Tourism flows to Europe between January-August this year are at plus two per cent, and well down on the five per cent growth registered in the last two years, and no sub-regions have been spared, a committee of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) heard.

The committee met in Santillana, Spain on 7 and 8 November to examine and take stock of the impact on tourism of the current turbulence in the global financial markets.

The committee debated the conclusions and observations of a report on Global Imbalances and Tourism Growth and the Challenges of New Risks and Uncertainties faced by the Industry compiled by Professor Peter Keller, reviewed present global and regional growth trends and forecasts and stressed the important role of governments in the management of change to overcome the crisis.

UNWTO has established a Tourism Resilience Committee designed to reinforce the capacity of the industry to react to the ongoing crisis on the lines of the Tourism Recovery Committee set up in 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11. The committee is scheduled to meet in London this week.

The meeting in Spain was attended by Malta’s former Tourism Minister, Michael Refalo who is a member of the strategic committee in a personal capacity. Dr Refalo conveyed the invitation of the government of Malta for the strategic committee to hold one of its next meetings here.

The UNWTO strategic committee agreed to meet in Malta in autumn 2010.

The committee’s forthcoming meeting in October 2009 will be in Singapore in conjunction with ITB Asia. The committee is composed of persons with a long experience in tourism policy making, management and direction.

Between 2004 and 2005 Dr Refalo chaired the UNWTO task force on destination management and he has now been appointed to the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations’ list of consultants.