The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) recently had the opportunity to contribute to reflections and discussions on the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Corporate Strategy on Regional Cooperation and Integration. The 2022 conference on “Strengthening Regional Cooperation Integration (RCI) for a New Era of Collective Action” was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 23- 25 August.

SPTO CEO, Christopher Cocker, provided a tourism perspective on the importance of RCI, as embodied in the ADB strategy. His intervention centered on the importance of RCI to the Pacific as a small and highly interconnected region and the importance of collaborative approaches in supporting Pacific tourism recovery. Moreover, Mr. Cocker, also emphasized tourism’s multi-sectoral links that can help drive the region’s digital transformation and progress towards 2030 aspirations, under the guidance of the SPTO Strategic Plan,  Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework, SPTO Digital Strategy and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

“In recent years, SPTO has had the opportunity to work closely with ADB under the tourism programme of the Private Sector Development Initiative. Our members have benefitted greatly from this collaboration and we see great value in strengthening this partnership. I was privileged to share our experiences and recommendations relating to enhanced collective action in the Pacific”, said Mr Cocker.

“As one of the smaller regional agencies, SPTO is always appreciative of opportunities to network and advocate for Pacific tourism. Against the backdrop of post- pandemic recovery, innovation, collaboration and integration is particularly important so as to ensure that the Pacific benefits from partnerships that include our people and are responsive to their needs”.

At the conclusion of the conference, key outcomes included:

• Knowledge- sharing and cutting-edge innovation and improved coordination is needed to make sure that green financing gets to the governments and private sector partners that need it. This is where RCI can serve as a truly effective conduit.
• RCI could foster harmonization on regulatory frameworks in relation to digitization/digital economy. RCI could also help put in place subregional/cross-subregional mechanisms to scale-up knowledge and information to support digital transformation in economies.
• RCI cooperation must focus on knowledge sharing, maintaining RCI connectivity assets and capacity development