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Regional Vice-President (Asia & the Pacific), UNWTO Affiliates Board 2015- 2017

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

UNWTO’s membership includes 157 countries, 6 Associate Members and over 480 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

The Affiliate Members are companies (public or private), organizations, destinations, NGOs, educational institutions or bodies whose activities are related to tourism and which contribute to the UNWTO their knowledge and expertise to promote the development of tourism that’s responsible, sustainable and accessible for everyone.

meet us at

  • ASEAN TOURISM FORUM, MANILA

    The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) is a cooperative regional effort to promote the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as one tourist destination. This annual event involves all the tourism industry sectors of the 10 member nations of ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

  • WORLD TRAVEL MARKET, LONDON

    Staged annually in London, World Travel Market - the leading global event for the travel industry - is a vibrant must attend business-to-business event presenting a diverse range of destinations and industry sectors to UK and International travel professionals. It provides a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business.

  • UNWTO GENERAL ASSEMBLY, MEDELLIN

    The General Assembly is the supreme organ of UNWTO. Its ordinary sessions are held every two years and are attended by delegates from UNWTO Full and Associate Members, as well as representatives from UNWTO Affiliate Members. It is the most important global meeting of senior tourism officials and high-level ‎representatives of the private sector.

focal points

Eva Adamson

Latin America (Southern)

David Austin

East Europe

Natalie Barnes

Latin America (Northern)

Thomas Bishop

Southern and Eastern Africa

our key areas

  • 1.

    Asia & The Pacific

    Our base is in Asia and the Pacific region, one of the fastest tourism growth regions in the world. DISCOVERYMICE holds the position of Regional Vice President (Asia and the Pacific) in the UNWTO Board of Affiliate Members.

  • 2.

    Africa

    In many African countries, ecotourism is a major economic sector and to support the sustainable development of the industry, a series of world ecotourism conferences will be convened in Africa in the next few years.

  • 3.

    Latin America

    Latin America with its vast natural and cultural resources as well as protected lands has great potential for ecotourism. Ecotourism can help to drive socio-economic programmes in poverty stricken areas and conflict areas.

our values

In support of communities, opportunities and economies in developing countries

DISCOVERYMICE strives to be a good corporate citizen. Our corporate culture drives us to set high standards for corporate integrity and to "give back" by using our resources to achieve positive impacts. We pursue a strong "6 P's bottom lines" which we describe as Profits, People, Principles, Planet, Partnerships and Prospering. We believe that with these strong bottom lines, we stand to be sustainable, responsible and relevant in our work to develop, promote and stimulate tourism across the world.

testimonials

  • Despite the proliferation of alternative forms of communication in the tourism industry, such as e-mail, videoconferencing, and the Web, "faces & places" interaction is still a necessity. I find that conferences and meetings offer the only opportunities for tourism stakeholders and practitioners to interact in person to build friendship, alliances and partnerships to uplift tourism stakeholders and administrators in developing nations.

    Natalie Barnes, Columbia
  • For tourism dependent countries, periodic meetings and conferences are increasingly the only way to play hosts to international tourism fraternity - to showcase their country, to develop knowledge intensive professionals, to promote cooperation and collaboration as well as build international linkages with tourist generating countries. I help to organise tourism conferences and conventions that offer the continuing education, training, and opportunities to exchange ideas that are vital to developing a vibrant tourism industry.

    Thomas Bishop, South Africa