|
\
SOUTH
AFRICA TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE WORLD
TOURISM ORGANISATION EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
The Republic of South
Africa declared its candidature to the
World Tourism Organisation to become a
member of this organisation's Executive
Council on 30 September 2005.
This bid for membership
follows on a number of African seats on
the Executive Council that will become
vacant at the end of 2005. These will be
filled through an election process due to
take place during the 6th General Assembly
of the World Tourism Organisation in
Dakar, Senegal.
Africa as a region
within the Executive Council is
represented by nine elected full time
member states.
The Republic of South
Africa served as a member of the Executive
Council from 1996 to 1999. Its membership
of this auspicious body was not renewed to
afford other African countries an
opportunity to participate in and
contribute to work of the Executive
Council. South Africa is of the view that
Africa's constructive participation in the
Executive Council of the WTO is a critical
factor in representing and promoting the
interests of the developing
world.
 The
development of tourism and its supporting
industry is considered by South Africa as
an important historic opportunity to end
the scourge of underdevelopment that
afflicts Africa. The resources, including
capital, technology and human skills, that
are required to develop the Continent,
exist in abundance waiting to be utilised
&endash; that being tourism.
The New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD) remains a
pledge by African Leaders, based on a
common vision and a firm and shared
conviction, that we have a pressing duty
to eradicate poverty and to place our
countries on a path of sustainable growth
and development while participating
actively in the world economy.
South Africa is
convinced that through tourism, the
poverty and underdevelopment of our
Continent that stands in stark contrast to
the prosperity of the developed world, can
be addressed.
The continued
marginalisation of Africa from the global
process and the social exclusion of the
vast majority of its peoples constitute a
serious threat to global stability. This
can be reversed through NEPAD and African
empowerment. As Africans we do not appeal
for the further entrenchment of dependency
through aid, or for marginal
concessions.
South Africa
recognises, along with a global
acceptance, that tourism is one of the
sectors with the greatest potential to
contribute to the economic regeneration of
developing countries, particularly through
the diversification of African economies
and the generation of foreign exchange
earnings.
South Africa is aware
of, and subscribes to, the projected goals
of the WTO initiatives such as, the
Sustainable Tourism-Eliminating Poverty
project (ST-EP) as a way to link
Sustainable Tourism with the Elimination
of Poverty - launched by the World Tourism
Organisation with UNCTAD at the
Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable
Development in August 2002. South Africa
is encouraged by the fact that ST-EP aims
at bringing development and jobs to people
living on less than a dollar a day, in the
world's poorest countries that includes
fellow African countries. South Africa
will therefore endeavour to maximise the
involvement and engagement of the WTO
through, mechanisms such as ST-EP, in
promoting and developing tourism
industries in the developing
countries.
The United Nations
Millennium Declaration of September 2000,
reaffirmed at the United Nations General
Assembly 60th Summit in September 2005,
confirms the global community's readiness
to support Africa's efforts to address the
Continent's underdevelopment and
marginalisation. More importantly, South
Africa is convinced that the tourism
sector presents a huge potential to
contribute to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals.
The WTO´s
initiatives such as ST-EP, as a mechanism
to enable the developing world to achieve
the UN millennium Development Goals, are
supported by South Africa and will be
vigorously pursued by our country. South
Africa is convinced that more could be
done to promote tourism through the
institution of the World Tourism
Organisation to empower our Continent and
its people.
The World Tourism
Organisation shows that out of 760 million
tourist trips that took place across
international boundaries in 2004,
generating over US $ 523 billion
international receipts, Africa only
received 33 million international arrivals
and US $ 14 billion international
receipts. Considering that projections to
the year 2020 envisage a rise in tourism
arrivals and earnings to 1,6 billion and
US $2 trillion, respectively, South Africa
is convinced that Africa must receive a
proportionally more equitable share of
these results.
The Republic of South
Africa, should she be successful to be
voted in as member of the Executive
Council of the World Tourism Organisation,
wishes to declare the following
commitments as a serving
member-state:
The Republic of South
Africa wishes to call upon the WTO General
Assembly, to define and use its empowered
responsibility to build a single and
coherent body that supports the work of
the Secretariat of the World Tourism
Organisation.
It is believed through
a united Assembly of Member-States, the
Organisation, its Member-States and its
people will be best served.
Regional Commissions:
The World Tourism Organisation has to date
not clearly defined the role of the
Commissions. Their capacity to deal with
common regional developmental and product
positioning has not been enhanced. South
Africa will endeavour to assist the WTO to
refine the role of the said Commissions
that will be regionally and
organisationally beneficial, inter alia
towards the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.
Expertise development:
The World Tourism Organisation has to date
facilitated consultative expertise for the
development of international tourism
infrastructures in developing countries. A
dire need for the development of local
expertise in Africa and other developing
regions is noted. South Africa wishes to
encourage the World Tourism Organisation
and its member-states to assist, through
its respected knowledge base, in the
development of local expertise, human
resources and skills that will empower
developing countries to achieve their
maximum tourism potential.
Management of
Resources: As far as the financial
management of the WTO is concerned, South
Africa is of the opinion, as is the case
with many other member states, that the
financial management structure requires
ongoing attention. South Africa wishes to
play a constructive role in facilitating
this process.
Secretariat of the
World Tourism Organisation: South Africa
is of the view that the communication
between Member States and the Secretariat
of the WTO should be enhanced. South
Africa wishes to contribute to this bridge
building processes between the Secretariat
and the WTO Member-States, to ensure
mutual understanding and beneficiation
that will enhance and develop world
tourism &endash; with a particular
emphasis on African
development.
In conclusion, the
Republic of South Africa, hopes to
contribute meaningfully towards assisting
in defining the business model of the WTO
in line with its mandate, taking into
account the nature of the business of
tourism as a fun, experiential,
time-sensitive business.
This will allow for
strategic engagement with other UN bodies
and key multilateral organizations
&endash; influencing their agendas and
seeking indirect resourcing for maximum
long-term positive impact on tourism and
support for its Programme of
Work.
As a member of the
Executive Council, South Africa commits
itself to enhancing an efficient
organisation, a constructive approach and
focussed programmes by the World Tourism
Organisation for the benefit of the
African continent.
|
..
.
