Van Schalkwyk to lead UN's new tourism initiative

Van Schalkwyk was asked to lead the commission at the UNWTO meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, on Tuesday morning, 28 May 2013.

His appointment came after the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an organisation that provides a platform for governments to tackle common socio-economic problems, took a decision to recognise UNWTO - for the first time ever - as eligible to receive official development assistance (ODA).

Van Schalkwyk's major task following his appointment will be to lead a delegation of all the member countries - France, Germany, Kenya, Jamaica, Egypt, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Mauritania and the Flemish Community of Belgium - to lobby the OECD Development Assistance Committee and other major donors and convince them that tourism can contribute, as a sector, towards poverty eradication, green economy and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

"I believe it will be possible to unlock meaningful new financial resources to further our work in the tourism sector by dramatically scaling up our share of official development assistance (ODA).

"In so many instances, integration across policy domains and greater policy coherence and collaboration at a global level are indicated. One such area is the often underestimated contribution of tourism to development and the Millennium Development Goals.

"There is a sweet spot at the intersection of the three policy imperatives of tourism development, social inclusion and green growth that we have been ignoring to our detriment and that could hold the key to substantial new resources," Van Schalkwyk said.