Cambodia to Host Global Conference on Tourism and Culture in February

A conference on tourism and culture will bring together Ministers of Tourism and Ministers of Culture from around the world as well as experts and stakeholders from both sectors to explore new models of partnership between tourism and culture.

The conference will take place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, between 4-6 February 2015.

The first UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture will provide a global platform for policymakers, experts and practitioners in tourism and culture to meet and identify the key challenges and opportunities for stronger cooperation between these highly interlinked areas.

Over the course of two days, participants will explore different roles and mandates on five key topics – governance and partnership models, cultural preservation, living cultures and creative industries, cultural routes and urban regeneration through cultural tourism.

Confirmed speakers include King Simeon II, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, John Delaney, Senior Vice President of Seabourn, and Elizabeth Becker, award-winning author and former correspondent for the New York Times.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, said, “This milestone event will provide a unique opportunity for tourism and culture stakeholders from all regions to discuss how to further harness the power of tourism and culture to alleviate poverty, create jobs, protect heritage and promote international understanding, contributing to the post-2015 development agenda.”

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, said, “Culture shapes our identity and is a means to foster respect and tolerance among people. It is also a way to create millions of jobs and improve people’s lives, a path to strengthen mutual understanding. Safeguarding cultural heritage must move forward with sustainable tourism, which is the core message of this Conference. This vision guides our efforts to promote culture as a driver and as an enabler of sustainable development, and is especially important at this time of change, when countries are shaping a new global sustainable development agenda to follow 2015.”