Tourism defence against Avian Flu tested
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Theproject involved 70 participants from more than 15 countries and several UNAgencies.
Thegroup modelled the impact of an evolving pandemic in the Asia Pacific region, creatingthe roles of government departments, the tourism industry, international bodiesand other stakeholders, including tourists themselves.
Theexercise was based on a similar simulation held in Parisin March, which focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In opening the event, the Secretary-Generalof the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Sapta Nirwandar, and theExecutive Chairman of the Indonesian National Coordination Committee on AvianFlu, Bayu Khrisnamurti, stressed the value of international cooperation and itshelp in increasing the integration of Tourism issues in national coordinationprogrammes.
It is estimated that there are 10 millionpeople travelling abroad at any given time and many more within their owncountries and UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General Geoffrey Lipman said “TheAvian Flu threat does not diminish and like other sectors of the economyTourism needs to strengthen its defences. Every time we hold anawareness-building exercise of this nature we increase preparedness andstrengthen our coordination mechanisms.
It is particularly important forintegrating the widespread use of our response portal www.sos.travel as arobust component of the global response system”.
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