More than 60 ministers of tourism and private sector leaders including Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, chairman, Silversea Cruises, gathered Tuesday in London for the summit, moderated by CNN International’s Max Foster.
Community engagement, communication, congestion management, adequate planning and product diversification were highlighted as key aspects in dealing with ‘overtourism.'
'Growth is not the enemy. Numbers are not the enemy. The key is to manage the growth sustainably, responsibly and intelligently and use the power of growth to our advantage,' UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai said.
'We cannot continue to build five-star hotels in three-star communities. Jobs and charity are not enough. We need to diversify visitors’ activities, reduce seasonality and raise awareness of less busy destinations,' he said.
Participants agreed on the need to build awareness among communities of the benefits of the sector, improve the use of big data to measure and manage the impact of tourists and tourist flows, and promote the development of tourism experiences that engage and benefit communities directly.
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