United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifai has hailed the experience of visiting the Philippines and said the world’s people must come visit because “You haven’t lived if you have not experienced the Philippines.”
The Department of Tourism posted how the UNWTO chief praised the Philippines and the Filipinos for managing to survive difficulties and still come out with their best saying, “The world is lucky to have the Philippines. Culture, nature, upbeat people give the country so much life. The Philippines is a country to travel and respect, and its greatest gift is its people.”
Rifai told delegates of the 6th UNWTO International Conference on Tourism Statistics, “We are here, ladies and gentlemen, to tell the world to come to the Philippines and make no mistake about it. Anybody who tries to present any other version of the story should come and see with your own eyes.”
“All of the countries of the world that have experienced difficulties have come back and have shown their best and their beauty comes out,” the UN organization head said during the WTO meeting hosted by Manila – the country’s second time to host WTO after 1980.
UNWTO described the Manila Conference as “a landmark opportunity to discuss methodological advances, explore emerging issues and learn from pioneering country experiences in this area of measurement.”
The 3-day conference gathered Tourism Ministers from Thailand, Seychelles, Fiji, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and 721 international and local delegates to develop a statistical framework to integrate sustainable tourism on a global level.
