Awards
THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO)
ACKNOWLEDGES EXCELLENCE IN TOURISM GOVERNANCE
SIX TOURISM GOVERNANCE ORGANIZATIONS
OBTAIN UNWTO.SBEST CERTIFICATION OF EXCELLENCE
The UNWTO•THEMIS Foundation and the Education and
Knowledge Management Department of UNWTO are pleased to announce that
six tourism governance organizations from five UNWTO Member States have
obtained the UNWTO.Sbest Certification of Excellence in Tourism
Governance. This certification, which recognizes best practices in
tourism governance (T-Governance), is aimed at fostering the improvement
of service quality in tourism and reinforcing the well-being of civil
society.
The UNWTO.Sbest Certification was granted to governance
institutions in: the Blackstone River Valley (USA), the State of Tabasco
(Mexico), San Martin de los Andes (Argentina), KwaZulu-Natal Durban
(South Africa), the City of Valencia (Spain) and Cancun (Mexico).
This certification, developed by UNWTO through its
Education and Knowledge Management Department (UNWTO.EKM), focuses on
models of good governance in tourism and provides benchmarking examples
of T-Governance institutions at local, regional, and national level. By
meeting the rigorous UNWTO.Sbest standards, UNWTO.Sbest Certified
governance institutions can take their place as leaders in excellence
worldwide, with the consequent branding enhancement.
Tourism Governance:
Development through Tourism
Tourism as a tool for development is a key aspect of
the UNWTO.Sbest Certification, within the overall objective of this
certification scheme, which is to assist T-Governance institutions in
achieving and promoting good practices in governance. Improvement in
good practices in tourism can have a positive effect on how national
tourism administrations operate, and indeed can also serve as a model
for other areas of government. Good governance practices also have a
positive impact on the private sector and civil society. Capacity
building in governance is encouraged by UN System institutions and
organizations as a key component in general, in the context of the UN
Millennium Development Goals.
How to obtain the UNWTO.Sbest Certification?
Applicants can request information through a written
“expression of interest” addressed to the UNWTO•THEMIS Foundation in
Andorra or the UNWTO.EKM Department, at UNWTO headquarters in Madrid.
Organizations then have to apply for UNWTO.Sbest pre-registration.
Following this, when the application is accepted, the audit process will
begin.
To ensure that T-Governance institutions meet the
UNWTO.Sbest standards of excellence, an audit is carried out by
independent organizations. The audit process checks for quality gaps in
different areas of T-Governance such as: (i) the institution’s
relationship with civil society; (ii) its relationship with key
stakeholders; (iii) strategic and corporate management; (iv) programme
development and implementation; (v) human resource management; and (vi)
other resources (financial and infrastructural).
If a T-Governance institution considers that it is not
yet prepared to successfully obtain the UNWTO.Sbest Certification, the
UNWTO.EKM can offer valuable remedial tools such as Sbest courses or the
Tourism Labour Market Observatory, designed to improve the
implementation of processes and to minimize gaps. These tools can be
used to either prepare for the UNWTO.Sbest Audit or to renew the
UNWTO.Sbest Certification.
The first Tourism Governance Organizations to have
obtained the UNWTO.Sbest Certification are:
Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council (Rhode Island, USA)
Rhode
Island’s Blackstone Valley Tourism Council is the regional tourism
development agency that has received the UNWTO.Sbest Certification. The
Council focuses its efforts on enhancing sustainable tourism development
for Rhode Island’s historic Blackstone River Valley, birthplace of the
American Industrial Revolution. The Certification process took the
Council’s staff more than three months of research and documentation and
was completed at the end of June 2006.
Dr. Robert D. Billington, the Council’s President, said
that the Council “has closely worked with UNWTO to achieve a level of
excellence in the projects we do to develop sustainable tourism in the
Blackstone River Valley. This certification not only improves our work
process, but also recognizes the quality of destination development we
are doing, measured against the world-wide standards established by
UNWTO”.
The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council was established
in 1985 as a non-profit organization, with the mission to create a
positive change in community values by developing and promoting
coordinated, responsible and sustainable tourism in the nine communities
which are part of the first recognized National Heritage Corridor. By
encouraging this kind of tourism, the Council ensures the socio-cultural
values, historic heritage and the natural environment. Furthermore, it
is worth mentioning that the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council also
received the UNWTO.Ulysses Award 2006 for Innovation in T-Governance for
its contribution to the community values in Rhode Island.
Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo (SEDET) de
Tabasco (Mexico)
The SEDET, also awarded the UNWTO.Sbest Certification, has been working
on the promotion of tourism since 2002. SEDET has been working actively
with UNWTO, including its participation in the UNWTO.TedQual Volunteers
programme in 2005. In that occasion, a group of top students from
TedQual certified institutions, working in collaboration with public
servants and UNWTO experts assisted the State of Tabasco to develop a
Tourism Competitiveness Plan for Tabasco. This project consists of a
global tourism positioning plan, a total quality management programme,
and a process to achieve the optimization of the use of tourism
resources, designing highly competitive and efficient products aimed at
generating higher profits and meeting the most demanding standards for
sustainability.
The efforts invested in Training and Knowledge
Management activities by the SEDET deserve special attention. For
instance, the Fostering Programme for Community Tourism Enterprises
creates ties between educational institutions, the public sector and
community enterprises in order to generate a new business culture in
T-Governance.
The UNWTO.Sbest Certification recognizes the
professionalism and quality with which SEDET has envisioned and
developed its tourism strategy, focused on sustainability and good
practices. Excellence in governance has been attained thanks to a
continuous effort of self-improvement and development projects.
Secretaría de Turismo de la
Municipalidad de San Martín de los Andes (Argentina)
The
Secretariat of Tourism of the municipality of San Martín de los Andes is
the first institution in Argentina to receive the UNWTO.Sbest
Certification. This distinction has been obtained thanks to the close
cooperation with local stakeholders involved in the community that have
invested great efforts in promoting tourism development with the help of
the private sector.
One of the main contributions to the achievement of
this certificate is the implementation of a strategic plan that
emphasizes the focus on policies for sustainable tourism. Under this
strategy, accessibility and nature preservation have become a central
issue, making San Martín de los Andes a champion of T-Governance in
Argentina.
The UNWTO.Sbest Certification recognizes the
municipality’s good performance in terms of good practices in
T-Governance. The Tourism Secretariat of the municipality of San Martín
de los Andes has always promoted the active involvement of all
stakeholders in tourism. It also encourages their open participation,
and provides them with constant updated information.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Durban
(South Africa)
Since
its establishment nine years ago, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) has
placed its focus on the impacts of tourism and on tourism as a tool for
development. The organization consequently involves the local community
in the tourism development of the Zulu Kingdom, KwaZulu-Natal’s brand
name.
TKZN strives for excellence in service and devotes a
large part of its daily work to development, research and communication
activities to keep attracting and satisfying visitors and local
residents. According to Phindile Makwakwa, General Manager, Public
Relationships & Communications at Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, the
organization “recognizes the tourism sector as one of the most important
sectors of the South African economy and the country’s quest for
economic growth”.
Turismo Valencia Convention Bureau (Spain)
Turismo
Valencia Convention Bureau, in the city of Valencia, applied for the
UNWTO.Sbest Certification at the end of 2005. Since then, this
organization has put in a considerable amount of work to obtain this
acknowledgement, which rewards Turismo Valencia Convention Bureau for
its improvements in T-Governance. There has also been a special emphasis
on the enhancement of governance for MICE tourism (Meetings, Incentives,
Conventions and Exhibitions), positioning Valencia as a reference for
business tourism in Spain.
The performance in good practices in terms of financial
resources and infrastructure management has been one of the strong
points in this institution’s activity. This has played in favour of the
nomination of Valencia as the venue for the 32nd America’s Cup 2007.
Established in 1991, Turismo Valencia Convention Bureau
has worked intensely to meet the highest standards of quality, leading
to the recognition of its excellence through the UNWTO.Sbest
Certification.
Fideicomiso de Promoción
Turística de Cancún (Mexico)
This
certification constitutes an important support for Cancun’s Trust for
Tourism Promotion, especially after the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma
in 2005. This administration has been able to successfully overcome last
year’s difficulties, by rebuilding most of their facilities and
restoring natural settings, and thus proving their efficiency in
T-Governance.
The UNWTO.Sbest Certification has also taken into
account the good relations with all the stakeholders involved in the
tourism governance of Cancun, as well as the competent supervision of
the financial resources and infrastructure. In addition, there has been
a large investment in human capital, with specialized training courses
together with universities and other renowned institutions.
Cancun’s Trust for Tourism Promotion was established in
1996, and its goal has been to implement good practices in T-Governance
in order to become one of the leading tourist destinations in the world,
thanks to its quick adaptation to new situations and good relationships
between investors and local authorities.
Additional information can be obtained from the UNWTO•THEMIS
Foundation (unwto.themis@andorra.ad)
and the UNWTO.EKM (educa@unwto.org),
or else visit www.unwto.org.
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