Background

On March 27th, 2019, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced that Airbnb co-founder, Nathan Blecharczyk, will be speaking at PATA Annual Summit 2019. This is an indication of how the Asia-Pacific, as well as global tourism, is changing due to the emergence of tourism platforms such as Airbnb.

The importance of tourism platform, or so-called “sharing economy”, is being increasingly recognized by organizations such as UNWTO as one of the major emerging forces that are shaping the tourism sector. Due to the increasingly interconnected world fueled by technological advances, stakeholders are given more opportunities to utilize these platforms to improve and expand areas of tourism service such as information, accommodation, transport, food, and other activities.

Granted, tourism platform doesn’t simply consist of digital platforms, but also traditional platforms that connects travel industry, communities and tourists. One such example is the Jeju Olle Trail, which has been connecting the local residents, nearby businesses and travelers by developing and maintaining walking trail around Jeju Island since 2007. The effectiveness of Olle Trail is proved by its sister trails in Kyushu, Miyagi, Mongol, and Yangpyeong. The remaining question is how to develop and maintain an effective, inclusive and resilient tourism platform that addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals within the Asia- Pacific context.

In this regard, this workshop invites prospective participants to explore and discuss the relationship between tourism and sustainable development within the context of platform development that makes both vertical and horizontal communication possible. Best practices on tourism platform development will be presented, offering opportunities to explore well-designed tourism platform cases around the world. There will be sessions to discuss good policies and practical tourism project developments in line with the UN SDGs. Finally, the workshop aims to aid participants in effectively developing relevant policies and projects for tourism platform, promoting and enhancing their capacity to address five key themes of the United Nations’ SDG framework- people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships- in the long term.
This workshop will be held in conjunction with the 14th Jeju Forum, “Asia Towards Resilient Peace: for Cooperation and Integration”.

Event objectives

The workshop aims to build the capacity of participants on tourism platform development, whilst promoting awareness and recognition on the importance of UN SDGs. For the capacity building, this event will;

·          Provide an opportunity for the local governments in the Asia-Pacific region to exchange policies and best practices on tourism platform development through city-to-city cooperation;

·          Promote a learning atmosphere between cities and establish a strong network which can be utilized after the workshop;

·          Offer a venue for knowledge sharing and discussion and motivate participants to implement tourism platforms/ policies, with a particular focus on UN SDGs.

Learning objectives

At the end of the workshop, the participants will be able to:

·          Understand the need for cooperative tourism platform in the context of 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda;

·          Utilize the lessons learned from the good cases of tourism platform development;

·          Have a basic understanding of tourism and deepen the ideas of sustainable practices for regional/city/local development;

·          Share the best practices of the community/local government-driven tourism platform projects;

·          Coordinate partnerships to effectively promote the benefits of tourism with civil societies, government, and local entrepreneurs.

Target audiences

Central/local authorities, representatives from NGOs, regional and community-based organizations, academic and training institutions and other local actors, who are working in the field of tourism within the Asia-Pacific region.

Event details

·          Event type           Workshop (training program)

·          Date                      29 May- 1 June, 2019    

·          Venue                    International Convention Center, Jeju-do, ROK

·          Organizers       - Jeju Special Self-Governing Province

- UNITAR

- UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC

- Jeju Tourism Organization

·          Certificate       UNITAR and UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC will jointly issue

a certificate upon the completion of the training.

Contents and structure

The training will be composed of the following sessions:

·          Global Tourism Trend and its Significance in the Asia-Pacific

·          Existing Tourism Platforms and their Potential to Support Ecotourism

·          Rise of Special Interest Tourism

·          Tourism Platform: Finance and Investment

·          Contribution of Different Sectors in Developing Tourism Platform

·          Community Involvement in Cooperative Platform

·          Tourism Governance and Yellow Tourism

·          UNITAR-Developed City-Share Methodology

** Sessions are flexible to changes. **

Methodology

The training will be comprised of:

·          Lectures and presentations by experts (English and Korean)

·          Self-assessment exercise

·          Group work and discussion

·          Field visit to well-managed touristic spots

Requirements

Applicants are required to:

·          Submit necessary documents on time, i.e., application forms etc.

·          Complete and submit pre-training assignment, i.e., case study description etc.

·          Actively participate in the training program.

Application and deadline

Send the following documents to cifaljeju.etd@gmail.com , email titled: Tourism Platform WS Application by 14th April, 2019 (Sun):

Note

·          Application without the required documents will NOT be considered.

·          Participation is subject to the approval of the application by UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC.

·          Selected applicants will be notified individually.

Assistance with travel expenses

·          UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC provides LIMITED financial assistance with the airfare to Jeju-do, Republic of Korea.

·       Local expenses (transportation, accommodation and meals) during the workshop period (only during May 29 ~June 1) will be covered by UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC, except for arrival and departure days.

·       All other expenses (local transportation in their country, visa fee) should be covered by the participants.