Malaysia will once again host the World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2013 from October 21-23 in Melaka together with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the State Government of Melaka as co-organisers. Malaysia first hosted the WTC 2007, themed Tourism Success Stories and Shooting Stars, from June 4 to 6, in Kuala Lumpur and the 2010 conference, themed “Tourism Success Stories and Rising Stars,” from October 4 to 6 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The success of the WTC 2007 and 2010 has been well recognised by the UNWTO leading to Malaysia’s successful bid to host for the third time, the WTC 2013, “Global Tourism: Game Changers and Pace Setters.” “Melaka was chosen as the venue for WTC 2013 since it is has been accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status and amplifies Malaysia’s rich and diverse culture and heritage to foreign visitors, delegates and participants ,” said the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. “Key professionals from all over the world in the global tourism industry will gather at this conference to deliberate and address challenges beyond mass tourism, opportunities in innovative tourism marketing and strategies for tourism product development and innovation,” he added. He said that the conference will benefit not only tourism industry players but also policy makers and other stakeholders to reap tourism’s immense potential through sharing of experiences and knowledge in tourism planning, development and marketing. The UNWTO expects the Asia-Pacific region to grow by 330 million arrivals in two decades from 204 million in 2010 to 535 million tourist arrivals in 2030. With global tourist arrivals projected at 1.56 billion in 2030, every nation is set to benefit from this phenomenal growth. “The WTC 2013 will bring together a wide range of reputed world tourism leaders, high-level policy makers and experts from both the public and private sectors to exchange experiences, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for future tourism development,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Dr. Taleb Rifai in a message. He said that tourism is one of the world’s biggest generators of employment and export earnings as well as a key driver for economic growth and sustainable development. (Holiday)