Themed “For the Benefit of All“, the conference put forward two priorities: creating more inclusive partnerships between tourism and culture stakeholders that contribute to SDG implementation and promoting tourism development that encourages cultural interaction and ensures the benefits are shared by all communities involved.
Nearly 30 tourism and culture ministers and vice-ministers, global tourism and culture leaders and private sector stakeholders, NGOs and media and representatives from related sectors took part in the event.
Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Secretary-General of the UNWTO Zurab Polikalashvili, Director-General of the UNESCO Audrey Azoulay and President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca delivered key note speeches at the opening session of the conference.
Emphasizing the high potential and importance of culture and tourism for Turkey, the Minister of Culture and Tourism Ersoy expressed the necessity to protect the said heritage for future generations through close collaboration with international organizations. He also mentioned about 153 new ongoing archeological excavations on the territory of Turkey and informed that the Turkic epic tales “Dede Korkut” was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Mr. Zurab Polikalashvili briefed on the importance of protecting cultural heritage and promoting tourism for sustainable development emphasizing their role as drivers for socio-economic growth.
Following the opening speeches, the participating tourism and culture ministers took part in the ministerial session on “Strengthening Collaboration between Tourism and Culture Stakeholders” to share good practice examples on how policies can be aligned to accelerate the shift towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of reducing poverty, fighting inequality and promoting inclusive growth. The also touched upon the ways how to achieve sustainable tourism and emphasized the role of creativity, innovations and new technologies in the tourism and cultural sector. The session was moderated by presenter of the BBC travel program the “Travel Show”.
After the discussion part, the leading representatives of the Turkish private tourism sector signed the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The coordinator firm of the Turkic Council Modern Silk Road Joint Tour Package “Dünya Değişmeden” also took part in the signing of the stated set of principles guiding key-players in tourism development.
