By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror

THE United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reaffirmed its support for the Philippines by confirming its scheduled conference in Manila this month.

In a news statement, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said: “The Philippines is one of the most consolidated tourism destinations in the world. We are fully confident that this will continue to be the case and we look forward to meet in Manila on June 21 for the sixth International Conference on Tourism Statistics: Measuring Sustainable Tourism, one of UNWTO’s major events.”

He added: “This will be the best expression of support and union against these hideous acts.”

Rifai’s statement appears to have been made in reaction to initial reports that suggested the incident at Resorts World Manila (RWM) was a terrorist attack. Succeeding reports indicated, though, that the shooting and fire at the casino-hotel was perpetrated by a lone gunman, and that the 38 fatalities in the incident died from smoke inhalation.

Last Sunday the police said the lone gunman who perpetrated the attack on the integrated hotel and resort casino in Pasay City was a former tax specialist of the Department of Finance, Jessie J. Carlos, fired in 2014 for discrepancies in his statements on assets and

liabilities. His family confirmed that he was an inveterate gambler who had massive debts.

About 200 foreign delegates from 65 countries are expected to participate in the UNWTO conference, said the Department of Tourism (DOT) in a separate news statement. Many of them will be representing tourism and statistical agencies, tourism associations and enterprises and international organizations. Also, 182 local delegates from national and local governments and academe will be attending the UNWTO conference.

Rifai has confirmed his participation at the conference to be held at the Marriott Hotel, Manila, from June 21 to 23.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo told the BusinessMirror over the weekend that Rifaiindeed issued his news based on initial indications that the Resorts World incident was a terrorist attack. “But I explained to him [that] the police investigators were already turning up evidence that indicated it was a lone gunman who may have had some mental- health issues,” she said.

“This convinced Rifai even more to make sure to get other tourism ministers to attend the UNWTO conference in Manila,” she added.

Teo said Rifai even wants to “hold a [news] conference” in Palawan, to convince tourists that it was safe to come to the Philippines.

Rifai has been particularly supportive of developing countries, like the Philippines, which have yet to fully achieve their potential as tourism destinations. During the World Tourism and Travel Council’s Global Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, in April, the UNWTO chief backed Teo’s call for foreign governments to keep their travel advisories regularly updated and clearly limited in time and geographic scope, so as not to unduly impact on a destination’s inbound tourism flows and revenues.

He was also instrumental in convincing Teo to keep the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” brand slogan, which he said many tourists actually appreciated, but suggested the DOT just go a step further in explaining “why it’s fun”.

In a separate news statement, the DOT last Saturday said tourism ministers from five countries have confirmed their attendance at the conference. They include Thailand’s Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Fiji’s Shaleen Ali, Sri Lanka’s John Amaratunga, Sudan’s Mohammed Abuzaid Mustafa and Seychelles’s Didier Dogley. More are expected to attend, as the deadline for the registration closes by the second week of June.

Also, chief statisticians from Belarus, Fiji, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, South Africa and Indonesia have confirmed their participation in the discussion of the Manila call to measure sustainable tourism.

The conference, which is in line with this year’s celebration of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, will discuss policy initiatives on the importance of developing a statistical framework to measure sustainable tourism on the global level.

“We aim to discuss and implement policies and programs that will raise awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism both to economic growth and environmental conservation,” Teo said.

During the launch of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in Madrid in January, Rifai said: “The year 2017 is a unique opportunity for us to promote the contribution of tourism to achieving the future we want —and also to determine, together, the exact role we will have tourism play in the sustainable development agenda, to and beyond 2030.”

On the Resorts World incident, the UNWTO said: “On behalf of the international tourism community, [we convey our] heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the families and friends of the victims and to the Filipino people.”