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2002 APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting

Manzanillo, Mexico | 02 - 05 July 2002
  1. The Second APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Tourism was convened in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, from July 3-6 2002. The Meeting was attended by Ministers, or their representatives from: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Peru; Philippines; Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States; and Viet Nam. The APEC Secretariat attended the meeting. Also present was the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). Ministers held a dialogue session with representatives from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO).
  2. The Meeting was officially inaugurated by a message given by President Vicente Fox and was chaired by the Mexican Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Leticia Navarro Ochoa.
  3. Ministers agreed to adopt the Declaration which unites the spirit of the group in order to continue working on the enhancement and the recognition of the important role that tourism plays in the economic, social and cultural development in all APEC member economies.
  4. Ministers highlighted the importance of tourism as a key element in the promotion of peace and understanding amongst member economies, and called upon all APEC member economies and their tourism industries to include this message in their respective marketing campaigns.
    Statements
  5. During the Meeting the Ministers made the following statements:
    • We reaffirm our commitment to promote the development of a dynamic, prosperous, sustainable and safe tourism sector in the region, consistent with the objectives stated in the Osaka Action Agenda of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation.
    • We pledge to continue cooperation in order to undertake concrete actions to promote tourism in the region in response to the call made by Leaders in Shanghai, China in 21 October 2001, for greater efforts to implement APEC's vision of liberalization and shared prosperity.
    • We believe that international cooperation is an essential approach to providing solutions to common problems, through dialogue and exchanging experiences in a peaceful atmosphere.
    • Tourism strongly contributes to narrowing gaps, strengthening friendships and building peace bonds amongst member economies.
    • The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 presented a new challenge to our work. APEC member economies are striving to meet this challenge. We note the underlying resilience of travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, and welcome the recovery taking place in international tourism, as presented in statistics provided by the WTO and the WTTC.
      In that light, we strongly affirm the APEC Leaders? Statement on Counter-terrorism concerning the collective resolve of the Asia-Pacific community to counter terrorism, and support actions taken by member economies and other fora to further improve the safety and security of travellers and the citizens of tourism destinations.
    • We will continue our efforts to enhance the safety and security of tourists, while recognizing that efficient and effective facilitation of travellers is vital to the continued growth of the industry.
      We acknowledge the improvements in travel security undertaken since September 11th. These improvements have helped to enhance the safety and security of the travelling public in the APEC region.
    • We recognize the enormous potential in human, natural and cultural resources that exist in the Asia-Pacific region for developing and strengthening tourism activity. We pledge continued efforts to ensure that the region continues to be the fastest growing tourism market in the world.
    • We are aware that tourism represents a very effective way for economic, social and cultural development of the APEC region economies due to its proven ability to create jobs, generate foreign currency, efficiently use non-renewable resources, contribute to the promotion of culture worldwide, as well as to foster regional development.
    • We recognize that the people of our communities play a crucial role in the development of sustainable tourism.
    • We support the active involvement of all stakeholders - government and private - so that tourism can continue to contribute to the elevation of the standard of living of our citizens.
    • We reaffirm our commitment to the Policy Goals contained in the Seoul Declaration on the APEC Tourism Charter, and to support the work of the TWG in developing specific mechanisms to achieve them.
    • We are especially committed to: increasing the mobility of visitors, enhancing productive investment, strengthening the mechanisms that allow a better understanding of the tourism sector and fostering sustainable tourism development.
    • We recognize the important contribution that Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises make to our economic development. We will therefore seek to enhance the capacity of these enterprises to thrive.
  6. We are pleased to note the deliverables identified by Tourism Ministers at the First APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Seoul:
    • Sustainable Management of Tourism Outcomes - The APEC/PATA Code for Sustainable Tourism was developed as a reflection of the commitment to sustainable tourism development in the Asia and Pacific region. We commend the APEC/PATA Code for Sustainable Tourism to individual economies to guide their activities as they develop their own, more detailed, tourism policies.
    • Establishment of a Tourism Information Network (TIN) - The TIN is a mechanism through which information about tourism flows between member economies.
    • Research Network - The establishment of the APEC International Centre for Sustainable Tourism will serve to improve innovation, strategic knowledge of tourism related issues, and profitability and sustainability in tourism through applied research.
    • Best Practice on the Development of Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) The outcomes of this project serve as useful reference material for APEC member economies which do not have, but are keen to initiate a TSA in their own economies. It will also be a platform for sharing information and establishing contact among member economies in their efforts to develop a TSA.
  7. We note progress made on the other projects designed to implement the Policy Goals of the Seoul Declaration on the APEC Tourism Charter.
    • Tourism Impediments Study - This project is being undertaken to identify possible measures for collective action. These measures are to include the encouragement of liberalization of services and trade related to tourism under the GATS, and removal of trade and regulatory impediments to tourism business and investment.
    • Application of Electronic Commerce to Small and Medium Enterprise in APEC Member Economies (SMTE) - This project will help SMTEs achieve competitive advantages by establishing a unique and authentic niche, and to contribute to APEC trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.
    • Best Practices on Tourism Accessibility for Travellers with Restricted Physical Ability (RPA) ? This project aims to promote greater accessibility to tourists with restricted physical abilities.
      Training for Sustainable Development in the Tourism Industry - This project will deter unscrupulous development, be able to use effective and systematic methods for conservation and preservation, reduce discord between related communities, and achieve mutual cooperation. This project is to contribute to the implementation and enforcement of internationally agreed upon quality and environmental standards.
    • Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Tourism - This project devises plans for the economic development of communities resulting in welfare both to the region and nation, and to implement a uniform development policy.
    • Tourism Occupational Skills Development - The objective of this project is to develop a model infrastructure as a common platform for the development of a tourism and hospitality business system based on industry competency standards. To develop a model of bilateral agreements between economies that will allow recognition and articulation within the tourism and hospitality industry based on competency standards.
  8. We note that the deliverables and the projects outlined above constitute an ambitious Collective Action Plan for the TWG and we encourage the group to bring these to conclusion.
  9. We welcome the Individual Actions Plans (IAP) presented by 16 member economies, and commend efforts to achieve the objectives of the Seoul Declaration on the APEC Tourism Charter through IAPs. Ministers encourage their colleagues to engage in bilateral discussions to further develop Action Plans to achieve the Policy Goals.
  10. We appreciate the initiative of the Chair to integrate private sector participants into out meeting. We welcomed the presentations of the WTO, WTTC, Pacific Asia Travel Association and the CNET (Mexican National Business Council), and appreciated the opportunity to exchange views on key issues affecting the sustainable development of tourism with these private sector representatives. We reaffirm our view that dialogue and cooperation with the private sector should be continued, expanded and deepened for the development of tourism in the APEC region.
  11. We reaffirm to move as quickly as possible to express our support for the establishment of the APEC International Center for Sustainable Tourism.
  12. We adopted the following new initiatives:
    • Capacity building for small and medium tourism enterprises
    • Safety and security measures for travellers
    • Encouraging productive investment in the tourism sector
    • Index for measuring tourists? satisfaction
      and instruct the TWG to take action to pursue their implementation at the 21 st TWG meeting to be held in Chinese Taipei.
  13. We recognize the important work being carried out by other APEC fora and the potential benefits of this work for tourism. We encourage the TWG to foster closer cooperation with fora that are engaged in human resources development, transportation, mobility of people, customs procedures and other relevant issues.
  14. We welcome Chile's invitation to host the Third APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Tourism in 2004.
  15. We recognize the valuable supporting role played by the APEC Secretariat in the promotion of tourism and the achievements made in the implementation of the APEC Tourism Charter.
  16. The Ministers commemorated this Second Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Tourism and look forward to obtaining practical results through work that has been carried out to benefit the APEC Region.
  17. Ministers recognized the valuable work done by the Mexican Government and the Government of the State of Colima in order to ensure the success of this Second APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Tourism.