Workshop & Training
Workshop on the Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Tourism Recovery and Development in Asia and the Pacific
6 Jul 2023 - 7 Jul 2023 Nanning
Introduction
Tourism is an important area of Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) operations. ADB’s tourism-related portfolio includes 144 projects with total investment of $12.8 billion, including $5.3 billion funded by ADB’s own resources. Tourism is also one of the important components of trade and a major source of revenue for many Developing Member Countries (DMCs) of the ADB. However, during the past three years, tourism has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. How rapid the tourism industry can recover will have a major impact on the economic prospects of ADB’s DMCs.
A series of major studies on tourism has been conducted since the outbreak of the pandemic, including: (i) Sustainable Tourism after COVID-19 and (ii) COVID-19 and the Future of Tourism, and (iii) Big Data for Better Tourism. The results and recommendations of these studies have implications for ADB’s operations in the DMCs.
Regional knowledge sharing and South-South cooperation and policy dialogue are very important for the development of the DMCs. The Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) is a platform to share best practices and good experiences with DMCs, especially the experience of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in bringing tourists back.
Objectives
This hybrid workshop on sustainable, inclusive, and resilient tourism recovery and development in Asia and the Pacific, together with field visits in the PRC, will provide an opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices on tourism recovery and development with and among ADB’s DMCs. The Workshop aims to:
- Present the results and recommendations of recent ADB studies on tourism;
- Share DMCs’ experience in tourism recovery during and after the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Present project cases on sustainable tourism development;
- Share initial results of ADB’s scoping study on tourism and designing of innovative tourism projects;
- Discuss the challenges and solutions for sustainable tourism development in DMCs; and
- Promote south-south collaboration by cross-fertilizing ideas of experts from various countries.
Agenda:
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 9:00 – 9:20 | Opening Session Welcome remarks by: Safdar Parvez, Country Director, PRC Resident Mission, East Asia Department, ADB (virtual) Yuebin Zhang, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, Regional Cooperation and Integration and Trade Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department (CCSD), ADB Jing Fu, Principal Financing Partnerships Specialist and Manager of People’s Republic of China Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund (PRC Fund), ADB Jun Yao, Chairman, China Tourists Attractions Association (CTAA) |
| 9:20 – 10:00 | Session 1: ADB Tourism Studies: Results and Recommendations This session will discuss major findings and recommendations of ADB’s studies on Sustainable Tourism after COVID-19: Insights and Recommendations for Asia and the Pacific and COVID-19 and the Future of Tourism in Asia and the Pacific and how these can be applied in developing member countries of ADB. Moderator: Wilhelmina Paz, Economist (Regional Cooperation), CCSD, ADB Presentations: Susanne Becken, Griffith University, Australia – Sustainable Tourism after COVID-19 (virtual) Scott Wayne, President, SW Associates, LLC – Sustainable Destinations. – COVID-19 and the Future of Tourism |
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Coffee Break |
| 10:15 – 12:00 | Session 2: Country Experiences: From Emergency Response to Post-Pandemic Recovery This session will discuss how the tourism sector was impacted by COVID-19, how the countries responded during the emergency phase, and the actions taken so far by governments and other stakeholders to help in the recovery of the tourism sector. Moderator: Hsiao Chink Tang, Head, RKSI, East Asia Department, ADB Presentations: Cao Jinzhong, Secretary General, Renowned Tourism Village Branch, CTAA Tamar Koriauli, First Deputy Head, Georgia National Tourism Administration, CAREC Tourism Focal (virtual) Sorraya Yosyingyong, Acting Policy and Plan Analyst, Expert Level in Strategic Planning, Acting as Director of the National Strategy and Country Reform Division, Government of Thailand (Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) DMC Joey Recimilla, Director IV, Policy, Planning and Project Development Office, Mindanao Development Authority, Philippines (virtual) K.N.P. Jayarathna, Director, Department of National Planning, Sri Lanka Vanshika Sharma, Policy Analyst and Executive Support, Ministry of Finance, Fiji |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 – 14:30 | Session 3: ADB Sustainable Tourism Project Case Studies This session will discuss select ADB tourism projects, with a focus on their innovative features and how they could contribute to sustainable, inclusive, and resilient recovery and development of tourism and the overall economic growth in the respective countries and the Asia and Pacific region Moderator: Yuebin Zhang, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, CCSD, ADB Presentations: Elizabeth Jung, Urban Development Specialist, Southeast Asia Department, ADB (virtual) – GMS tourism projects Ramola Naik Singru, Principal Urban Development Specialist, Central and West Asia Department, ADB – CAREC tourism strategy and tourism project case Jinqiang Chen, Urban Development Specialist (Climate Change), East Asia Department, ADB – PRC tourism project |
| 14:30 – 15:15 | Session 4: Designing Innovative Tourism Projects This session will discuss the initial findings of ADB’s scoping study to trial innovative approaches and recommendations of ADB’s tourism studies and regional strategies to transform tourism into a more resilient and sustainable sector. Several concepts for proposed projects, including those involving regional cooperation and market integration to support multi-country tourism initiatives, will be presented. Moderator: Wilhelmina T. Paz, Economist (Regional Cooperation), CCSD, ADB Presentation: Andrew Sillitoe, ADB Consultant Discussants: Wouter Schalken, Senior Sustainable Tourism Specialist, CCSD, ADB Yuebin Zhang, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, CCSD, ADB |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Coffee break |
| 15:30 – 17:10 | Session 5: Panel Discussion on Achieving Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Tourism Development in Asia and the Pacific This session will discuss how policy, regulation, infrastructure investments, and regional cooperation and collaboration can help address long- standing challenges and seize new opportunities, such as putting tourism on a more sustainable trajectory, enhancing digitalization, and stepping-up community engagement and inclusion. Moderator: Wouter Schalken, Senior Sustainable Tourism Specialist, CCSD, ADB Panelists: Abdulla Iyaz, Director, Ministry of Tourism, Maldives Kuang Lin, Level I Division Rank Official of the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of Ministry of Culture and Tourism, PRC Suvimol Thanasarakij, Executive Director, Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office Alcinda Trawen, Tourism Analyst, Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative Sandra Carvao, Chief of Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) |
| 17:10 – 17:20 | Closing Session Remarks by Yi Zheng, Deputy Director-General, Department of Culture and Tourism, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Yuebin Zhang, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, CCSD, ADB |
| 17:30 | Hosted dinner |
Field visits
- Guangxi Modern Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Program
- PRC-Viet Nam Detian-Ban Gioc Cross-border Water Falls Development
