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who we are

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

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

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

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

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core activities

  • WORLD CONFERENCES ON TOURISM

    DISCOVERYMICE is a global leader in producing world conferences on various tourism niche sectors. With a track record since 2006, these conferences have benefitted over 5000 high level tourism administrators and professionals.

    Our flagship conference is the annual World Ecotourism Conference which has been convened since 2009. It is one of the most important ecotourism conferences in the world with significant influence on the direction and development of ecotourism growth in developing countries.

  • TOURISM CONSULTANCY

    We specialise in tourism policy and planning development, assisting Governments and tourism destinations in developing masterplans, transforming destinations and empowering communities through our experience, knowledge and creativity. Our work in the past included the ASEAN Ecotourism Forum, Pakse, Lao PDR – “ASEAN without Borders: Roadmap for Strategic Development of Ecotourism Clusters and Tourism Corridors, Regional Workshop on Methods and Strategies for Implementation of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for Tourism Sector in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) in Vientiane, National Tourism Policy 2020-2030 for Malaysia, Study - China Outbound Tourist to Malaysia to Increase Tourism Revenue, Feasibility Evaluation of Antara Genting comprising of 187 units (Block A), based on an All-Suite Serviced Apartment for short term rental, Feasibility Study for the Redevelopment of Tourism at Kinabalu Park World Heritage Site (Mesilau and Poring), Sabah, Malaysia.

  • M.I.C.E. DEVELOPMENT

    MICE destinations often organise MICE related tourism conferences and conventions that offer the continuing education, training, and opportunities to exchange ideas that are vital to developing a vibrant MICE tourism industry.

  • TOURISM TECHNOLOGY

    DISCOVERYMICE carries an ambitious initiative and mission to lead the international online hospitality and travel industry in the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI), dynamic packaging distribution solutions that support emerging niche tourism sectors in emerging economies.

focal points

Eva Adamson

Latin America (Southern)

David Austin

East Europe

Natalie Barnes

Latin America (Northern)

Thomas Bishop

Southern and Eastern Africa

Key Regions

  • 1.

    Asia & The Pacific

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

  • 2.

    Southern/Eastern Africa

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

  • 3.

    Latin America

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

our values

In support of tourism communities, opportunities and economies in developing countries

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

competitiveness

  • How do we increase the competitiveness and the ability of destinations to attract more tourism and generate more benefits from the tourism industry, as a result of the incredibly unprecedented growth that this sector, this human activity is experiencing, whether it’s through marketing, whether it’s through infrastructure development, whether it’s product development and all the elements that have to do with increasing competitiveness.

    That also includes travel facilitation, air connectivity and other kinds of connectivities. The is one basket

    We believe that we can continue to grow, we have to embrace growth and never be afraid of it. We have to equip our members, particularly governments and destinations, with whatever would enable them to grow in a healthy way but to do that in a sustainable way..

    Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)