Torremolinos and UNWTO agree hosting international conference on tourism de-stationalization

Torremolinos (Costa del Sol – Spain) will be in June 2015, the venue for the Second International Conference on Tourism destationalization. The Torremolinos Mayor, Mr. Pedro Fernández Montes, and the UNWTO General Secretary, Mr. Taleb Rifai, have signed this Friday in Madrid, the Agreement and Cooperation Memorandum between their organizations. The agreement also includes the continuation of the “Project 365” that the UNWTO promotes in Torremolinos.

Public and private organizations affiliated to UNWTO in 162 countries are called to participate to establish strategic lines to follow in the battle against stationalization in tourism destinations.

The Mayor expressed his gratitude to Mr. Taleb Rifai for making possible Torremolinos hosting this second conference for the members of the 162 countries affiliated to the UNWTO. Mr. Fernández Montes has emphasized the importance of our destination in tourism history: “Not in vain, at the beginning of the sixties, in the past century, we were the pioneers of mass tourism in Europe”.

He praised the initiative of the global organization to approach stationalization problems of the destinations “study measures to diversify tourism offers, enlarge products and create new ones, incentivize tourism in low demand times, and of course improve the quality of visitors”, the object of the conference.

Torremolinos becomes the first European town to host this conference, and so to be part of UNWTO “Project 365”. Punta del Este, in Uruguay started the list past may.

Apart from the largest cities in the world, as New York, London, Paris, etc., until countries beyond parallel 30 do not reach economic development, their winters being our summers and vice versa, there will always be forms of stationalization in certain destinations, in cold or warm climates, he mentioned. At the same time, he stressed Torremolinos as spearhead of this effort having reached a 73% annual occupancy rate in 2014, by far the best in the Costa del Sol.

In his reply, the UNWTO General Secretary referred to the memorandum signed, as a new chapter in the close cooperation relations between the top tourism organization and Torremolinos. It not only is the place of the WTO founding steps, it also is one of the leaders of modern tourism in Spain, he mentioned. Mr. Rifai praised the path taken by the municipality in its battle against stationalization, a common problem for tourism destinations that has its most direct and immediate effect on unemployment. It is a crucial time for Europe and the world. We trust that Torremolinos will start writing the future of tourism, particularly in the Mediterranean.

On the 1st and 2nd of June 2015, in the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Torremolinos, international tourism experts and businessmen will extend continuity to the works of this global forum, developing the program: “Building a reference winter tourism model for Torremolinos”.

Conclusions will be presented one day later (the afternoon of June 3rd) in the Second UNWTO International Conference on Tourism De-stationalization that will follow the opening of the 10 Tourism Market Place EUROAL 2015, in the same Palace. On June 4 round tables will take place to discuss the proposals by the Affiliated Members of UNWTO.

The signature of the present initial memorandum of agreement will mark the beginning of the organization of the round tables, and committees that will congregate public and private sectors for the development of “Project 365” for Torremolinos, over which experts will work one full year.

“EUROAL TRAVEL MARKET” is a professional meeting point which, on a yearly basis, brings together international tour operators and suppliers, encouraging and promoting mutual ties between Spain, Europe, Latin America and the rest of the world; and, in turn, drives economic and social development through the largest peace industry that exists: tourism.

This International Tourism Fair will hold its tenth edition, from June 3-5, 2015, sponsored by the City of Torremolinos and its “Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions of the Costa del Sol.” The event receives the support of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO-OMT), the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies, Turespaña, Turismo Andaluz and various public and private entities of the Andalusian province of Malaga.