11 May 2012: The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has announced that Thailand’s Prime Minster, Yingluck Shinawatra, has joined the Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign, a joint initiative of the UNWTO and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The initiative aims to rally support for tourism among world leaders, encouraging them to acknowledge tourism’s key role in delivering more sustained and balanced growth, and to give the sector greater priority in national policies.

Prime Minister Shinawatra’s announcement came ahead of the 24th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia, which convened from 3-5 May 2012, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The meeting was attended by senior tourism officials, who debated how to ensure the sustainability of their fast-growing tourism markets.

A High-level Regional Conference on Green Tourism took place as part of the Commissions’ meeting, to present national experiences on how, if properly planned and managed, tourism can drive sustainable socio-economic development in Asia and the Pacific. [UNWTO Press Release]