1. We welcome in two new participants to the Consultants Community:

  • Steven Schipani is an international development specialist in tourism with extensive project experience in Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam, China, the Philippines and the USA. He has worked on projects funded by international development agencies such as ADB, NZAID, EU, GTZ, SNV and UNESCO.
  • Anne Goonetilleke, who has worked with TAFE (Technical & Further Education) NSW for the past 17 years as a Head of Department in Tourism and Hospitality Education and has managed several international projects. In addition to Management roles in a number of leading London Hotels, Anne has also worked in Sri Lanka as Assistant Director for the Sri Lankan Tourist Board, and was involved in the introduction of quality systems such as international star classifications for hotels and safety systems.

 

2. Steve Noakes & Terry de Lacy have just returned from a very beneficial 2 week visit to Mexico and the USA. In Mexico, five members of the Pacific Asia Tourism Pty. Ltd. network participated in a WWF + The Nature Conservancy Workshop on sustainable tourism for the Gulf of California. Fruitful meetings were then held in Los Angeles the President of the world’s largest e-travel community, www.travelmole.com which has just announced new programs with e-Turbo News and the UNWTO. Then onto Washington DC for meetings with our USA partners, Solimar International, as well as high levels meetings with the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, US AID, National Geographic Society, Counterpart International, the Emerging Markets Group and others. We have been sowing seeds.

 

3. Tracking business leads in international development can be a complex task, given that many opportunities require years of lead-time before procurement and tend to be complex and varied. They can be difficult to fit into a single tracking system. However, there are some important project tracking systems Pacific Asia Tourism Pty. Ltd. is now plugged into, and from time-to-time, members of our network are being alerted to those opportunities.
4. World Bank Group Increases its Support to East Asia
The World Bank Group committed loans, grants and credits worth $US4.3 billion for development projects and operations in 10 countries in the East Asia and Pacific region during fiscal year 2007. This was more than $600 million over the previous year, reflecting the stronger economic performance of most countries in the region. Jim Adams, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, said while continuing to work with governments on reducing poverty, the region was also scaling up its support for operations aimed at addressing climate change and the growing demand for clean energy.
6. Feedback

Dear Steve,

Congratulations! You really seem to have the right spot! Keep up the good work,

Brian Deeson

Senior Vice President

Accor Asia Pacific Chairman of the Board, Pacific Asia Travel Association



 

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