Tuesday 10th November 2020, 4:00 PM (GMT+7)
The Webinar is FREE and open to public registration.
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The Webinar is organized by ASSET-H&C in partnership with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). We will discuss developing a human-centered approach to the crisis and to the tourism sector’s recovery, especially in terms of youth employment.
Discussions will focus on the following topics:
New trends and opportunities that emerged from the crisis and their impact on the workforce
The inclusion of vulnerable groups in recovery measures
Decent work as a business competitive advantage
General Manager
Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)
Roi Ariel has been focusing on responsible travel and sustainable tourism over the past decade. In his role as the General Manager of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Roi manages GSTC’s memberships, communications, events and operations. This includes working closely with key governmental agencies and influential companies to mainstream and promote adherence to sustainability standards in travel and tourism. He previously worked with UN-ESCAP researching sustainable development and green growth in Southeast Asia, and on sustainability issues with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He also served as the Green Economy Initiative Advisor for EcoPeace Middle East in Israel, as well as sustainable tourism advisor in destinations around the world including Mainland China, Madagascar, and Taiwan. Roi holds a master’s degree in Applied Economic and Social Development from the National Chengchi University in Taipei, and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Comparative Religion from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. With his master thesis titled “Common Pool Resource Management and Benefit Distribution in Community Based Tourism”, he speaks as a guest lecturer at universities and presents at academic conferences.
Employment Specialist – Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific
International Labor Organization (ILO) Bangkok
Makiko Matsumoto worked in a private sector market survey company in Japan before joining the ILO in Geneva in 1998 as an associate research economist. In Geneva, she worked as a research economist in employment-related areas, such as implications of globalization and trade on employment, pro-employment macroeconomic policy framework, and youth employment and school-to-work transition of young women and men. She also contributed to policy advisory work at the country level for employment policy development and reviews. Since 2013, she has been working as an employment specialist in the Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific in ILO Bangkok. She has been supporting research activities and policy dialogues to inform the formulation of employment policies and strategies. Such policies usually involved identification of priority sectors and identification of labour market policy measures to support sectoral development. Also, because skills development almost always constitute an important pillar of employment policies and strategies, she has also supported capacity development in the design of skills development policies, such as sectoral skills anticipation.
Director – Sustainability & Social Responsibility
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
With decades of experience in Asia, Graham provides PATA a unique skill set and vision for community development, project management and education for sustainability. Prior to joining PATA, Graham spent 15 years in the private sector leading community-based tourism projects, educational travel initiatives and sustainability & corporate social responsibility programmes. During this period, Graham used social enterprise models to create for-profit, community travel projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam putting hundreds of thousands of dollars annually directly into remote, rural communities through poverty alleviation, cultural preservation and infrastructure initiatives. He also established responsible travel programmes in for-profit tour operator companies across Asia. Prior, he was the Training and Research Manager at the Mekong Institute, supporting human capacity development projects throughout the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
Chief Executive Officer
Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (formerly International Tourism Partnership)
Madhu is the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, working closely with its member companies, partners and key stakeholders to guide the industry’s collaborative efforts on sustainability and community engagement. She joined International Tourism Partnership – former name of Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, as Director in June 2018. Madhu began her career in the hospitality and tourism industry in 1998, working in operations, sales and marketing with leading companies, including Marriott International, Hilton, Starwood and Emirates Airlines across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the UK. Since 2009, Madhu has worked in the not-for-profit sector on a range of development issues, including poverty and inequality, education and livelihoods, gender equality, water & sanitation, sustainable cities and human rights. Prior to joining International Tourism Partnership, Madhu was Director for Partnerships & Development for WSUP (Water & Sanitation For Urban Poor), before which she was Director of Development & Partnerships at British Asian Trust, a charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales. She has held a number of non-executive roles including Chairperson for Clean Team Ghana, and Mentor for Cartier’s Women’s Initiative Awards. She holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Area Director for Host Engagement – Thailand and Group Director Learning & Development
Soneva Resorts
Jorely Mathew has 25 years of experience in Academics, Hotel Operations, Training, and Human Resources. Mr. Mathew is a graduate in Hotel Management (BHM), Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Certified NLP practitioner and Timeline Therapy, Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) from American Hotel, and Loading Association, FCPHR from Australian HR Institute, and a Charted Fellow CIPD London. He was an Associate professor with Manipal University and has worked in Human Resources and Training functions with numerous luxury Hotels and Resorts as Head HR, in various locations including India, Maldives, Jordan, Seychelles, and Thailand. He is currently Area Director for Host Engagement – Thailand and Group Director Learning and Development for Soneva Resorts, pioneers in sustainable luxury and based at the Corporate Office in Bangkok. Jorely is extremely passionate about sustainability, human capital development. He dedicates his personal time to community activities, and enjoys gardening and photography in his pass time.
Group Director of People & Culture
Anantara Vacation Club (AVC) | Minor Hotel
With over 20 years of experience in hospitality, Orapin is an all-round HR professional committed to the development and wellbeing of team members while ensuring outstanding business results and positive outcomes for all stakeholders. Since joining Minor Hotels in 2007, Orapin has worked across various business units for the expanding group with a proven track record of people and culture recognitions and achievements. In 2017, she took over the human capital department for Anantara Vacation Club (AVC) and has been in this role since. Passionate about travelling and hiking, Orapin is a high-performance runner whose resilience and adaptability make her a results-oriented, agile and dynamic leader.
Over the last decades, the dynamic and fast-growing tourism industry has been a driving force for job creation and local economic development, while contributing to several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially goals 8 and 10.
The sector has been one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has put numerous jobs at risk throughout the whole value chain. Young people who represent a considerable part of the workforce are highly impacted, especially vulnerable youth, often found amongst women, minority groups, and migrants.
However, Tourism has a proven capacity to bounce back. As highlighted by the World Tourism Organization, the crisis “offers a rare opportunity for reflection and recalibration to grow again, and to grow better for planet and people”.
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). (2020, April). Supporting Jobs and Economies through Travel & Tourism – A Call for Action to Mitigate the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Accelerate Recovery, Retrieved from World Tourism Organization: https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284421633?
COVID-19 has created a necessity and an opportunity for the labour-intensive tourism industry to re-engage with its workforce and re-invent the workplace. As critical agents for change, youth can play a significant role in enhancing the sector’s capacity to face and overcome challenges. Greater investment in human capital is key to empower them to do so.
Networking is an awaited session in ASSET-H&C’s annual conferences. Due to travel restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s seminar will be conducted online. However, attendees will still have the same opportunities to learn from one another and expand their networks by joining virtual chat rooms facilitated by the organizers.
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