance tourism
development, such as transportation and
facilitation. Thus, the Charter responds
to the request of economic leaders to
expand the level of cooperation and
dialogue between APEC members.
It
also recognises the importance of the "key
partnership" between the public and
private sector to deliver tourism
objectives and achieve Charter goals.
POLICY
GOAL
The
Charter establishes the following policy
goals:
1.
Remove impediments to tourism business and
investment
This
will be done by promoting and facilitating
the mobility of skills, training and
labour as well as productive investment in
tourism and associated sectors; removing
regulatory impediments to business and
investment; and encouraging liberalisation
of services under the General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS).
2.
Increase mobility of visitors and demand
for tourism goods and services in the APEC
region.
This
will be done by facilitating seamless
travel for visitors; enhancing visitor
experiences; promoting inter- and
intra-regional marketing opportunities and
cooperation; facilitating and promoting
e-commerce for tourism business; enhancing
safety and security of visitors; and
fostering a non-discriminatory approach to
the provision of visitor facilities and
services.
3.
Sustainably manage tourism outcomes and
impacts
This
will be done by pursuing policies that
demonstrate an appreciation and
understanding of the natural environment
and seek to protect that environment;
foster ecologically sustainable
development opportunities across the
tourism sector, particularly for small and
medium-sized enterprises, for employment
and for providing for open and sustainable
tourism markets; protect the social
integrity of host communities with
particular attention to the implications
of gender in the management and
development of tourism; recognise, respect
and preserve local and indigenous cultures
together with natural and national
cultural heritage; and enhance capability
building in the management and development
of tourism.
4.
Enhance recognition and understanding of
tourism as a vehicle for economic and
social development
This
will be done by harmonising the methods
for collecting tourism statistics,
consistent with activities of other
international tourism organisations;
facilitating the exchange of information
on tourism between economies; promoting
comprehensive analysis of the role of
tourism in member economies in promoting
sustainable growth; and expanding APEC's
collective knowledge base on tourism
issues in order to identify emerging
issues and assist implementation of the
Charter.
WHAT
NEXT?
To
follow up the Charter's policy goals with
firm action, the APEC ministers agreed to
a two-fold strategy:
1)
things they need to and can do in areas
that come under their own jurisdiction and
2)
things they need to accomplish via other
APEC forums, such as changes in
transportation, investment and beating
facilitation obstacles. Thus, APEC tourism
bodies will develop and implement
individual action plans (IAPs) and
collective action plans (CAPs) and
identify issues for consideration by other
APEC forums. The IAP and CAP plans will be
developed through the TWG.
Identification
of issues for consideration by other APEC
forums will be deemed as necessary by
consensus and will be non-binding to
member economies. This is consistent with
APEC practise.
NOMINATION
PHASE
By
February 2001: Individual governments will
nominate issues they wish to raise under
the CAPs as well the package of issues to
be referred to other APEC forums for
consideration.
By
May 2001: Nomination of IAPs on matters
relating to policy goals agreed in the
APEC Charter.
By
May 2001: Governments will have an
opportunity to engage others in
bi/multilateral discussion on action plans
relating to APEC Charter policy
goals.
By
May 2001: The TWG will agree on other
issues to be referred to other APEC forums
and prepare a comprehensive schedule of
IAPs and CAPs.
RESPONSE
PHASE
By
May 2002: APEC economies to confirm and
update IAPs for the TWG, including action
plans agreed in bi/multilateral
discussions.
By
May 2002: The TWG will meet again to
finalise IAPs and CAPs as well as issues
to be referred to other APEC forums.
July
2002: The endorsement of a comprehensive
schedule by the second meeting of tourism
ministers.
MONITORING,
RESEARCH AND REVIEW PHASE
Every
February thereafter, APEC economies will
1) report back on what follow-up actions
have been taken to implement the IAPs and
CAPs and 2) nominate additions to IAPs as
well as additional issues for CAPs and
referral by the TWG to other APEC forums
for consideration.
The
delivery against action plans will be
verified annually for a report to the TWG
in October in line with independent
verification procedures employed elsewhere
by APEC.
The
TWG will confirm annually in May changes
to IAPs and agree on additions to CAPs as
well as issues for referral to other APEC
forums.
The
TWG will report annually in October on
emerging issues and trends in tourism to
guide consideration of IAPs and CAPs and
issues identified to ensure and maintain
the relevance of the Charter.
The
above schedule may be amended and/or
modified by the TWG as is deemed
appropriate to further the goals and
objectives of the Charter. Any such
modifications will be advised to the
ministers at regular meetings.
The
second APEC tourism ministerial meeting
will be held in Manzanillo, Colima,
Mexico, in July 2002. The ministers will
review the schedule of IAPs and CAPs
developed by the TWG, review
implementation and discuss any
modifications to the Charter.
The
Charter references three key delivery
dates: 2005, 2010 and 2020.
HELP
FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT
Three
countries have offered to help other APEC
states with implementation of three of the
policy goals of the APEC Charter. They are
New Zealand (sustainable tourism
development), Canada (tourism satellite
accounts) and Australia (tourism
information networks).
SUSTAINABLE
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: New Zealand
prepared the Statement of Commitment from
APEC economies that clearly identified the
various policy parameters that must guide
sustainable tourism development. This
statement was adopted by the ministers
with the view that it be used by the TWG
in examining further measures to promote
tourism sustainability.
TOURISM
SATELLITE ACCOUNTS: To help APEC
economies implement the TSAs, Canada has
pledged to make available its own
publications on the subject, as well as
training manuals and training materials,
facilitate and organise training seminars
and conferences; provide technical
assistance; and undertake case studies of
compliance requirements to harmonise
existing TSAs with improved
standards.
TOURISM
INFORMATION NETWORK: This will be a
central data warehouse for information on
the APEC tourism sector and will enhance
access to information made available by
APEC economies and other tourism
organisations. Australia has agreed to
pursue the feasibility of building a
network of APEC tourism research centres
along the lines of its own Co-operative
Research Centre. It has also submitted a
paper outlining how this can be done in
three stages between 2001 and
2004.
QUOTE
FROM PRESIDENT Mr. Kim Dae Jung ON TOURISM
AND PEACE
We
learn from history that tourism has
contributed to the resolution of regional
conflicts and to world peace. This is
being proven on the Korean peninsula.
South and North Korea began tours to
Kumgangsan, the Diamond Mountains, in the
North in November 1998. This began to
foster an atmosphere reconciliation on the
peninsula, promoted exchanges and became
an important turning point for the
settlement of peace.
For
three days between June 13 and 15, 2000, I
visited North Korea, climbing over the
barrier of 55 years of division. I agreed
with North Korean leaders that we would
not repeat the tragedy of war but would
cooperate in many areas including economy,
civic affairs and culture.
Achievements
like these were made possible by
tourism.From now on, tourism will continue
to play an important role in
reconciliation and cooperation as well as
peace and unification by dismantling 55
years of division of the
country.
I
would like to take this opportunity to ask
APEC members to broaden people-to-people
exchanges and mutual understanding with
North Korea by designating the North as a
tourist destination and the object of
cooperation. Thus, I hope you will
cooperate with us so that South and North
Korea can work together for genuine unity
and prosperity in the Asia Pacific
region.
The
Republic of Korea has already declared
2001 as Visit Korea Year, to contribute to
world peace through the promotion of
tourism. Moreover, the United Nations has
declared 2000 as the Year of World Peace
and Culture.
I
believe that now is the best time for
workers in the tourism industry to play a
role for world peace. It is time for them
to expand the framework for peace that was
formed through the tours of Kumgangsan to
the entire APEC region and further to the
world.
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