Vincenzo Schiavo is a young consultant in Brussels who reached Valencia on Thursday evening and shared his experience with Travel Tomorrow. He was supposed to head out for a road trip the following day, but instead he decided to alter his plans and help the relief efforts.

He landed around 9 pm, with only about an hour delay unrelated to the weather, which is already quite surprising considering the runway had been completely flooded and the airport itself shut down and used as a makeshift shelter.

This is his experience as a tourist in Valencia in the aftermath of the floods.

When you saw the news about the flooding, did you consider cancelling your trip? Why did you decide to still go?

I did consider cancelling and took it hour by hour, but speaking to people there I heard that the city itself was fine and mostly untouched, and the storm looked like it was dying down. Plus, I had two friends joining me there and staying at my sister’s house with me, so I couldn’t leave them on the street. Once I saw they weren’t cancelling flights anymore I figured it was good to go.

How was it travelling there? What was the flight like? How was the airport when you arrived?

The trip itself was smooth, the atmosphere at the airport was eerie but everything else was fine. The only minor issue is that the metro was and still is blocked by the floods, so you can only go towards the city with a taxi or bus.

Where did you stay and how did you get there from the airport?

I took at taxi to my sister’s place, where I am staying. The airport is quite close to the centre, so it wasn’t too expensive.

What was your initial plan for the trip and what did you do instead?

My initial plan for the trip was to stay in Valencia on the 31^st, then rent a car on the 1^st to go up to Barcelona in a 3-day mini road trip with my friend who lives there and came down to see me.

The idea was to stop in Peñiscola on the 1^st of November, Sitges on the 2^nd, Barcelona on the 3^rd, drop my friend off there and go back down to Valencia on the 4^th on my own. We skipped Peñiscola and stayed one more day in Valencia, during which we helped the relief effort in the “La Torre” area south of the city. We then went directly to Sitges, leaving the storm behind us around Tarragona. The trip was mostly smooth, it had rained a bit but nothing major. On the 3^rd we went to Barcelona as planned, again it was a fairly smooth trip, but, when we arrived, we discovered that, in the meantime, Sitges had become completely flooded. It was a bit scary if I’m honest.

I timed my departure from Barcelona on the 4^th so that I would leave around 7:30 am, when the storm was about to reform above the city and had cleared further south. Leaving the city was chaotic and very, very rainy, but the majority of the trip down was smooth. The only issue was they closed the motorway around Tarragona so I had to take other routes, which turned a 3 hour car ride into a 6 hour off-road drive along mountain paths. When I got to Valencia I saw the pictures of the aftermath near Barcelona, again it was a surreal experience.

Now I am back in Valencia with another friend, as planned. I will be staying here until the 10^th if nothing major happens.

What did it feel like to arrive in Valencia as a tourist in the aftermath of the disaster?

On Thursday I did not really notice. Shops and some restaurants had closed early and people weren’t out and about as much, but it was also a bit rainy so if you hadn’t known any better you would not have been able to understand the magnitude of what was happening just a few kilometres south. The next morning was the same, except some of the people who had gone to support the clean up early in the morning were already starting to come back, so you could spot the odd person covered in mud with a broom and a bucket.

When I really started processing what was going on was when we got the car and drove down towards the south of the city, on the 1^st of November, to try and help out. It felt like driving through a city in a zombie-apocalypse movie. Things were closed, the parts nearer the bridges connecting to the disaster zones were quiet and dirty, with cars parked all over the place. Then suddenly the odd mud-covered person became two, then three, then ten, and then you could spot a sea of people walking on the various bridges, heading south, bringing clothes, food, water, and anything that could help. I had seen videos online but seeing it in person was something else.

I don’t think the pictures and videos you see on the news give justice to what is happening, both positively and negatively, and it is important that people understand just what this city is going through, and that they need all the help they can get.

I don’t think I can ever forget what I saw.

Vincenzo Schiavo

The plan was to head to La Torre to give some clothes that my sister asked me to donate to the collection point, and then walk to Paiporta (one of the most affected areas) to see how we could make ourselves useful. We ended up staying in La Torre because clearly there was a lot to do there as well.

This was day 1 of the clean-up effort, as nobody could clean the day before due to the rain. There were cars on top of each other, houses completely destroyed, mud everywhere. There were some police officers helping coordinate the efforts, redirecting people to the clothes/food collection points, and handing out brooms and other tools. Other than that, there were people, young and old, some fully equipped, others like my friend and I just wearing trainers and shorts.

The heart of this city is incredible, make no mistake about it.

Vincenzo Schiavo

We got brooms and started cleaning up a street, until we were redirected to a side road that was the most affected in the area. I don’t think I can ever forget what I saw. We started pushing water into the clogged drains, until someone from a house asked us to help them with debris they had inside and in the garden: a wall had collapsed, so they had to clear out a lot of stuff. It was a lovely family, they were making jokes, telling us to “make ourselves at home”, and that they would invite us for beers once it would all be over.

Personally, I also didn’t realise what was happening around me, that it wasn’t just mud we were moving around, that we were completely covered in all sorts of liquids, debris, and destroyed memories. The only moment when I was truly hit by the situation we were in was when I found a picture of a child, she could not have been older than 6 or 7 years old. It was the type of portrait you take at the beginning of the school year. It was floating in the “mud”, half covered, like in a movie. I picked it up, tried to look for the kid or a relative, realised it was impossible, and propped it up against a dilapidated couch on the pavement.

What was truly incredible everywhere around us was the strong sense of community and belonging, pushing everyone forwards. People used makeshift shovels made out of cabinet doors to push more water into the drains. Someone brought food for the locals, which they offered around to the people who had come to help them. Standing knees-deep in debris inside someone’s house and having them offer you a sandwich is not an experience I can describe with words. The heart of this city is incredible, make no mistake about it.

L’article A tourist in Valencia in the aftermath of the floods est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

In this context of recovery scattered with new worries, HOTREC, the umbrella association for European hospitality, held its 87^th General Assembly in Brussels on 26 October, to discuss not only with its members, but also legislators, the state of the industry and the way forward.

Amid the General Assembly, Travel Tomorrow spoke with the association’s president, Alexandros Vassilikos.

What has the General Assembly revealed so far about the current state and future of the hospitality industry?

From what our members have told us, the worries in all countries are pretty much the same, and the issues. At different levels for different countries, because of the different types of hospitality in each country, but the problems are the same and the challenges are the same.

At the end of the day, it’s a circumstance where things apparently go well because we’re in a good year, still a rebound year from Covid, but everybody’s worried. This is the difficulty that my colleagues face with local governments – when you discuss with them about the problems, everybody says ‘but you’re doing great, why discuss anything?’.

In light of the past summer’s record breaking temperatures and the biggest wildfires ever recorded in the EU, a recent study from the European Commission predicts a shift in European tourism from south to north. At the same time, the existence of more than half of Europe’s ski resorts is threatened by climate change. How will these changes affect the hospitality industry?

It is undeniable that we start seeing the consequences of climate change, but it is still very early to predict anything, from my point of view. I think that we see different trends. We could look at it geographically, but we could also look at it seasonally. We have seen shocking things this season all around the Mediterranean, all around Europe. We saw wildfires in the summer, we saw floods all over Europe, and not in a particular slot of time, but all around the year. As we see that climate change is affecting all the countries, the model of seasonality will definitely be affected – with the rise of temperatures, you might have summer destinations that will be too hot to visit in some periods. But, on the other hand, the rise of temperatures makes ski destinations try and find new models of working, maybe off season, not in the winter but maybe in the summer. This is a trend that already exists.

While it is very difficult to predict where the industry is heading and when it’s going to get there, the one thing that I am very confident of is that our sector has proven that it can adapt. This is the main thing that we need to bear in mind today. We showed it during Covid and after Covid. Covid is a crisis that nobody saw coming, a scenario that was not written anywhere, during which we saw not only the strong will of people to continue to travel, but also the strong capability of the sector to adapt. This makes me very confident for the future. Because we have proven our possibility to adapt and our capability of adapting, so we will adapt.

But this is not a matter only of professionals. This is a matter of states. This is a matter of regions. This is a matter of Europe. And we all need to work together in order to find the models for the transition, first of all, to do what we are required to do as businesses in terms of green and digital transitions. But, on the other hand, what needs to be done for us? It’s a two-way street and it is very clear that it is not something that is dependant only on hotels and restaurants. It is something that is for the whole ecosystem that needs to keep the equilibrium between all the players involved in the hospitality scheme.

In the context of climate change it might be harder for SMEs to adapt and implement measures to become sustainable than larger chains that have bigger budgets. On the other hand, consumers are increasingly looking for more authentic, local experiences. Do you think the occupancy ratio between larger chains and smaller businesses will be changing in the future?

No, I don’t think it’s a competition of size. I think there are clients for everyone and we clearly see, both from the offer and from the demand side, different choices made for different groups of clients.

However, I do see the need to offer assistance to SMEs who, like you said, have maybe a smaller access to information or funds in order to achieve what is demanded from them in terms of transition. This is the role of national organisations representing hotels and restaurants and this is the role of HOTREC in Europe – to address these issues for the SMEs and create a pathway for them to have a clear way forward into how they will achieve being here the next day.

Yes, we have different capabilities and possibilities because of size, but, on the other hand, it is much easier for a family to decide on how they will run their small, 12-room hotel on a small island, take decisions and implement them from day one, than for an organisation that has thousands or tens of thousands of employees. So there are pros and cons in both sides and it is our job as a national representatives and as European representatives to give the possibility to small companies to also have access to funding for all these transitions that are on the table today and that they need to achieve in order to remain competitive.

It’s a matter of ecosystem, like I said before, everybody is involved in this. We need to find the equilibriums in order not to leave anybody behind. For me, there is no scenario where you will only have one type of hotel or one kind of tourism. There is space and there is demand for many types of tourism and many types of hospitality providers. The smaller restaurants, the family-owned hotels are the gatekeepers of European hospitality, they represent the European hospitality at its core, so I definitely believe that there will be space for them, maybe even growth in space for them, as people look for more genuine experiences today more than any other time.

Following the recent blocking of the Booking – eTraveli merger by the European Commission, HOTREC said in a statement that “European hoteliers are faced daily with the unfair behaviour of powerful OTAs”. What impact do online travel agencies (OTAs) have on the hospitality industry, especially SMEs?

It is very important to keep a level playing field. The evolution of the sales model in the tourism industry has been evolving very fast, making it quite difficult for SMEs to follow. We have to deal with huge companies that work with algorithms that nobody knows, nobody understands, and we need to be here and make sure that this sales model doesn’t hurt the small companies and gives equal opportunities for everybody to appear in search engines, to be ranked, to have reviews and so on. This needs to be done in a very transparent way, because the big groups have the possibility of investigating how the algorithms work, while a small hotel in a small village in France or small a small restaurant has much more limited capabilities.

It is the job of HOTREC and national organisation to protect small businesses, but mainly the work needs to be done by the EU institutions – in the same way that they protect consumers, they also need to protect small businesses and ensure a transparent way of working on the market that will not allow prevailing positions to hurt small businesses.

Speaking about these algorithms that we don’t fully understand, and considering that Booking, Tripadvisor, Expedia have recently launched AI-powered travel planners, what role do you think AI is going to play in the future of the hospitality industry?

We clearly see that there needs to be a change in generation in small businesses in order to get acquainted with technology – there are first or second generation hoteliers and restauranteurs very reluctant to technology, but when the generation after them arrives, they are much more easily approachable and they understand technology and they go for it.

At the same time, we have done some research already at HOTREC level. I would say yesterday and today, AI in hotels is limited to a few of the many services we offer, mainly reservations, sales, search engines, everything that happens before the booking.

If we take a step back and look at the big picture, it is clear to me that for quite a few years to come, again I don’t want to predict the future, but for quite a few years to come the vast majority of jobs in in hotels and restaurant will be protected from AI. I often use the example of a hotel in Japan, might have been 20 years ago, that opened with robots instead of receptionists and was a huge thing. It was full all the time, people would want to go and have this experience. But after a few years of operations, they fired the robots to get humans at the reception. Because at the end of the day, when you travel somewhere, you want the experience, you want the contact with locals, you want to speak to someone and when you go to the bar to have a drink, you want the bartender to be there and not a robot to pour drinks in a glass and leave it on the bar.

So, if we take a step back and look at the big picture, I think that the jobs in hospitality are here to stay. They offer personal contact, they offer experience, and this is something that will be very difficult to replace, or at least I hope I won’t live to see the time where we will replace humans by robots in terms of contact.

That being said, there are many smaller divisions of our work today, like online sales and reservations, where AI might be much more present than in other sectors. And this connects to what were discussing before on how this affects small companies. Do they understand why they are rented here or there and the algorithms behind it and how all these works? But this is still a very small percentage of the jobs in in the hotel and restaurant industry. Someone will need to cook the food, someone will need to serve it, someone will need to make the beds. All these being done in a human way adds to the European way of life and to the concrete product and experience that we are here to protect.

Technology is here undeniably and it will affect the way we do business, but hospitality has a human factor that you cannot take away, otherwise it’s not hospitality anymore. The jobs in the hospitality industry will evolve, but they will remain.

How is the increasing popularity of short-term rentals (STRs) affecting the hospitality sector and overall tourism industry?

Short-term rentals are not new anymore, they have been here for more than a decade, many destinations now have more beds in STRs than in hotels. They undeniably present a very disruptive model for the hospitality industry, that has pros and cons. The professionals of hospitality have already had a very mature view on STRs – we’re not asking for them to be banned, we’re very conscious that this is something that is here and it’s here to stay, but it needs to be regulated. It’s absolutely necessary that the consumer has the same rights, hence, the provider of the bed has the same obligations in terms of security, in terms of fire escapes, in terms of pest control. All these are rights of the consumer and there is no argument against the fact that regulation needs to be horizontal.

On another side, we need to look at local societies. I won’t say it’s a growing phenomenon in a positive way, but within the last months we’ve seen more cities reduce or ban STRs because they see that they are changing the model of the city, they are punishing many social categories that cannot find housing. This is a second point of view, where you start to have more of a social problem. Moreover, as it was discussed today, there are a few regions in Europe where we talk about overtourism. It is no secret that if you deep dive into the data, you will see that overtourism has occurred over the last decade with the rise of STRs. There is no way to go into a city or an island or anywhere and suddenly say, I will build a thousand hotels and not get a reaction from local societies. Nobody will allow them. The laws do not allow it today. Nobody will allow a thousand hotels to be built. But, on the other hand, this is what has happened, not in terms of hotels, but in terms of houses that left the housing market and became part of the hospitality scheme.

So yes, STRs should exist, they are welcome to exist, but they need to be regulated. First of all, like hotels for the consumer, but second of all, all the local societies need to decide at what level they want them and how they are going to affect the rest of the society locally.

A recent research showed that opting for accommodations like AirBnbs no longer brings the financial advantages for consumers that they did at the emergence of the platform. Considering this and the uncertain conditions that guests might encounter when arriving at these accommodations, since they are not as strictly regulated as hotels, what do you think the future of these platforms is?

I think it depends on the destinations. Pricing is something that is very dynamic. Usually, in terms of competition, what I see in different local markets is that traditionally STR does put itself a bit cheaper than hotels, thus getting the local business. Behind this there is a financial mechanism where hotels have a lot of existing costs that are fixed, but you could have an STR that has zero fixed cost. For a hotel, the costs are much different in terms of employment – even if I have only one occupied room in a hundred-room hotel, I still need three receptionists in a day to cover three shifts. The same goes for housekeeping, the same goes for the kitchen, etc. So it is a very different model and it has been an entry point on the market for STR to be competitive towards hotels, in terms of cost.

We have seen, of course, a very big rise in the in the selling prices of STRs, but I think that the market will decide at the end which one gives the service and what kind of accommodation anyone wants to choose. And again, it’s an open market and it’s logical to have different propositions. A house is different than a hotel room and there are clients for both. But again, for me, we are past the competition level.

Restauranteurs, as members of HOTREC together with hoteliers, are very happy to have more clients because of STRs in some regions. But they’re also very conscious that if the region goes into overtourism mode and explodes, at the end nobody will have any business. So it is very mature to make sure that you keep the market at the level it should be and not try to push it too much, because if it goes wrong, it will go wrong for the whole market and after that there won’t be any distinction between this accommodation or that accommodation.

Lastly, what is the most important legislation that European hospitality needs from EU institutions in the near future?

I think that what is mostly needed is to reduce reaction time. The market is very dynamic and what is needed will not be in terms of which law do we want, but in terms of when we want the law. When something happens, we want a much faster reactiveness. I am perfectly aware of the of the difficulty at the European level to achieve this, but this is the most important thing because we see the speed with which things evolve.

We were talking about generations before. I’m sure that every generation speaks in the same way about the previous and the next generation and I can remember my parents and my grandparents talking about their children and comparing how things were. Differences between generations will always exist. But the difference of our time is not the fact that there is a difference between generations. The characteristic of our time is that the speed of change is much faster and within one generation the changes that happen are much more significant and disruptive. I always say that the there is no disruption anymore, disruption is the new evolution. Evolution is linear, disruption is self-explanatory, disruption disrupts the way that things work. So if you don’t have the legal system to follow in speed this constant disruption, then you are left behind, which will be at the cost of SMEs because they will not have the possibility to privately invest how to deal with all this change and disruption.

L’article “We have proven our capability of adapting, so we will adapt,” says European hospitality chief est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

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Lisbon is a literary city. It has a long cultural history and a thriving young literary scene. What better place for writers to come and find inspiration in the cafes of Baixa, Alfama and Bairro Alto, to take respite in one of its many miradouros, its unique and longstanding bookshops. The DISQUIET International Literary Program was created by a group of North American writers with ties to Portugal. Running for more than ten years, the program takes its inspiration from Fernando Pessoa’s masterpiece The Book of Disquiet; from Lisbon; and from the late Portuguese poet Alberto de Lacerda, who believed above all in the importance of literary community.

Jeff Parker is the Co-Founder and Director of the DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal, and the editor of the DISQUIET imprint of Dzanc Books. He is the author of the novel Ovenman and the story collection The Taste of Penny. His writing has appeared in American Short Fiction, the Best American Nonrequired Reading, Ploughshares, Tin House, and others. He co-edited two anthologies of contemporary Russian prose, Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia and Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States. He teaches in the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

He spoke with Travel Tomorrow about DISQUIET and the Luso diaspora in the US, the challenges faced during the pandemic, literature and finding one’s voice, the balance between literary tourism and sustainability, and more.

1. Why Lisbon and what is the connection between Disquiet and the work/life of Fernando Pessoa?

Lisbon is a writers’ city and for better and worse, Pessoa has become its mascot. But wandering the labyrinthine pathways of Lisbon the city is not unlike wandering the labyrinthine pathways of The Book of Disquiet. And I think that Pessoa is a very important writer for apprentice writers, particularly those put upon by the need to find Their Voice. As the experimental life that Pessoa lived shows us, sometimes the truest way to be and the truest way to write is to find a way to embrace the fact that we are all many voices, a polyphony of individuals sometimes in concert but more often in conflict with ourselves.

2. What role do the CNC, FLAD and other Portuguese partners play in the success of the program?

We’re fortunate to have a number of partners and sponsors on the Portuguese side, which is absolutely essential. The Centro Nacional de Cultura gets us into the most interesting venues–literary, artistic, and cultural spaces around the city–and help us connect with the lively scene of contemporary writers active in Portugal and beyond. FLAD is the original supporter of our Writing the Luso/a Experience Workshop, which is absolutely unique in the world. We’ve partnered with many other Portuguese organizations over the years in our attempts to thread the DISQUIET program tightly into the literary and cultural activity of Lisbon.

3. How did Disquiet International fare during the pandemic? Was the possibility of moving to an online program ever considered?

The in-person Lisbon program was cancelled for 2020 and 2021, which was sad but necessary. Fortunately we had a donor who was able to keep us alive during that period of time when we couldn’t operate. Going online wasn’t really an option for us since essential to our mission is active, in-person cultural engagement and the disquieting experience of removing someone from the day-to-day of their regular lives. Incidentally all of us were pretty disquieted during the whole pandemic and oddly removed from the day-to-day of our regular lives by having our regular lives completely upturned, rendering, I suppose, our project temporarily irrelevant. We did do some online programming, fantastic craft talks with past Disquiet faculty that were very successful, and maybe we’ll do more of those down the line.

4. Can you tell us what the Luso Experience is? How has Disquiet helped develop the cultural relationship between the US and Luso countries?

I think it’s safe to say that Luso-American literature wasn’t mush recognized as a diasporic literary community. But the Writing the Luso/a Experience Workshop has changed that significantly, and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of about our program. Well over 100 writers have gone through that workshop now and, as Luis Goncalvez has written, he now sees two eras in Luso-American Literature, before DISQUIET and after DISQUIET. That said I don’t know if it has helped develop the cultural relationship between the US and Luso countries, but it has created a sense of community among a group of disparate writers who share a connection to the Lusophone world and such a thing can be very important.

5. Any success stories you could share of Luso authors being discovered by American editors thanks to the program?

I wouldn’t single any one success out over another. But alumni of that workshop have published books and anthologies and articles in all the very best places. Again, that’s great but it’s not the point of the workshop. The point is to bring writers from the common Lusophone background together to realize the strengths of being part of such a community.

6. A number of alumni come back as instructors. How does Disquiet foster the sense of community over time?

It’s one of our favorite things to do, to be able to invite someone who attended DISQUIET and has gone onto some success back as an instructor. We have so few spots every year and so many accomplished alumni it’s impossible to bring everyone back but hopefully in the long term we’ll get to many more. It is really great for the whole project when someone sitting at the front of the room has once been in the chairs of the participants and can bring that to their workshop approach. It also gives folks hope, which is in too short of supply these days.

7. In terms of sustainability, how do you see the program evolving in the future? What discussions are being held at Disquiet in terms of the impact such programs have on the environment (number of flights, plastic bottles, etc)?

These are real and important concerns to be sure. We were reminded of the global in global climate change this year when the forest-fire smoke from Canada clouded Lisbon across the ocean! Like everyone who wishes to curate ethical programming of any type, we’re having those conversations. The answers aren’t always so easy. We try and do the little things–instruct folks to bring portable water bottles and glass containers for grocery-store bought food and remind people to be conscientious about recycling. Connected to these issues are concerns about how to be good tourists in the 21^st Century. There’s certainly more we can do in terms of sustainability and we welcome the conversation.

8. Three lessons you have learned from running the program all these years

1. Faculty must be interesting writers and also exceptional teachers of writing – this combination is rarer than you’d think.
2. In terms of footwear on the cobblestones you want flats or wedges – no heels!
3. Paraphrasing Pessoa, each of us individually are nothing, but within us we have all the dreams of the world!

L’article Lisbon hosts writers from across the world at Disquiet Literary Program est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

After the presentation and initial discussion, we sat down with them at the premises of the European Parliament.

You mentioned in your presentation that talks to modernize the Customs Union started in 2014, but no progress has actually been made. What are the challenges that have impeded this process?

Dr Markus Christian Slevogt, President of the German-Turkish Chamber of Industry and Commerce: The challenges are primarily related to political agendas. The pure economic topic of the customs union has been used in the political discussion, therefore, despite different attempts that have happened over the course of the last couple of years, since 2014, they were always somewhat pushed back in the context of the political perception of Türkiye. The understanding of the customs union is driven more by the respective countries’ political agendas rather than the economic needs that we, as business representatives, are seeing.

One of the first things you mentioned today was the fact that the Italian chamber of commerce in Türkiye was founded over 137 years ago and has survived through many challenges. How has the Customs Union benefitted Italy over the years?

Livio Manzini, President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul: This is a good question because the trend in bilateral trade and investment has been positive basically since the foundation. Italy is now the second largest EU trading partner of Türkiye and the fifth largest overall. Clearly the customs union has had a role in reaching that level.

The customs union has not only liberalised trade, but also created an environment where additional investment has been possible and a lot of Italian companies have invested in Türkiye. Italy has traditionally been a manufacturing country, it is the second largest manufacturing country of the EU, after Germany, and this manufacturing tradition has also translated into manufacturing investment in Türkiye in several sectors.

The good thing about the Turkish economy is that it is a diversified economy. Sometimes I’m being asked, ok, but which sector are they investing in and it’s difficult to answer because you have automotive, you have machines, you have quite a lot of sectors and I think the customs union has allowed this multi sectoral development to occur.

How do you think the modernization of the customs union will further enhance the already strong relations between the two countries?

Livio Manzini: The study that we commissioned from all the bilateral chambers of commerce has clearly shown that this modernization is a win-win situation. It will create lots of jobs and have an impact on the GDP of both countries.

As far as the specific bilateral trade of Italy and Türkiye is concerned, last year, post-covid, we were at a record high of 23 billion USD. Our calculations are that we can reach 30 billion USD within 5 years. And these calculations were before we reached the 23 billion, so we think we will reach a 50% increase. You can imagine what that means in terms of additional GDP points, additional job creations. I think these calculations are even on the conservative side.

Earlier you used the metaphor of Türkiye being a train that the EU could be missing, the US and UK having already got onboard. And Dr Slevogt said that Türkiye is an undervalued asset and to take advantage of an undervalued asset you need to be early and ant cyclical. So my question is, what repercussions could the EU face if it does not get on this train in time?

Dr Markus Christian Slevogt: If you are referring to what I said in our previous meeting, there’s always a specific timing for being invested and getting invested and in this particular case we need to start the negotiations and discussions about the customs union now. Because this is the catalyst and the communications channel for the European Union vis-à-vis Türkiye which will lead to a spill-over effect in terms of technology and so many other areas that will help enhance the economic relationship and to make sure that the asset that is still undervalued will be then harvested as an investment opportunity.

When looking at the bigger picture, you have two giants, on one side, the United States, on the other side, China, and they are not necessarily the biggest fans of the European Union. They are always pretending to be the biggest fans, they are taking advantage where they can, but, in the end, we have to get our act together to ensure that, on a strategic level, we are able to resist the pressure that will further come from both sides. One major important corner stone that will help us mount this challenge is to bring Türkiye closer to the European Union.

Livio Manzini: I think the EU is late. We talk about timing, is it the right time? It’s past the right time. We should have already started. Why is it past the right time? Because other players, as Markus said, the US in particular, which defends its own interest, has already spotted the potential in Türkiye and is actively trying to develop it. The UK, right after Brexit, has signed a comprehensive trade agreement, the first trade agreement they were signing after Brexit, and from many points of view it is a more comprehensive one than the one the EU has.

So yes, the train is leaving and it is a fallacy to think that you can join it at any time. Because the infrastructure, the volumes, the production capacities are not infinite. They need time to be built and therefore if you think you can re-join at any time at no cost is also a fallacy. Some capacities are being blocked for other players and therefore I would say the EU is already late and it should really get its act together very soon. It will be a lot more expensive and more timely to get on the train late.

Dr Markus Christian Slevogt: And then the asset has already appreciated and is not an investment opportunity anymore. Timing is key.

What do you think the most pressing aspects of the customs union that need to be modernized are?

Nevzat Tuğrul Şeremet, President of the Belgian/Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Türkiye: The modernization of the customs union is a process, it is not something that can be done from day to day, it would take at least 3 years to finalize. We’ve had a lot of time wasting, for example, in agriculture, the services sector, so these topics should be added to the new updated version. On the other hand, we really see that the benefit of Türkiye as an EU trade partner has grown thanks to that agreement and we see no reason behind not starting the talks for a new version. It’s all straightforward.

You mentioned earlier that the customs union the application for European Union Membership should be treated as completely separate issues. However, the customs union was started 25 years ago in the context of Türkiye joining the EU. Although now they are separate issues, do you think the modernization of the customs union will affect Türkiye’s adherence to the EU?

Franck Mereyde, President of the French Chamber of Commerce in Istanbul:  I think this agreement was not updated for the last 25 years exactly because of this. We must keep the issues separate. The EU has many customs agreements with countries around the world not linked to EU integration.

A customs union is something else which is moving fast, at the speed of the needs of the people, businesses and services. All the companies have updated their strategies to include more services, more digitalisation, more sustainability and environmental concerns. This customs union agreement should include this and move at the same speed, like how EU with third parties or Türkiye with third parties have updated their agreements. That’s why we need this improvement as soon as possible and not to be linked with EU adhesion.

Lastly, what effect do you think this event here in Brussels will have on the process of modernizing the customs union?

Nevzat Tuğrul Şeremet: I think it will be a heads up. As the presidents of the bilateral chambers of commerce we are always in business and I think our presence here today has drawn enough attention about this topic other than the usual discussion about politics.

Franck Mereyde: Through this initiative we want to show that it is not only the view of Türkiye, but the view of all the EU countries doing business with Türkiye. Both sides need this improvement.

If I talk just about French companies, we have more than 130,000 people in Türkiye working for French and French-Turkish companies. If we extend to all the EU consortium working with Türkiye, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people.

This also creates more connectivity, a more common mindset, a more joint cultural approach to work together on innovation, carbon impact, digitalisation, women’s rights and so on. All these parts of the customs union agreement are a way to bring people closer. We set a great ecosystem which makes us more competitive. By us I mean the EU, including Türkiye, against big competitors like China and the US.

L’article Manzini: “The EU should have already renewed its trading and investment relationship with Türkiye” est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

What achievements would you say have been made between Kazakhstan and Belgium over these 30 years of cooperation?

Today marks exactly 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Belgium, and on this day I have the honor to represent my country in this beautiful country with the wonderful people.

In these three decades, Kazakhstan and Belgium have been able to reach to high achievements in building a partnership based on trust, mutual respect and common goals. Today, Belgium is an important partner of Kazakhstan in the European Union, and our country is Belgium’s main trading partner in Central Asia.

The strong Kazakh-Belgian political relations have created a favorable ground for the realization of the potential of trade and economic relations and investment cooperation between the countries. In 2021, the volume of mutual trade was US$419.7 million. In 2021, the volume of mutual trade amounted to $419.7 million, including $263.9 million of exports from Kazakhstan to Belgium and US$155.7 million of imports to Kazakhstanfrom Belgium. Gross inflows of direct investment from Belgium to Kazakhstan in 2021 amounted to US$1.069 billion. As a whole, for 30 years of diplomatic relations Belgium has firmly fixed among the largest investors on the Kazakhstan market. 

Today, there are more than 70 enterprises with participation of Belgian companies in Kazakhstan. The largest of them are: Solvay Chemicals International SA., Sarens Group (oil and gas infrastructure), Evolion (alternative energy sources), Induss (water treatment systems).

You were appointed Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belgium in April 2021. What are your tasks and what are your priorities?

Simply put, the function of ambassadors is to build bridges between countries. The previous ambassadors of my country have laid a solid foundation for cooperation and built many bridges in various fields. My current task is to expand these bridges and open new ones.

My priorities are cooperation in agriculture, peaceful use of the atom, logistics, and educational and cultural diplomacy.

Among other issues, we are working on joint projects in the digitalization of the transport infrastructure and related services, as well as makethe cutting-edgetechnologies more accessible to treat cancer in Kazakhstan, both areas where Belgian companies have strong competences.

We have already made good strides in the field of trade in agricultural commodities. For example, Belgian producers already receive high-quality lean seeds from Kazakhstan while we are also advancing on the issue of introducing the Belgian White Blue, the famous breed of bulls, on Kazakh pastures.

I believe more can be done to encourage academic exchanges between the leading universities of our two countries. This would help further expand direct people-to-people contacts involving Kazakhs and Belgians, which is an ultimate goal of any diplomatic mission.

What would you tell our readers about tourism and the tourism potential of your country?

First, I would like people of our countries to have more opportunities to travel to each other. In Kazakhstan, there is a great interest in Belgium, the country that gave the world chocolate, waffles, saxophone, the Smurfs, interesting comics culture and many other things. 

In turn, Kazakhstan also has a lot to offer to Belgian tourists. As you probably know, my country is the birthplace of apples, which has been proven by scientists from Great Britain. There are also wild tulips growing here, which were exported to Turkey and then to the Netherlands. Thus, we believe that Kazakhstan is the home of tulips as well. On the territory of modern Kazakhstan, the first known domestication of the horse took place, which made a significant contribution to the development of world civilization. To this day the horse is treasured by Kazakhs and has an important place in the life and culture of our people.

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Probably, our majestic mountains, which reach more than 7000 m high, and beautiful lakes, the beauty of which captivates imagination and gives a sea of positive emotions to people, will be of interest for the Belgian tourists. Kazakhstan is also known as a “mecca” for ornithologists or birdwatchers.

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By the way, there is a state reserve in Central Kazakhstan, part of the UNESCO’s world natural heritage list, which is the northernmost point of pink flamingo migration.

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The best time to visit the country is May-October. In winter, Kazakhstan can also offer good slopes for fans of alpine skiing and snowboarding. There are multiple ways of reaching our country, for example via Paris, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Istanbul and other European cities.

As the saying goes, it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Therefore, I invite all Belgians to visit Kazakhstan, the country of the Great Steppe, located in the heart of Eurasia. By the way, I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of your readers to visit our Embassy on September 17 and 18 for an open door days that is hosted jointly with Brussels mayor’s office. There it will be possible to taste national Kazakh dishes/snacks, take a look at some parts of a yurt and its furnishings, try on national Kazakh costumes, and receive as a gift a book of the most famous Kazakh poet and thinker Abay Kunanbaiuly in French and Dutch.

L’article Ambassador Baimukhan: “Kazakhstan has a lot to offer to Belgian tourists” est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

It’s easy to see why Leite chose to meet here. Horses, especially the region’s handsome Lusitano breed are one of his passions. The other? Promoting the region and shining a light on its offering of architecture, landscape, history, viniculture and gastronomy.

So with so much to choose from, what does Leite advise visitors to put on their Santarém bucket list?

We are the capital of Ribatejo, a big agricultural area, and so the horse is close to our heart.

João Leite, City Councillor of Santarém

1. Experience Santarém’s food scene

Santarém’s Gastronomy Festival was the first national food festival of its type and has been going for 40 years. It’s considered one of the top 10 European gastronomic festivals in Europe. Many credit it with what’s happening now in the city: up-and-coming chefs making a name for their restaurants. Chef Rodrigo Castelo works with local producers to bring forgotten regional ingredients back to the table. Fusion food reigns at Patio da Graca, while O Varga spotlights wines from all over the region and the country.

Leite, whose parents run a restaurant in the city, notes that a great food scene has become something tourists really look for in a destination and so the city’s festival and exciting restaurant culture are a big draw. He describes his ambition for Santarém “to continue to be a place of gastronomic encounters – where excellent food from across the country and beyond shares a platform with local produce. And to make it into the top 10 festivals!”

2. Go horse-riding

“We are the capital of Ribatejo, a big agricultural area, and so the horse is close to our heart,” says Leite as we explore Quinta las Rolas and are greeted by some of the magnificent horses there. “Most of us feel comfortable around horses, having grown up around them and they are an important part of our farming traditions. People who love horses, experienced riders, or anyone curious about horse-riding should all find great experiences on offer in the region.”

3. Escape into the country

Before Covid times, Lisbon was starting to have problems with crowds and visitor numbers, like they have in Barcelona and Venice. Visitors can still benefit from Lisbon airport’s proximity, but by coming to Santarém they can have a city break and get out into the Portuguese countryside to breathe and relax. There’s a wonderful range of quintas and farm stays to choose from nearby.

4. Take a historical or architectural tour of the city

Santarém’s city centre can be easily discovered on foot, as Leite suggest. Its historic centre is jewelled with a rich religious heritage, traditional azulejo tiles, and Roman and Moorish vestiges. Much of the city is “listed” which makes renovations a challenge, but in some ways the sense of a city-in-waiting adds to the atmosphere.

5. Take part of Santarém home with you

Leite sums up with a blueprint for Santarém visitors. He envisages “families visiting Santarém and the Ribatejo to enjoy our great gastronomy, taking a tour with a traditional horse and carriage, seeing the historical centre and monuments, and getting to know the landscape and our heritage, our Ribatejo way of life.”

And before you leave, you should treat yourself one last time. Ribatejo wines are some of the best in the country and make a wonderful souvenir of your trip. Vineyards stripe the rolling hillsides around Santarém and vineyards such as Quinta da Ribeirinha and Quinta da Arrobe will be happy to welcome you. Alternatively taste the sunshine with a bottle of local organic olive oil. Or even some pastries, like the legendary Celeste cakes from Bijou.

L’article João Leite: “Santarém should be on any traveller’s bucket list” est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Will travel ever be the same? Many airlines struggled over the holiday period because several crew members had been infected. How about concerts and large events? The hospitality sector has braved two very challenging years full of constant changes in safety measures, reduction of personnel, the pressure of renewing itself to become more sustainable. At this time many ask a fundamental question: How to stay afloat, both mentally and financially, in these turbulent times?

Marie Audren was born in France and has lived in Brussels for a number of years. With extensive experience in EU public affairs, she served as Deputy Director General of spiritsEUROPE, the European association representing spirits producers. She has also worked as an adviser in the EU office of the French business federation, MEDEF. Since August 2020, Marie Audren is the Director General at HOTREC.

At the start of the new year, Ms. Audren speaks with Travel Tomorrow about the challenges the hospitality sector in Europe has been facing, the measures that are being taken, opportunities for employees to learn and grow, new digital tools, the outlook for 2022, and more.

In early December, HOTREC members gathered in Lyon for the 83rd General Assembly. They expressed concerns in view of potential further closures. What actions is HOTREC taking to help businesses navigate these turbulent times?

HOTREC and its members have been working relentlessly to support the European tourism and hospitality industry since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the occasion of our 83^rd General Assembly in Lyon last month, our members voiced their concerns over the worsened epidemiological situation. They agreed on the importance of further promoting ad hoc measures and actions to help save millions of businesses and workers. Said measures include offering businesses in the sector lower VAT rates and help viable companies avoid insolvencies by granting them access to capital and financing and extending loans reimbursement.

Coordination and cooperation at the EU level is essential. In this regard, we joined forces with industry partners multiple times over the last months to strengthen our common positions and asks.

Our extensive efforts to maintain a daily dialogue with the European Institutions and communicate the importance of prolonging support measures for as long as necessary also brought us some meaningful achievements last year and have been a central part of our efforts since the beginning of the crisis. In 2022, we will continue doing our best to make the voice and needs of our industry heard.

Between 2019’s Q3 and 2020’s Q3, there was a 10% drop of employment in the hospitality sector (an estimate of 1.5 million fewer jobs). How is HOTREC #TogetherForHospitality campaign trying to address this drop?

We launched our #TogetherForHospitality campaign at the beginning of April 2021 to raise the policy-makers awareness of the hardship that businesses and workers in our sector are experiencing due to Covid-19 and share what measures could help our industry survive and bounce back even better.

The ongoing staffing crisis is one of the most alarming issues that hospitality is confronting today. Through #TogetherForHospitality, we tried to step up our commitment to promoting the sector image. Our goal is to communicate that hospitality can be a career of choice and that tackling the lack of qualified personnel can strongly contribute to recovery.

European hospitality is an exciting, transversal and diverse industry. The sector can be an ideal entry door to the job market and offer precious opportunities for professional growth.

Now more than ever, hospitality establishments need a skilled workforce qualified to face the digital and green transition. Achieving this ambitious goal will require, among other things, offering a more dynamized promotion of career development, encouraging apprenticeships at the national level, and adapting education and training systems to the new technological changes and society demands. Relaunching the European Hospitality Skills Passport – an online tool that matches the sector employers with employees from across the EU looking for a job – could also significantly contribute to fighting the staffing crisis.

Within #TogetherForHospitality, HOTREC points out the importance of up-skilling and re-skilling of employees. Could you elaborate on this? How it could be done and what would be the impact of taking these actions?

We count on the Recovery and Resilience Facility to deploy the thousands of training that the sector needs to upskill and reskill its workforce.

About 30% of the hospitality personnel is usually low-skilled, thus meaning that employees in the sector need to develop a necessary set of skills to perform well in the workplace. At the same time, if we want to achieve a better quality of services, basic training will not suffice. Further improving the current staff skills will also be crucial.

What is clear so far is that hospitality businesses cannot deal with this colossal task alone. 90% of these companies are micro-enterprises, ill-equipped to tackle this issue without proper guidance, resources and funding. We, therefore, count on the Member States to develop joint public and private partnerships at the national level to offer the most needed training.

How does food sustainability play a role in HOTREC’s mission? Do you have launched some actions in regard to food waste for instance?

Promoting food sustainability in European hospitality is of the utmost importance for HOTREC, and we strongly encourage industry action in this field in line with the European Green Deal. 

HOTREC has actively engaged in food waste prevention for years. In 2018, we issued guidelines to reduce food waste and recommendations to manage food donations in hospitality businesses. We also did our best to join the conversation on this relevant issue at the European level: today, we are active members of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste and co-rapporteurs of the EU Recommendations for action in food waste prevention.

Our members’ support has been – and will continue to be – crucial in achieving our goals and remaining updated on the latest developments at the national level. We always encourage them to implement related measures in their countries and report on actions taken and best practices.

What is the importance of food and diet in the European hospitality sector? What’s HOTREC’s role in steering the policy behind these two points?

Consumers must have access to safe, healthy, high-quality and affordable food. The challenge is how to ensure that these needs are met for optimal health and well-being while protecting the environment and ensuring that the sector can develop its full growth potential, provide new jobs, and remain competitive in the global marketplace.

Being part of a sustainable food system – with affordable and high-quality food choices and decreased food and general waste as part of the day-to-day business – is the best option for the European hospitality industry.

This ambitious goal will require hospitality to promote informed consumer choices. Moreover, innovative measures will need to address any potential negative impact on the environment and climate change – including sustainability concerns linked to social, environmental, and economic change.

Recent surveys such as the FOOD barometer have revealed that new digital sales channels have given employees the possibility to continue ordering food from their favourite restaurants during the crisis. How are digital tools offering value and added flexibility to users? How such tools have constituted an alternative for restaurants during the lockdown period and with which impact?

During the pandemic – for some months and in some countries – most restaurants continued working thanks to food delivery or takeaway. From this point of view, the new digital sales proved to be very helpful.

Nevertheless, fees paid by the restaurants should not be too high. Otherwise, the final product sold to the consumer might become too expensive for this option to be affordable for businesses.

For this reason, we will work with the Council and the European Parliament in trying to make the Commission proposal for a Directive on platform work an instrument that serves the purposes of protecting workers, respects the willingness of the self-employed with regard to their status and does not heavily impact our sector in terms of mandatory social contributions.

Certain initiatives have been launched to try offer a boost to the hospitality sector in these difficult times. Some examples include programmes around the “titre restaurant” in various countries or the launch of the “titre consommation” in Belgium. What have been the results observed so far? Have you perceived some returns from such initiatives for your sector?

Our sector widely welcomed such initiatives as, in some cases and especially when establishments were closed, they had allowed businesses to continue taking place under specific conditions. Concretely, companies would sell vouchers, for customers to enjoy their meals or accommodation facilities at a later stage.  Some countries (e.g. Slovenia) report this to be one of the best support measures taken at national level, as they brought liquidity to businesses at a time of major crisis (such as during a lockdown).

Roughly 2 million businesses of different sizes have weathered a tough holiday season. What is the outlook for the hospitality sector? What are the key areas of focus for HOTREC in 2022 and beyond?

The survival of businesses will be our number one priority in 2022. The heavy conditions that hospitality experienced over this holiday season show that Covid-19 is still threatening. Further closures and restrictions can create a vicious cycle that risks throwing many otherwise viable venues into insolvency first and permanent closure later.

Keeping supporting businesses in the sector at these difficult times will go hand-in-hand with our medium and long-term goals. The pace of the recovery will also depend on how hospitality will react to the challenge posed by the green and digital transition.

European hospitality must transition into a more innovative, digital and sustainable industry to remain competitive. It must turn this troublesome situation into an opportunity to find new strategies to deal with future crises and become more resilient. It needs a well-trained and motivated workforce to lead the way out of today’s hardship, and resourceful entrepreneurs willing to invest in the sector. 

To conclude, we must not underestimate the central role that tourism and hospitality have within Europe’s economy, culture and society. Our industry has all the potential to significantly contribute to the overall economic recovery. If we keep holding on and continue bringing hope and support to hospitality, I am confident that a bright future will await us after the storm.

L’article Marie Audren: “We can’t underestimate the key role tourism and hospitality have within EU economy” est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

2020 was a disastrous year, as anywhere in the world: 1.5 million tourists visited the country.

Travel Tomorrow sat down with Aziz Abdukhakimov, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Tourism and Sports, to discuss what tourism will looked like in Uzbekistan this year and what are the perspectives for 2022.

What impact had the pandemic on Uzbekistan’s tourism sector?

As with most countries in the world, the pandemic and the strict quarantine measures taken in connection with it, have negatively affected various sectors of the economy. It is worth noting that the tourism industry was one of the first industries to feel the impact of Covid-19. The reduction in the flow of foreign tourists arriving in Uzbekistan with the complete suspension of tourism naturally led to a sharp reduction in the volume of exports of tourist services. So, in 2020, about 1.5 million tourists came to the country, which is no more than 23 per cent of last year’s figure of 6.7 million. Exports of tourism services amounted to US$260 million, which is less than 20 per cent of last year’s figure of US$1.313 billion.

What measures were taken to restore tourist flow and attract tourists in 2021?

In order to mitigate the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and restore the tourist flow in the post-pandemic period, the country has adopted a set of measures to support the tourism business by further developing and restoring domestic and inbound tourism. A number of benefits and preferences have been provided for the tourism sector by presidential and government decrees.

The government is paying special attention to attracting new foreign air carriers in order to expand the geography of international flights from Europe, Russia and the CIS countries, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including China, South Korea, Japan and India. Also, work continues to improve the material and technical bases of the tourism industry and to develop related infrastructure. As a result of the measures taken to support tourism, even despite the pandemic, 136 hotels were built in 2020, with a total room stock of 6385 rooms. We now have a total of 1308 hotels. At the same time, 478 family guesthouses were opened, for a total of 1364 guesthouses altogether.

The programme ‘Travel Around Uzbekistan’ was also introduced with the aim of developing domestic tourism in Uzbekistan by encouraging the general population to travel and take excursions. This programme has already proven its high efficiency in generating mass domestic tourism; at the end of 2019, the volume of domestic Uzbek tourist trips had already increased 3.2 times compared to 2015. The programme significantly stimulated the development of tourist services and the production of goods for travellers, and also improved the level of seasonal occupancy of hotels throughout the country. In order to promote the tourism potential of Uzbekistan during the pandemic, virtual excursions were developed for 50 sightseeing spots and offered on the sites Uzbekistan.travel and Uzbekistan360.uz. Work continues on the creation of virtual tours to other attractions.

One of the priority areas in the tourism sector for the next few years is the creation of large tourist zones and all-season resorts, including in Bostanlyk district in the Tashkent region, in the Zaamin district of Jizzakh region, in the Namangan and Surkhandarya regions. There are also plans in place to create a modern complex for recreational, beach and aquatic tourism around the Aydar-Arnasay Lakes.

Along with the support for domestic tourism that has been implemented, have any wider lessons been learned from this new reality?

Of course, the situation with the pandemic has determined new approaches and solutions for the sector. For example, to ensure the safety and health of tourists, we launched the ‘Uzbekistan. Safetravel Guaranteed’ programme of sanitary and epidemiological security. All safety standards have been approved by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

The standards include the best international guidelines for the provision of safe services to tourists in order to ensure the safety of their health during their stay. As for the expansion of geography, in 2022, based on the epidemiological situation around the world, there are plans to add flights specifically to cater to pilgrimage tourism. These include 1500 flights from Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Iran and India, 240 flights from Israel, the USA, France and Russia, and 200 flights from Japan, India, Korea, China, Thailand and Buryatia. In 2021, we increased the number of flights to 18 per week from Turkey, quadruple the number from Indonesia, triple the number from Malaysia, and open connections with five new destinations in the Middle East.

At present, citizens of 86 nations can come to Uzbekistan without a visa, and work in this direction will continue in the coming year. The availability of transport is key in this, so from this year, we will reduce prices for aviation fuel and air tickets, launch additional railway routes from the Fergana Valley regions to the rest of the country, as well as continuing to improve highways and roadside infrastructure from Khonobod in the Andijan region to Termez in Surkhandarya and Moynaq in Karakalpakstan. Standardised service areas and service points are also being introduced along highways.

In previous years, in addition to traditional cultural and historical tourism, special attention was paid to promoting themed tourism around pilgrimages, gastronomy, youth, events, winter sports and eco-tourism. Which of these areas might be especially in demand in the context of the post-pandemic trend towards ‘tourism with social distance’?

First of all, I would like to highlight pilgrimage and medical tourism. There is huge untapped potential for these in Uzbekistan. Consequently, in the coming years, special attention will be paid to developing these two types of tourism. Together with the phased resumption of regular and charter air travel with the countries of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and a number of other countries with high potential for tourism, in 2022 we aim to attract more than 700,000 pilgrimage tourists to Uzbekistan. Also this year, systematic work with target markets will continue for attracting international tourists around culture and history, extreme, mountain, medical, agro, ethno, gastronomic, rural tourism, etc. Priority markets include Europe, Russia and the CIS countries, the Middle East, and Asia, including Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, Japan and India.

Are there plans to develop other tourism destinations? Some experts recommend moving away from the mass tourism model (particularly due to risks of environmental pollution, damage to monuments, overcrowding, safety issues, and low profitability of budget travel packages), and instead recommend developing conditions and iinfrastructure for small-group tourists that will stay longer and spend more.

As I have already noted, Uzbekistan has a huge untapped potential across the tourism sector. Focusing on domestic tourism and the implementation of the State Program will give a significant result in overcoming the current crisis, with the gradual involvement of foreign tourists and an increase in the tourist flow to the country. At the moment, the Ministry of Tourism is actively working on improving the existing tourism infrastructure in the country, where, in order to attract new tourists, it is necessary to create new destinations and introduce new tourism products and services. In terms of solvency, it is very important to develop luxury tourism products, which requires improving the existing infrastructure, as well as the construction of modern, new tourist facilities with latest technologies.

At the moment, most visitors’ main requirement is a customized vacation, including specific hotel rooms, special types of car hire, tickets for events, reservations in popular restaurants, pre-orders for Spa & Beauty treatments, etc. Tourists prioritise first-class flights, and the quality and variety of service levels. Private transfers on small planes and helicopters are very popular. Travellers increasingly prefer unique accommodation rather than traditional hotels. This can range from luxury hotels to a treehouse, monasteries, glass bubbles or a yurt in the middle of the steppe.

Also, modern tourists often plan travel around events, like sports competitions, cultural festivals and carnivals, concerts, major exhibitions, or recently opened landmarks. Also, it can be dinner parties with the participation of celebrities, writers, politicians, scientists. In the direction of luxury tourism, Uzbekistan can offer helicopter tours around the country. For example, flights over the Aral Sea, over the Tashkent region, places of outstanding and natural beauty. We also need to offer special tour packages for ‘all inclusive’ resorts, such as the Bukhara Resort Oasis & Spa, Konigil tourist village and Heaven’s Garden Resort & Spa.

Also, we shall promote hunting tours in Bukhara, Navoi, Khorezm regions and the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Hunting and falconry tours is the most demanded type of tourism among luxury tourists.

Today, tourists are increasingly requesting activities related to nature and conservation. Based on this, we have accelerated implementation of infrastructure projects aimed at smoothing tourist flows and creating conditions for year round recreation. These places incorporate environmental measures for sustainable tourism, such as the preservation of natural heritage, respect for nature reserves and parks and will be further opened for tourists in compliance with all environmental standards.

L’article Tourism in Uzbekistan in 2021 and beyond est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Leading up to World Food Day on October 16th, the 2-day conference is being hosted by the European Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, Ms. Stella Kyriakides, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Janusz Wojciechowski and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Ms. Mariya Gabriel.

Stakeholders across the food value chain, public authorities, international and civil society organizations, as well as other citizens and the interested public have been invited to join the debate and contribute to the implementation of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system.

Speaking with Travel Tomorrow, Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, noted that the current times are being characterized by a dual transformation, from the consumer perspective as well as from the business one. “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of what they are eating and drinking. They are more interested in knowing how things are produced.”

These days we live in an environment where businesses understand the growing sentiment of health awareness among consumers, the impact their decisions have on the environment. Businesses want to lead the way forward.

Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe

One of the points that will be addressed during the Conference is the EU Code of Conduct on responsible business and marketing practices. The Code, which entered into force on July 5th, sets out the actions that the actors ‘between the farm and the fork’, such as food processors, food service operators and retailers, can voluntarily commit to undertake to tangibly improve and communicate their sustainability performance. These actions can be implementable within their own operations or may encourage collaboration with industry peers and other food system stakeholders (such as farmers and consumers) to make similar changes.

“We were very supportive of the EU Code of Conduct, we wanted to be proactive because it’s an opportunity to demonstrate that we are aware of our responsibility. With actions.” Acceptance of the EU Code of Conduct is voluntary, something that Hodac sees as beneficial for everyone because a legal framework would take much longer. “The Code was ready in six months. This way we can much more easily adapt the commitments if necessary.”

In terms of areas identified by the Code of Conduct, UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe expressed the will to pursue the following two aspirational objectives:

1. Towards a healthy, balanced and sustainable diets for all European consumers

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe has committed to reduce the average added sugars in its beverages by another 10% from 2019-2025 across Europe. This represents an overall industry-wide commitment to a reduction of 33% in average added sugars over the past two decades. This is in line with one of the UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe’s key pillars, which is making the “healthier choice the easier choice.” This includes not only the reduction of average added sugars but also an improved labelling system that allows consumers to make better informed decisions when they buy.

One of the spillover effects the pandemic has brought about is the heightening of attention on some health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, nutrition in general. “We are the only sector to actually do a reduction of added sugars on average.”

Anyone who has children knows that children spend a lot of time at school. We want to make sure that at school there are healthy choices of drinks.

Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe

The commitment also includes not to advertise and market its beverages to children under 13 years across all media, and to lower the audience threshold to 30% so that in practice fewer young children will be directly exposed to advertising for any of its soft drinks. No beverages will be sold in primary schools, while in secondary schools only no- and low- calorie soft drinks will be sold(and only in non-branded vending machines).

2. Towards an optimized circular and resource-efficient food chain in Europe

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe has committed to achieve closed-loop collection of beverage packaging: 90% collection of PET bottles, glass bottles and aluminium cans by 2030.

There are concerns about plastic being disposed of in rivers, the oceans. The last thing we want is that our bottles wind up as litter. We’re working very actively on trying to avoid that.

Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe has also committed to only use packaging that is circular by design and boosting the uptake of recyclable PET (rPET), as well as to reduce its packaging footprint and increasing the use of refillable packaging. More refillable packaging will be used by 2030 compared to 2020. UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe will also study the best environmental and economic pathway to increase the use of refillable models.

By 2025:

• The beverage packaging (plastic, metal, glass will be 100% recyclable)
• All PET bottles will contain a minimum average of 50% rPET

By 2030:

• All PET bottles will be made from 100% recycled and/or renewable material if technically and economically feasible – thereby moving away from fossil fuel sources

Speaking about his second anniversary at the helm of UNESDA, which Hodac is celebrating today, he expressed his renewed excitement to be at the center of the transformation the industry is going through. “We are working towards a sustainable food system, and what we are doing is going to impact directly citizens and consumers.”

He highlighted the fact that UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe’s members continue to accept their responsibility in society, and to embrace the role they have to play in accelerating the kind of transformation the world needs. “Some might think we should go faster but no one can say we’re not acting. I’m proud to be inspiring others in the food industry to take on similar commitments as ours,” he concluded.

L’article Nicholas Hodac: “The future of sustainable food systems is in our hands” est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

1. Thriving during the Covid-19 pandemic

According to Indonesia’s Statistic Bureau, agriculture is one of the sectors that continued to grow during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Setyanto offered some insight on why this may be. He highlights the necessity of food throughout the pandemic, the tropical climate and fertile soil of Indonesia, and the size of the country and its labour force. In a country of 273 million, “more than 70% of the people are farmers”, he said, “and many young people, during the Covid-19 pandemic, liked working as agricultural entrepreneurs”. “People are producing so many kinds of agricultural products which are best for export”, he added. Setyanto explained that “the export of Indonesian agricultural products increased 15.79% in 2019. For the same period between 2020 and 2021 this increase was 46.7%”. These exports come mostly from plantation crops, followed by livestock, horticulture and food crops.

We are now trying to improve mechanisation in all agricultures in Indonesia and we are also working to increase our exports.

Prihasto Setyanto, Director General of Horticulture of Indonesia

Commenting on the success of the country’s agricultural sector, Setyanto stated, “The Ministry of Agriculture has a policy with 5 points of action for the success of agriculture in Indonesia; the first is to increase the production and capacity improvement, the second is diversification, the third is strengthening reserve and food systems and the fourth is modernisation of agriculture.” He continued, “We are now trying to improve mechanisation in all agricultures in Indonesia and we are also working to increase our exports… this is is the strategy that is being spread throughout the country.”

2. Merdeka Exports program

To further boost Indonesia’s agricultural exports, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture initiated the Merdeka Exports program (Merdeka meaning freedom in English). Speaking about the agreement, Setyanto told us, “17th August is Indonesian Independence Day, and on this day the President of Indonesia wanted to give acknowledgment for the farmers, for the people who produce agricultural products, because we have a very good export during this day… exports increase a lot in the seven days leading up to this day.”

3. Belgium as a preferential market

Speaking about Belgium as a preferential market of Indonesia, Setyanto explained, “Belgium has a very large community and so many people from different countries, including African and Asian countries…we understand that they like to consume agricultural products from tropical countries. We see this as very good for the economy and Indonesia and we try to promote some of the products from Indonesia to the Belgian community.” Setyanto stated that Indonesian exports to the EU, of both food and horticulture, are increasing, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We are leveraging our agriculture practice to be more competitive in the EU market.

Prihasto Setyanto, Director General of Horticulture of Indonesia

4. The importance of coffee

Indonesia is the 4th largest producer of coffee in the world and makes different types from all over the country, each with its own flavour. In fact coffee production accounts for around 3% of the country’s GDP, Setyanto told us. “We are trying to improve our good agricultural practice and good handling practice in coffee production for the EU standards”, he explained, adding that the Netherlands and Germany are currently the largest consumers of their coffee within the EU, and they hope to increase Belgium’s consumption. Asked to describe the flavour of Indonesian coffee, Setyanto replied “we have so many kinds of coffee, in every district we produce coffee with different tastes. I myself cannot differentiate but coffee lovers can tell where different tastes come from.” Comparing some of his own tasting experiences, he described some coffee as having tasted like wine, others like strawberry and another like Cacao. “There are so many flavours” he enthused, “It is probably not known enough here in Belgium, that’s why I’ve come here to promote it.”

We strongly believe that by finalising the free trade agreement in the near future, our total trade will increase more than 2 billion and give us the opportunity to have more investment.

H.E. Andri Hadi, Ambassador of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the European Union

5. Free Trade Agreement with the European Union

Asked how the conversation regarding the negotiations between the EU and Indonesia for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are going, Ambassador Hadi replied “The EU is Indonesia’s third largest trading partner, with a total trade of 23.35 billion US dollars, and Indonesia definitely looks forward to the finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement with the EU.” Describing the negotiations as making ‘good progress’, he added that “we strongly believe that by finalising the free trade agreement in the near future, our total trade will increase more than 2 billion and give us the opportunity to have more investment.” He acknowledged that “there are some issues that we have to discuss in detail”, and that Covid-19 and its virtual negotiations has not made it easier. Speaking about the impact of the FTA in the future, the Ambassador said, “I think the impact will be beneficial for both of us…It will be easier for Indonesian agricultural products to enter the EU market. There will be more market access with more than 500 million customers in the EU market, I think this is a good market for our agricultural products”.

L’article Prihasto Setyanto: “We are leveraging our agriculture practices to be more competitive in the EU market” est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.