(From left) Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin, Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry secretary-general Datuk Saraya Arbi, World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) regional director for Asia and the Pacific Harry Hwang and Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun during the symbolic launch of the World Tourism Conference 2022.
BACK for the sixth edition, the World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2022 jointly organised by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry in partnership with the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Sabah state government was held at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu recently.
This year’s conference brought together 1,000 delegates from more than 60 countries to reconnect and reassess tourism’s recovery in the aftermath of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic.
Alongside UNWTO officials, the conference featured some 30 expert speakers comprising government policy makers, industry leaders and leading academicians in championing thought leadership on tourism futures and strategies driving tourism’s recovery and resilience in a post-pandemic world.
They included the Ministry of Tourism Maldives state minister Dr Ahmed Salih, Tourism Australia regional general manager Brent Anderson, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA Professor Emeritus Prof Jafar Jafari, Traveloka, Indonesia co-founder Albert Zhang and representatives from some of the world’s most innovative tourism-related companies such as Skift, Tripadvisor, TUI Group and Intrepid Travel.
Local Malaysian experts who made an appearance on the exclusive WTC 2022 stage included Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Prof Dr Amran Hamzah, Sunway Malls & Theme Parks CEO H.C. Chan, Malaysia Airlines group chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May, Evenesis CEO Yusno Yunos, Sabah Parks director Dr Maklarin Lakim and Sticky Rice Travel founder and director Jessica Yew.
One of the major highlights of the conference was the keynote presentation by distinguished speaker Prof Datuk ChM Dr Mazlin Mokhtar of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Asia and Academy of Sciences Malaysia, who brought a scientist’s perspective to the WTC, particularly in advancing a more sustainable tourism recovery which embraces energy transition and carbon neutrality.
In her speech, Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Ministry secretary-general Datuk Hajah Saraya Arbi acknowledged the tremendous impact of the worldwide pandemic and multiple crises which continue to disrupt the tourism sector’s growth trajectory.
“However, there is also a great window of opportunity for us to rethink and reimagine tourism for the future which is more sustainable, inclusive and less susceptible to shocks,” she said.
Despite challenging headwinds to the global economy in 2023 and beyond, experts have great expectations for the tourism sector, predicting continued pent-up demand alongside new growth opportunities and emerging niche markets arising from the pandemic.
For instance, as tourism recovery gets underway, the boundaries between work, home, leisure and travel become increasingly blurred, requiring greater cross-collaboration between tourism and transport, health, security, cities and urban systems towards greater livability and quality of life for both visitors and residents alike.
“These are just some of the exciting new prospects that will be explored during the two-day conference.
“Therefore, I hope the chosen theme of ‘Tourism Futures Reimagined’ will inspire deep insights on the challenges, opportunities, trends and forecasts shaping the future of the industry,” Saraya said at the launch of WTC 2022.
