Opening remarks by Ahmed M. Saeed, ADB Vice-President, Operations 2, at the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting, 25 September 2022
Dignitaries, delegates, colleagues, and friends, a pleasant afternoon to all of you.
Let me begin by thanking the Government of Indonesia for inviting ADB to join the Tourism Working Group and to contribute to the G20 Bali Guidelines for Strengthening Communities and Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) as Tourism Transformation Agents. ADB values the expert inputs and extensive stakeholder consultations that helped shape this document. The guidelines provide a sturdy foundation centered on people. They aim to help empower women, promote socioeconomic resilience, and enable small enterprises to attain the skills and knowledge needed to prosper post-COVID-19. The guidelines’ concrete actions can accelerate the tourism recovery and make it more inclusive and sustainable.
After a tumultuous 2-plus years of the pandemic, the global tourism industry is regaining lost ground. International tourist arrivals in the first 5 months of 2022 tripled from the same period in 2021, and are expected to reach 55%–70% of pre-pandemic levels by yearend.
The pace of recovery will ultimately depend on when travel restrictions are fully lifted and tourism confidence can be restored. Responsive multilateral cooperation in addressing heightened geopolitical risks and high fuel and travel costs will also be pivotal.
This forum presents an opportune time for the G20 stakeholders to discuss imminent policy actions that can support near-term recovery and facilitate a people-centered, environmentally responsible, and climate-sensitive tourism sector.
MSMEs comprise more than 95% of tourism businesses in many economies in our region, and as such we must gain consensus on approaches for improving the resilience of these small businesses. It is equally important to examine approaches to enhance equitable community participation in tourism undertakings. This is particularly true of groups disproportionally affected by the pandemic, such as women, youth, migrants, and informal workers. Finally, it is vital to identify specific points of cross-border cooperation to better monitor the footprint of tourist activities and promote decarbonization to align the sector’s progress with climate and environmental objectives.
ADB has proactively helped create an enabling environment for a sustainable tourism recovery. We support public and private sector efforts to develop green resilient infrastructure, catalyze private MSME investment, facilitate inclusive digital transformation, and better mobilize domestic resources to address tourism externalities. These efforts include, since 2010, 145 tourism-related projects across Asia and the Pacific, worth more than $5.4 billion. The majority of this assistance comprises financing climate-resilient transport and urban infrastructure needed to catalyze downstream private tourism services investment in secondary destinations, promoting MSMEs and skills development, and building capacity to manage tourism sustainably.
Here in Southeast Asia, ADB actively supports regional tourism cooperation to boost inclusiveness and sustainability through our lending, technical assistance, and knowledge support operations. Cumulative direct assistance totals nearly $300 million for improving road access to rural tourist attractions, upgrading water transport and border facilities, and modernizing waste management systems to help boost tourism in lagging areas and mitigate potential negative impacts. Human and institutional development initiatives support the rehabilitation of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems important for tourism, skills training and women’s entrepreneurship, tourism technology startups, and ASEAN regional tourism standards implementation. ADB recently established the Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Hub1 and the Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Facility2 to expand our support for developing tourism knowledge solutions that align with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure that through coordinated multilateral endeavors, we will overcome the challenges facing the global tourism sector. Let’s not waste a good crisis. We can use this opportunity to encourage reforms that will help align the sector with the sustainable development agenda.
I am sure that we will have very interesting and productive discussion in today’s policy forum. Thank you and good day.
1 The Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Hub is anchored in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, Urban Development and Water Division. It brings together diverse expertise from within and outside of ADB to help clients develop and finance innovative tourism projects, build destination management capacity, and provide knowledge solutions that align with ADB Strategy 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Our regional perspective, strong country presence, and partnerships enable us to deliver quality development solutions for Southeast Asia’s tourism industry.
2 The $1.725 million transaction technical assistance facility is supporting tourism project preparation, capacity building, and tourism related knowledge solutions in Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. The TA aligns with COVID-19 pandemic recovery imperatives to revive tourism, develop green and resilient urban and transport infrastructure in secondary cities, attract private investment, accelerate inclusive digital transformations, and mobilize domestic resources.