The First APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Tourism
7 July 2000, Seoul, Korea

SEOUL DECLARATION ON AN APEC TOURISM CHARTER

A Ministerial Statement of Purposes and Intent

This declaration captures the spirit of agreement and shared purpose for the development of tourism in the APEC region forged at the XIV meeting of the APEC Tourism Working Group in Manzanillo, Mexico. It reflects a collective commitment to improve the economic, cultural, social and environmental well being of APEC member economies through tourism.

Esta Declaraci帙n recoge el esp岥ritu de acuerdos y prop帙sitos comunes para el desarrollo del Turismo en la Regi帙n APEC, que se gest帙 durante la XIV Reuni帙n del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Turismo APEC en Manzanillo, Estado de Colima, M岢xico. La Declaraci帙n refleja el s帙lido compromiso colectivo para elevar - por medio del Turismo - el bienestar econ帙mico, cultural, social y medio ambiental en las econom岥as APEC.

A. Preamble

We, the Ministers responsible for tourism from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region, at our first meeting held on July 6-7, 2000, in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, have made a commitment to the following Charter for the advancement of tourism in our region.

As Ministers we recognize the significant contribution tourism makes to our respective economies and the goals of APEC. This Charter serves as a statement of Ministerial purposes and intent to further develop this contribution and acknowledge tourism as a key vehicle for achieving positive and sustainable economic, social, environmental and cultural outcomes in our region and for our respective economies.

This Charter establishes four key policy goals and an agreed process for realizing these goals by liberalizing barriers, enhancing competitiveness, capability building, promoting positive policies for the development of tourism, discouraging practices which have a negative impact on members of our economies and on the image of tourism, and identifying emerging issues impacting upon tourism.

This Charter defines a clear business plan and work program for the APEC Tourism Working Group (TWG). It is our expectation that the TWG will move quickly to implement this Charter and provide regular progress reports to future Tourism Ministerial meetings.
The policy goals and processes adopted in the Charter are consistent with the goals for free and open trade and investment established in the ‘Bogor Declaration’ and the general principles for trade liberalization and economic and technical cooperation established in the Osaka Action Agenda. The Charter also responds to the ‘Auckland Challenge’ to maintain the momentum and deliver on the commitment of APEC and takes into account the "Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC".

Issues raised for direct action pursuant to this Charter are restricted to matters within the portfolio jurisdiction of Tourism Ministers. However, in recognition of the broader impact that governments have on the development and performance of tourism, this Charter provides for the identification of issues outside the jurisdiction of Tourism Ministers that impact on tourism and to alert other relevant APEC fora to such issues for their consideration and action. In this respect, the Charter responds to the request of Economic Leaders to expand the level of co-operation and dialogue among APEC fora.

As Ministers we recognize the importance of partnership between the public and private sector to deliver tourism outcomes and achieve the purposes of this Charter. The partnership between the private and public sector is a key feature of the APEC process, as confirmed by Economic Leaders in their 1997 Vancouver Declaration.

We acknowledge and extend our appreciation to the private sector for their contribution to the development of this Charter, in particular the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). We also acknowledge and note the contributions and expectations of the private sector with regard to this Charter provided at the inaugural APEC Tourism Forum held in Hong Kong, China, on April 29, 2000.

We also acknowledge and welcome the contribution of other international multilateral organizations such as the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to the development and evolution of the Charter and its implementation.

Finally, as Ministers we task the APEC Tourism Working Group (TWG) to move quickly to implement this Charter. It is our expectation that the TWG will provide regular progress reports and make recommendations for refining the Charter at future Ministerial meetings.

B. The Contribution of Tourism

Tourism makes a significant economic contribution to the APEC region and APEC member economies. We recognize and value this contribution of tourism, in particular as:
a key source of economic demand and growth in demand;
a major employer of both women and men at all economic levels and generator of sustainable employment opportunities;
a significant earner of foreign exchange;
an important generator of business opportunity for small and medium sized enterprises;
an effective vehicle for dispersing economic benefits within and among economies, particularly at the provincial level;
an important contributor to the achievement of governments’ economic, fiscal, social and environmental goals; and
a catalyst for partnership between the public and private sectors.
In acknowledging tourism’s economic contribution we note the estimates provided by the WTTC that tourism and travel in the APEC region presently accounts for more than 100 million jobs, generates over US$2 trillion in travel and tourism-related demand and approximately US$400 billion in export earnings. We also note that the WTTC is forecasting that by 2010 employment in travel and tourism will increase by more than one quarter (more than 30 million new jobs), and export earnings will increase by almost two-thirds. Total tourism and travel demand in 2010 is expected by the WTTC to exceed US$3 trillion.

Furthermore, we note that tourism within the APEC region accounts for one-quarter of world international visitor arrivals and more than one-third of global international visitor expenditure. Of greater significance is that more than three-quarters of international visitor arrivals in the APEC region are generated by APEC economies, i.e. it is intra-regional.

The high level of intra-regional tourism and the experience of the recent Asian currency crisis has highlighted the importance of APEC’s broader goals to strengthen our respective economies and provide a stronger platform for sustainable development, economic growth and cooperation. We therefore affirm these broader goals and encourage their achievement in the interests of advancing tourism in the APEC region, and the benefits tourism delivers our economies.

We also recognize and value the many non-economic benefits that tourism provides for our respective economies, in particular:
fostering cross cultural understanding and well-being among and within APEC economies;
improving our ability to appreciate and provide an incentive and vehicle for sustainable management of our natural environment;
promoting the development and understanding of local and indigenous cultures, arts and heritage;
highlighting the need to preserve the social and cultural fabric and integrity of host communities; and
promoting world peace through the joint efforts of all APEC members in developing international cooperation in a spirit of friendship, dialogue and understanding.

C. Policy Goals

We establish the following policy goals for economies to foster the development of tourism and enhance its contribution in the APEC region.

Goal 1: Remove impediments to tourism business and investment

In particular we will seek to achieve this goal by:
promoting and facilitating the mobility of skills, training and labor;
promoting and facilitating productive investment in tourism and associated sectors;
removing regulatory impediments to tourism business and investment; and
encouraging liberalization of services trade related to tourism under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
Goal 2: Increase mobility of visitors and demand for tourism goods and services in the APEC region.

In particular we will seek to achieve this goal by:
facilitating seamless travel for visitors;
enhancing visitor experiences;
promoting inter- and intra-regional marketing opportunities and cooperation;
facilitating and promoting e-commerce for tourism business;
enhancing safety and security of visitors; and
fostering a non-discriminatory approach to the provision of visitor facilities and services
Goal 3: Sustainably manage tourism outcomes and impacts:

In particular we will seek to achieve this goal by pursuing policies that:
demonstrate an appreciation and understanding of our natural environment and seek to protect that environment;
foster ecologically sustainable development opportunities across the tourism sector, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises, employment and providing for open and sustainable tourism markets;
protect the social integrity of host communities with particular attention to the implications of gender in the management and development of tourism;
recognize, respect and preserve local and indigenous cultures together with our natural and national cultural heritage; and,
enhance capability building in the management and development of tourism.
Goal 4: Enhance recognition and understanding of tourism as a vehicle for economic and social development.

In particular we will seek to achieve this goal by:
harmonizing methodologies for key tourism statistical collections, consistent with activities of other international tourism organizations;
facilitating the exchange of information on tourism between economies;
promoting comprehensive analysis of the role of tourism in member economies in promoting sustainable growth; and,
expanding our collective knowledge base on tourism issues in order to identify emerging issues and assist implementation of the Charter.
D. Implementation and review mechanisms

We as Ministers will demonstrate our commitment to the policy goals in this Charter by developing and implementing individual and collective action plans and identifying issues for consideration by other APEC fora, consistent with APEC practices for such activity.
Individual and collective action plans will be developed by economies through the TWG and will reference three key delivery dates, as relevant to the respective economy – namely 2005, 2010 and 2020. Identification of issues for consideration by other APEC fora will be determined as deemed necessary by consensus and will be non-binding to member economies, consistent with APEC practice.
The mechanism for nomination, implementation and review of individual and collective action plans and the identification of indirect issues for consideration by other APEC fora pursuant to the policy goals agreed in this Charter will be consistent with established APEC processes and guidelines for the development, updating and reporting of Individual and Collective action plans and as prescribed in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1 may be amended and/or modified by the TWG as is deemed appropriate to further the goals and objectives of the Charter. Any such modifications will be advised to Ministers at our regular meetings.
Ministers responsible for Tourism will meet again no later than July 2002 and thereafter as agreed to review the full schedule of individual and collective action plans developed by the TWG and to review implementation and discuss any modifications to the Charter as required.
July 7, 2000, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Schedule1

Procedures for the development of IAPs and CAPs and identification of issues for consideration by other APEC Fora pursuant to the APEC Tourism Charter

Nomination Phase
Economies to nominate issues relating to policy goals agreed in the Charter to be included in collective plans for consideration by TWG (2/01)
Economies to nominate issues relating to policy goals agreed in the Charter to be included in package of issues to be referred to relevant APEC fora for consideration by TWG (2/01)
Economies to nominate individual action plans on matters relating to policy goals agreed in Charter (5/01)
Economies to have opportunity to engage other economies in bi/multilateral discussion on action plans relating to policy goals agreed in the Charter – all such approaches can be made in strict confidence and participation is on a voluntary basis (5/01).
Response Phase
Economies to confirm and update individual action plans for TWG , including action plans agreed in bi/multilateral discussions (5/02)
TWG to agree collective action plans (5/01, 5/02)
TWG to agree issues to be referred to relevant APEC fora (5/01, 5/02)
TWG to prepare comprehensive schedule of individual and collective plans and issues identified for referral together to APEC Fora (5/02)
Endorsement of Comprehensive Schedule by 2nd meeting of Tourism Ministers (7/02).
Monitoring, Research and Review Phase (post 7/02)
Economies to report annually in February:
against performance of individual and collective action plans
nominating additions to individual action plans
nominating additional issues for collective action plans and referral to other APEC fora for consideration by TWG
Delivery against actions plans to be verified annually for report to TWG in October consistent with independent verification procedures employed elsewhere by APEC.
TWG to confirm annually in May changes to individual action plans and agree additions to collective action plans and issues for referral together APEC fora..
TWG to provide for a report to be delivered annually in October on emerging issues and trends in tourism to guide consideration of individual and collective action plans and issues identified to ensure and maintain the relevance of the Charter.

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