26th APEC TWG Meeting
Slated for May 15-17 in Busan
- The 4th APEC Tourism Forum will also be convened May 12-14

Senior tourism officials from 21 APEC member countries will get together for the 26th APEC Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting May 16 through May 17 at the Paradise Hotel in Busan.
The 4th APEC Tourism Forum will be held May 12 through May 14 under the main theme of "Reviewing APEC Tourism, Preparing for the Future," prior to the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) TWG Meeting that will be held on the heels of APEC TWG Policy Goal Chair Meeting, AICST Management Committee and APEC TWG Executive Meeting are convened on May 15.
Working-level officials in charge of tourism policies are expected to recognize the importance of tourism in the Asia-Pacific region during the 4th APEC Tourism Forum and the 26th APEC TWG Meeting, to be hosted by the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT).
Kim Chan, director general of Tourism Bureau at the MCT, will serve as the lead shepherd of the 26th and 27th APEC TWG Meetings as Korea plays host to the APEC Leaders' Meeting slated for Busan this upcoming November.
MCT Director General Kim will deliver a keynote speech during the Opening Session of the 4th APEC Tourism Forum on May 13, titled "Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge, Make the Change - It's Tourism." Xu Jing, regional representative for Asia and the Pacific, World Tourism Organization will also speak during the opening sessions on the same day, in a keynote speech, titled "Overview of International Tourism in 2004 and Outlook for 2005." Minister of Culture and Tourism Chung Dong-chea will make opening remarks, while Hur Nam-sik, mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, will deliver a welcoming speech. "TAGO." a traditional Korean percussion concert, will be presented during the opening ceremony.
MCT Minister Chung will hold a Welcome Luncheon for all participants of the 4th APEC Tourism Forum.
Cho Sung-wook, executive director of overseas marketing and development at KNTO, and Bernhard Brender, general manager of Millennium Seoul Hilton, will speak about "Prospects for Cooperative Marketing in Asia and the Pacific" and "How to Facilitate Private Sector Tourism," respectively, during Session I: APEC: One Community, One Market in Tourism.
Prof. Suh Yong-kun, of Cheju National University, and John Koldowski, director of Strategic Intelligence Center at PATA, will lecture on "E-Business Strategies for SMTEs in the APEC Region" and "Quality-based Tourism Marketing," respectively, during Session II: Providing Better Tourism Goods and Services in the APEC Region.
Ian Kean, executive director of AICST, will speak about "Sustainable Tourism amongst APEC Tourism Economies" during Session III: Sustainable Tourism: Promise APEC's Future.
Lee Kyu-gun, general manager of Corporation Planning Unit at Samsung Everland, will deal with the topic "Tourism Development: Economic and Social Impacts" during Session IV: A Tool for Economic & Social Development.
A technical tour to Gyeongju, the capital of the Silla Dynasty, for the participants will be arranged on May 15. Designated as one of the world's cultural heritage sites by UNESCO in 1995, Gyeongju is virtually a "museum without Walls" where visitors can discover the relics of Buddhist culture and artistic creativity and scientific lifestyle of the Silla people. nw