THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Outdated laws, fear of failure, lack of awareness, lack of cooperation, lack of communication among the public and private stakeholders, lack of tech savviness and lack of funding, faced by the Asia/ Pacific region were among the limitations that came up for discussion at the 12th UNWTO Asia/Pacific Convention at Kovalam here today.
The challenges faced by the tourism-technology sector and the methods to overcome these limitations were discussed as part of the training programme. Representatives from around 15 countries in the Asia/ Pacific region took part in the 12th UNWTO Asia/Pacific Executive Training Programme on Tourism Policy and Strategy.
Pauline Riman from Papua New Guinea opined that the foremost challenge faced by his country when it comes to integration of technology and tourism is the outdated laws. Ahmed Abeer Ismail, representing Maldives, was of the opinion that uncertainty and fear of failure are the limitations faced by his country in this regard.
According to Azman Azra Abdul Rahman, Malaysia, lack of cooperation, communication among the public and private stakeholders are the boundaries the country face in the technology – tourism sector. Gerelsaikhan Tsolman, representative of Mangolia, pointed out that lack of tech savviness and funding are the limitations they face in the sector. Absence of technological infrastructure and security problems in Afghanistan, according to Mohammad Rameen Aliqzada, were the limitations in his country.
Prof Yoon Ji Hwan, Kyun Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, made a presentation on Good Practices in Destination Management & Operations through the Application of Transformative Technological Solutions. The tourism plan for Busan City in Korea was also mentioned in the presentation.
Representatives of the Asia/ Pacific countries took part in the discussion on the Busan Plan, where various topics including the influence of social media, linking of physical and cyber network, online review analysis and the participation of stakeholders in tourism policies were deliberated upon. Peter Semone, President of Destination Human Capital Limited, was the moderator for the panel discussion.
Hari Nair, Founder, CEO, HolidayIQ, who made a presentation on Tourism & Technology: Challenges & Opportunities, said that content plays an important role in attracting tourists to a destination. There is a need to innovate the content provided to the travellers and the latest tourism content DNA comprises marketing, technology and insights. Three of these factors should go hand in hand, he added.
Mohammad Rameen Aliqzada, Afganisthan; Wang Bin, China; Ramkumar Vijayan, India; Faezeh Behzadnejad, Iran; Cho Sunghak, Korea; Say Phalla, Cambodia; Ahmed Abeer Ismail, Maldives; Pauline Riman, Papua New Guinea; LE Tuan Anh, Vietnam; Masteru Nakamura, Japan, Kjaw Kjaw Lwin, Myanmar; Wahyu Duto Galib Indharto,Indonasia; Azman Azra Abdul Rahman, Malaysia; Gerelsaikhan Tsolman, Mangolia; Suifua Aferei, Samoa and Anton Dilesh, Sri Lanka; took part in the Country Presentations and Discussions on Tourism and Technology.
A session on Successful Solutions in the Melding of Tourism and Technology will be organised by Sarah Mathews, Head of Destination Marketing APAC, TripAdvisor on 21 March, 2018. The closing session of the programme will be have the participation of Rani George, Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala and Harry Hwang, Deputy Director, Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific, UNWTO. Participants of the training Programme will be presented with certificates at the closing session. The event will conclude formally on March 22 with a Technical Tour for participants organized by the Kerala Government.
