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bernard metzger

Travelindex Group Honored to Participate in UNWTO Executive Council in Jeddah

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Travelindex Group Chairman Bernard Metzger Honored to Participate in UNWTO Executive Council in JeddahJeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 17,2022 / TRAVELINDEX / The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has honored the Travelindex Group Founder and Chairman Bernard Metzger to participate as a media participant at the 116th UNWTO Executive Council in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Mr. Metzger joined the gathering of public and private leaders where the United Nations specialized agency called for the construction of a new and reimagined system of governance and financing with the aim of building resilience against future shocks while also making tourism more sustainable.

The UNWTO continued with its tradition of complementing the important deliberations of its Executive Council with an open discussion on the biggest challenges and opportunities for the sector. The Forum “Tourism Futures – New Governance and Advocacy”, featured two distinct sessions – “Towards a New Tourism Governance” and “Raising Tourism’s Visibility” outside of the sector.

“Now is the time to think big”, said the UNWTO Secretary-General welcoming delegates and speakers. Zurab Pololikashvili stressed the need to “realize tourism’s unique potential to drive recovery, provide opportunity and build resilience, through better and stronger governance and focusing on jobs, training and education”.

Mr. Metzger’s participation focused on the objective and fair reporting of all discussions addressing key emerging trends and insights from across the industry and helping to identify what may impact the future of tourism, and the role that the industry can play to ensure its transformational future.

The 116th Executive Council closed with the Jeddah Call to Action, a commitment to rethink tourism governance. Jeddah Call to Action recognizes the vital need for more and better tourism governance, with targeted investments and a focus on building resilience, advancing sustainability and expanding education and training. It forms part of UNWTO’s wider work ensuring the recognition of tourism reflects the sector’s unique social and economic importance, including through making it a key part of the work of the United Nations and securing the cooperation of governments, international organizations and financial institutions.

More about Travelindex Group here…

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

UNWTO and Travelindex Group Sign MOU to Help SMEs Thrive in Post Pandemic World

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UNWTO and Travelindex Group Sign MOU to Help SMEs Thrive in Post Pandemic World - Zurab Pololikashvili - Bernard MetzgerMadrid, Spain, March 31, 2022 – The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Travelindex Group joined forces to help SMEs succeed in a post-pandemic world and to raise socio-economic awareness of the tourism sector. UNWTO estimates that micro- and small businesses employ more than half of the sector’s workforce. Small businesses are important engines of employment and economic opportunity but are facing significant challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis and the accompanying disruptions, as well as the economic impact of the pandemic.

This first ever partnership with Travelindex Group forms part of UNWTO’s wider shift towards harnessing the power of digital innovation to drive the restart of tourism by giving SME’s the possibility to reach a wider audience, to grow and develop their market share and position.

Travelindex Group has built one of the world’s largest travel and tourism ecosystem with millions of highly engaged visitors and followers across 240 destinations. The ecosystem is open and content-driven, connecting directly over 800,000 companies worldwide through 90 owned online properties and social media channels.

Historically and worldwide, SMEs always played a key role in the growth of tourism, and contribute to employment creation, wealth creation, poverty alleviation and income generation. However, they face numerous obstacles and challenges in particular in an increasingly digital world. Travelindex Group offers a range of dedicated websites to the industry as well as services that help empower local SMEs for more online visibility and reach.

UNWTO’s partnership with the Travelindex Group will show that sustainable and responsible travel is possible, if not indispensable, in the post-pandemic world. Joint efforts will highlight the importance of the role played by small, medium size and micro-enterprises, all playing a decisive role and vital contribution to the sector’s recovery.

“Countless small businesses and destinations are ready to welcome the world back to their doorsteps,” said Bernard Metzger, Founder and CEO at Travelindex Group. “Travelindex Group is proud to provide a platform and ecosystem not only for large groups but, at no costs, for small businesses in the tourism sector to help them, and their employees and families, to recover faster and more sustainably. Our aim is to contribute to the growth and development of local SMEs and, ultimately, of the entire sector.”

One of the key websites of the Group in this exercise is Sustainable First, a platform that features truly sustainable businesses and destinations, focuses on the impact these have in their local community and which Sustainable Development Goals they are working towards. “This partnership is a natural fit for us, our values and mission are truly aligned with UNWTO’s. Our platform is all about highlighting best practices in sustainability in Tourism and we are focused on bringing especially the amazing sustainable work SMEs are doing, already leading by example, to a wider audience.” said Mafalda Borea, Chair and Co-Founder of Sustainable First and Board Member of Travelindex Group.

Advancing UNWTO’s digital shift
This collaboration with Travelindex Group builds on UNWTO’s ongoing turn towards greater use of digital tools and visual storytelling to make clear the relevance and importance of tourism to economies, societies, and planet. The Organization has accelerated this shift in its efforts to scale up Member support and enable them to better seize the advantages of digital communications platforms.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Tourism Raises Its Voice for Peace

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UNWTO - Tourism Raises Its Voice for Peace - TRAVELINDEXMadrid, Spain, February 19, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, people, as well as our whole societies and economies, have suffered enough. We cannot afford for this to continue. We must rebuild and look to the future with hope, not fear.

Peace and mutual understanding are essential ingredients for recovery. Now is the time to work together, and for diplomacy instead of conflict in all parts of the world. We must not allow political tensions to turn into a man-made crisis that will undermine our collective progress.

Tourism is the main bridge for building understanding. It has a unique ability to promote peace between and among peoples everywhere.

Tourism is the main bridge for building understanding. It has a unique ability to promote peace between and among peoples everywhere. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) stands firmly with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his call for all countries to settle disputes through peaceful means and not through conflict, and that they respect international security and justice at all times.

As a part of the UN, giving a voice to people of all regions, backgrounds and nationalities, UNWTO also believes that the spirit of international solidarity and shared values that define not just tourism but also our common humanity will prevail. We also hope that diplomatic efforts to avoid conflict continue and succeed.

Zurab Pololikashvili
Secretary-General

First published at TravelCommunication.net – Global Travel News

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Nigeria Vice-President Osinbajo Demands Right for Africa to Manufacture its Own Vaccines

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Nigeria Vice-President Osinbajo Demands Right for Africa to Manufacture its Own Vaccines - TRAVELINDEXAbuja, Nigeria, January 24, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / Access to COVID-19 vaccines continues to pose a serious problem for Africa, with fewer than 10% of populations fully vaccinated in most countries, said Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria, in his address to the Davos Agenda 2022. He called for patent waivers to permit African countries to manufacture vaccines locally.

Osinbajo complimented COVAX and other global vaccine alliances for their contribution but noted that the price tag for vaccinating the entire world is just $50 billion, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. “This is affordable, he said, but we should not allow this opportunity “to slip through the cracks”.

“Now is a good time to test global will,” he said, in building international cooperation to prepare for new, possibly worse pandemics to come.

He called for natural gas – which Africa has in abundance – to be accepted as a transitional fuel. Africa is the continent that contributes least to climate change yet has been most negatively affected by it, he said. This situation cannot be compounded by rules that hamper Africa from adapting.

“For many gas-rich African countries, one of the biggest shocks is the notion that fossil fuels including gas should be defunded, especially by international financial institutions.” He added: “We think that gas as a transition fuel is absolutely crucial, not just for an effective transition but also for our economies.” He made it clear that gas is “without doubt the only pathway” for Africa to transition out of more hazardous fuels such as coal and heavy oil.

Osinbajo claimed that Nigeria is “probably the first country in Africa to develop an energy transition plan and to cost it out”. The plan, which he said will be launched in the next couple of weeks, includes connecting 5 million homes to solar power, requiring more foreign investment in manufacturing panels and components.

He said there is a “unique opportunity” for companies to invest in Nigerian renewable energy and that the government is providing debt for those who wish to do business in the sector. He also called on developed economies to honour their long-standing pledge to provide $100 billion annually in climate finance to developing countries.

Peace and security on the continent are seriously threatened by global terrorist franchises from the Sahel to the Horn to Southern Africa, Osinbajo said. As with coronavirus, “terrorism anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere” and he warned global partners not to sit by and allow Africa to be overrun by such extremists. “It is imperative for the international community to make more robust interventions to clear terrorists from Africa just as it did in the Middle East.”

Despite the enormous challenges of tackling COVID-19, climate change and terrorism, Osinbajo remained upbeat about economic prospects for Africa and Nigeria. The sub-Saharan economy grew by 3.7% in 2021 and is projected to continue this trajectory into 2022. Nigeria’s National Development Plan 2021-2025 envisages investments totalling $840 billion, of which 86% is expected to come from the private sector.

In the next three decades, the global population will swell by 2 billion people; 1 billion of those will come from Africa, which now has the world’s fastest growing working-age population. “Africa has the potential to become the factory of the world,” he said.

About the Davos Agenda 2022
For over 50 years, the World Economic Forum has been the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Davos Agenda 2022 is the focal point at the start of the year for leaders to share their outlook, insights and plans relating to the most urgent global issues. The meeting will provide a platform to accelerate the partnerships needed to tackle shared challenges and shape a more sustainable and inclusive future.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

In Time for Thailand’s Reopening Travelindex Launches TOP25 Hotels Phuket

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In Time for Thailand’s Reopening Travelindex Launches TOP25 Hotels Phuket Edition - TRAVELINDEXPhuket, Thailand, November 1, 2021 – In-time for today’s re-opening of Thailand and with the support of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Travelindex formally launched the Phuket Edition of its prestigious hotel guide; the TOP25 Hotels Phuket – Phuket’s Best Luxury Hotels and Hotel Awards.

The TOP25 Hotel Guide Phuket brings together not only exceptional hotels but the best beach resorts, luxury wellness retreats, green hotels and superior villas. Each property chosen first and foremost for the quality of service, unique location and outstanding facilities.

The diversity of Phuket’s accommodation offering is reflected in this exclusive selection, allowing TOP25Hotels.com to celebrate the hospitality sector in Phuket and to showcase efforts by hotel managers in sustainability and in their support for the local communities. TOP25 Hotels Phuket contributes to the prestige of the local accommodation landscape and, with the integration into the Travelindex global ecosystem, to attract more visitors and tourists to the destination.

To ensure its credibility and impartiality of its ranking, the “TOP25 Hotels Phuket Edition” is based on a world-leading rating system, the Hotel Rating Index (HRI). HRI is an artificial intelligence based, decentralized appraisal mechanism combining behavioral analytics and human expertise from some of the world’s top travel and hospitality experts.

Mr. Bernard Metzger, Founder of TOP25 Guide series, stated: “We are committed to support the hospitality sectors in Phuket by leveraging digital technology and our online expertise. We aim not only to help hotels in the recovering process from the Covid pandemic downturn but also to educated people to appreciate accommodation providers’ efforts in sustainability, while at the same time improving the drawing power of Phuket as Thailand’s and Asia’s premier holiday destination.”

With the re-opening of Thailand’s borders to travelers from 63 countries, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects a great number of foreign tourists to visit Phuket. A number of major airlines including Etihad, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways International (THAI) are already reconnecting Phuket with world cities like London, Frankfurt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore with direct flights.

Hotels and accommodation providers in Phuket can feature at no costs in the “TOP25 Hotels Phuket” guide by filling out the hotel nomination form here:

Contact information
TOP25 Hotels International
Ms. Nicole Lim, Media Relations
Email: media@top25restaurants.com
Web: www.top25hotels.com/phuket/

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Phuket Sandbox a Model for Asia-Pacific Reopening

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Phuket Sandbox a Model for Asia-Pacific Reopening - TRAVELINDEXPhuket, Thailand, August 3, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Tourism leaders at Phuket Sandbox Summit urge European governments to recognise Phuket’s status as a safe haven for international travellers. As Bangkok grapples with rising numbers of Covid infections, leading tourism voice KP Ho, Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Group, has told European envoys, airlines, senior officials and business leaders, that for Phuket Sandbox to succeed it is imperative for Phuket to be given “green” destination status.

• Discover gastronomy destination Phuket and the Asia’s Best Fine Dining Restaurants at Top25Restaurants.com

Speaking at the Phuket Sandbox Summit held at Laguna Phuket, KP Ho called on policy-makers in Europe and around the world to support Phuket as a separate “green” zone.

Phuket has the potential to lead the global tourism recovery, as the historic Phuket Sandbox initiative sets the standard for other destinations to follow, he said. But, to succeed, governments need to recognise it as a safe, self-enclosed destination, rather than combining its travel status with the rest of Thailand.

KP Ho’s position was supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) at the Phuket Sandbox Summit. Deputy Governor for International Marketing Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americans, Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, said: “We are trying to propose Phuket to the UK government to be on the green list of destinations, even though Thailand is on the amber list. We are optimistic about Phuket Sandbox. Phuket is safe and we will never compromise anyone’s safety.”

He confirmed there were almost 300,000 rooms booked until the end of August in SHA Plus hotels, with nearly 13,000 arrivals and 124 flights after 28 days, with many more scheduled. Top markets are the US, UK, Israel, Germany, France, the UAE and Switzerland with an average length of stay 11 days.

As anxiety grows across Southeast Asia’s key travel destinations struggling with infection numbers, the Phuket Sandbox model is rapidly becoming the standard bearer of hope for the tourism industry.

Launched on 1st July 2021, the Sandbox enables fully-vaccinated international visitors to fly directly to the destination and stay on the island quarantine-free. Hotels need to ensure at least 70% of their staff have received vaccines – the same inoculation rate as Phuket’s population, creating herd immunity against Covid-19. While the high level of protection doesn’t prevent people from catching Covid-19, it does significantly reduce the likelihood of serious infection and hospitalization.

“Infections and re-infections are not what really count; it’s hospitalisation rates and ICU rates that count. The Thai government have to emphasise those new numbers and shift the narrative towards ‘how many people are really getting sick?’, not ‘are the numbers going up?’,” added Mr Ho.

By reporting this new data, he said, it should be possible for Phuket to be set apart from the rest of Thailand and placed on the ‘safe list’ of destinations to visit. This is not without precedent; the UK government for example, has put the island of Madeira on its green list, while the rest of Portugal remains on the amber list. The same rule applies to Denmark and the Faroe Islands.

“What’s really important is that EU countries – the national governments, spurred on by travel agents, the media and other people – recognise that it’s necessary to disengage the perception of Phuket from the rest of Thailand. It should be a situation where Thailand could be a red alert zone but Phuket could be a green zone,” said Mr Ho. It could be possible to create a series of Sandboxes in other destinations, such as Koh Samui (which recently launched Samui Plus), Bali and Phu Quoc. As long as that Sandbox is well-organised, as it is in Phuket, it should be separated from the rest of the country.”

Vice Governor of Phuket, Mr Piyapong Choowong, added: “I would like to confirm we support Phuket Sandbox. We are making sure people on the island and all visitors are safe so we can run the Sandbox smoothly and continue to welcome more tourists to Phuket.”

• Discover gastronomy destination Phuket and the Asia’s Best Fine Dining Restaurants at Top25Restaurants.com

Presenting the most up-to-date data, C9 Hotelworks Managing Director, Bill Barnett, added: “There is a lot at stake but what is clear is that Phuket Sandbox is alive and well, and it’s working.”

The Phuket Sandbox Summit was held at Laguna Phuket, attended by:

– Phuket Vice Governor, Piyapong Choowong
– Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor, Siripakorn Chaewsamoot
– Banyan Tree Group Executive Chairman, KP Ho
– Laguna Phuket Managing Director, Ravi Chandran
– Phuket City Development CEO, Nipon Aekwanich
– British Honorary Consul, Martin Carpenter
– Honorary Consul of Germany, Anette Jiminez Höchstetter
– Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Seven Smulders
– S Hotels and Resorts Senior Vice President Operations, Stefano Alberto Ruzza
– Dusit Hotels and Resorts Vice President Sales, Prachoom Tantiprasertsuk
– Singapore Airlines Station Manager Phuket, Louis Tan
– Emirates Airlines Airport Services Manager, Thanakorn Srihamart
– Qatar Airways Airport Services Manager, Warunee Saiboonjun

About Laguna Phuket
Laguna Phuket resort is home to 7 deluxe hotels; Angsana Laguna Phuket, Angsana Villas Resort Phuket, Banyan Tree Phuket, Cassia Phuket, Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket, Laguna Holiday Club Phuket Resort and SAii Laguna Phuket – all sharing 1,000 acres of tropical parkland along a 3-kilometre stretch of the pristine Bangtao Beach. Facilities and services include 18-hole award winning golf course, world-renowned spas, shopping village, tour operators and MICE-certified event and facilitator teams. With inter-resort transportation allowing guests to travel anywhere within minutes via shuttle bus or ferry.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Inaugural Top 25 Restaurants Phuket Edition Launched

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Inaugural Top 25 Restaurants Phuket Edition Launched - TRAVELINDEXPhuket, Thailand, July 9, 2021 – In-time for the re-opening of Phuket, and with the support of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Travelindex formally launched the Phuket Edition of its prestigious restaurant guide; the Top 25 Restaurants Phuket – the Master Affluent Dining Guide on Phuket, now in 6 key gastronomy destinations across Asia Pacific.

The Top 25 Restaurants Guide Phuket brings together not only gourmet dining but the best of all cuisines, with every establishment chosen first and foremost for the quality of cooking and food served. From Michelin-star quality tasting menus to exquisite and original Peranakan food or the best grilled seafood you’ll ever have, Phuket has become a premier gourmet destination.

The diversity of Phuket’s cuisine is reflected in the rankings at Top 25 Restaurants Phuket; from the classic French and Italian to hyper-local and authentic Phuket food restaurants.

Top25Restaurants.com is celebrating exquisite dining in each city highlighting its the culinary diversity, as well as new trends and chefs supporting local community products. Top 25 Restaurants contributes to the prestige of the local dining scene and, with the integration into the Travelindex global ecosystem, to attract more visitors and tourists to the destination.

To ensure its credibility and impartiality of its ranking, the “Top 25 Restaurants Guide Phuket” is based on a world-leading rating system, the Restaurant Rating Index (RRI). RRI is an artificial intelligence based, decentralized appraisal mechanism combining behavioral analytics and human expertise from some of the world’s top culinary experts.

Mr. Bernard Metzger, Founder of Top25Restaurants Guide series, stated: “We are committed to support the gastronomy and hospitality sectors in Phuket by leveraging digital technology and our online expertise. We aim not only to help restaurants in the recovering process from the Covid pandemic downturn but also to educated people to eat better and live better, while at the same time improving the drawing power of the Thai culinary culture and tradition.”

With the Phuket Sandbox programme in effect, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects 100,000 foreign tourists to visit Phuket in the Third Quarter of 2021 from July to September, generating 8.9 billion Baht in revenue for the local economy. A number of major airlines including Etihad, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways International (THAI) are already reconnecting Phuket with world cities like London, Frankfurt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore with direct flights.

Restaurants in Phuket can feature at no costs in the “Top 25 Restaurants Phuket” guide by filling out the submission form here:

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Tourism Leaders Uniting to Restart Safe Travel at WTTC Global Summit

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Cancun, Mexico, April 30, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The world’s leading private and public sector Travel & Tourism leaders took a united stand to safely restart international travel at the closure of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Global Summit. • Read all the latest WTTC News and Updates here. They used the prestigious forum to share their experiences from the last 12 devastating months…

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

PATA Appoints Liz Ortiguera as its Next CEO

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Bangkok, Thailand, April 29, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Liz Ortiguera as its next Chief Executive Officer effective May 17, 2021, succeeding Dr. Mario Hardy who will finish his term at the end of May. The announcement was made at the Association’s Board Meeting held earlier today. PATA Chair Soon-Hwa Wong said…

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

Governments Join Sector Leaders for International Code to Protect Tourists

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Madrid, Spain, March 30, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / More than 100 countries, alongside international organizations and leading business groups have agreed to adopt harmonized standards for assisting tourists caught up in emergency situations. The Committee for the Development of an International Code for the Protection of Tourists has agreed on the text of the first two Chapters of the Code…

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First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News