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Tourism Ministry
Dear Delegates,
First of all, I would like to excitedly welcome you all to Açı Model
Government Europe 2016. My name is Nisan Görsev and I will be serving as your Vice-President in the Tourism Ministry. I hope to have an excellent conference in which we will have fruitful debates and write successful resolutions. But keep in mind that in the end, it isn’t about the debates we have or resolutions we write. It is about learning, developing and sharing our opinions whilst having a good time. I hope that all of you are as enthusiastic and excited as I am. I’m looking forward to meet you all.
Wishing you all the best of luck,
Nisan Görsev
History of Tourism
Definition of Tourism
Oxford dictionary defines tourism as follows: “The commercial organization and operation of vacations and visits to places of interest.”
But tourism didn’t actually start in order to visit places of interest.
Antiquity
The history of tourism goes back all the way to antiquity, which starts in the 2 nd century AD. During antiquity, there were travelers who used to be wealthier than others. They often travelled to different parts of the world to learn new languages, to see great pieces of art and to learn about the cultures of distant countries. During this period, travelers wrote novels and journals from which we have gained a lot of information. An examples of these novels is: “Description of Greece” by Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias.
The Middle Ages
After antiquity, around the 11 th century, religious acts and desires convinced people to travel. This period is called the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, religions such as Buddhism, Islam and Christianity had

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Tourism Ministry traditions of pilgrimage which eventually forced citizens who weren’t wealthy enough, into travelling as well. Examples of these travels are the hajj made by the Islamic or the journey from London to Canterbury by
Geoffrey Chaucer in order to visit a shrine. Most of the novels, diaries and journals were written in Middle English and they still remain classics of
English and Chinese literature. Some of these classics are: “Journey to the
West” by Wu Cheng’en and “the Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer.
The Grand Tour
Modern tourism started with the famous Grand Tour, which was a traditional trip around Europe (especially Germany and Italy). Many upper-class young men from Europe undertook this journey. It served as an educational convenience and rite of passage. Around the 18 th and 19 th centuries, the Grand Tour became a status symbol for upper class students. Its main intention was to help wealthier students learn and understand European art, and students could find rare examples of art and history. The New York Times described the Grand Tour as follows:
“Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and the roots of Western civilization. With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent. (Gross, Matt, 5 September 2008)”
Winter Tourism
Winter tourism first started in 1860, when hotel manager Johannes
Badrutt invited some guests to St. Moritz, Switzerland, to see snowy landscapes. In 1970 ski resorts became very popular and people started going to mountains. Major ski resorts are located in European countries such as France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy…
Mass Tourism
There is no specific definition of mass tourism. However, Wikipedia defines mass tourism as “the accumulated appearance of tourists in a special destination.” The main indicators of mass tourism are:

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Tourism Ministry
 impact to the site or destinations carrying capacity and resource capacity
 sheer abundance of tourists
 intensity of visitors
Sustainable Tourism
The World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as:
“Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems."
Sustainable tourism is mostly about the ecological and socio-cultural carrying capacities of destinations. It is in coordination with mass tourism.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism or ecological tourism, aims to educate travelers about protected areas that they are visiting.
Pro-poor Tourism
Pro-poor tourism seeks to help poor people in LEDCs. Funds received from tourists aid poor people and are funneled to projects organized by the Ministry of Tourism, which help poor people. Some examples of propoor tourism are mountain climbing in Tanzania and cultural tourism in
Luang Prabang, Laos.
Recession Tourism
Recession tourism is basically traveling according to the world economic crisis. Travelers generally choose destinations that are cheaper, therefore more economic.
Medical Tourism
Medical tourism is a form of health tourism in which people travel to countries aiming to benefit from the country’s medical treatment.
Medical tourism is usually seen in citizen from countries in which there aren’t well-developed health care and hospitals.
Educational Tourism

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Tourism Ministry
Educational tourism is travelling to another country in order to study or learn something new. It is developing more and more every year because of the growing popularity of teaching.
Creative Tourism
Creative tourism is a form of cultural tourism. It first started with the aforementioned Grand Tour. Recently, Crispin Raymond and Greg
Richards who are members of the Association for Tourism and Leisure
Education (ATLAS) have defined creative tourism as followed: “creative tourism is tourism related to the active participation of travellers in the culture of the host community, through interactive workshops and informal learning experiences.”
Experiential Tourism
Experiential tourism or also known as immersion travel, is a form of tourism in which people aim to experience a destination by connecting to its culture, history and people. It was first mentioned in books and publications in 1985 but it became a market trend in 2012.
Dark Tourism
Dark tourism is defined as travelling to an historic destination associated with tragedy or death. Recently, visitors who visit these places are called
“dark tourists”. The main attraction to these destinations is not their bond with death or suffering, it’s their historical value.
Social Tourism
In may 1959, at the second Congress of Social Tourism in Austria, Walter
Hunziker defined social tourism as: “A type of tourism practiced by low income groups, and which is rendered possible and facilitated by entirely separate and therefore easily recognizable services.” Social tourism is for people who cannot afford travelling, who are disadvantaged. They can reside in youth hostels or low-priced holiday accommodation run-by church, trade unions or voluntary organizations.
Doom Tourism
Also known as “tourism of doom” or “last chance tourism” this popular trend is travelling to destinations that are environmentally or otherwise

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Tourism Ministry endangered. Some examples of these destinations are the ice caps of
Mount Kilimanjaro, the coral of the Great Barrier Reef. It is related to ecotourism and sustainable tourism.
Related NGO’s
ENAT
ENAT is a European-based NGO. It is the acronym of European Network for Accessible Tourism. Its mission is “to make European tourism destinations, products and services accessible to all travellers and to promote accessible tourism around the world.” according to their website.
UNWTO
UNWTO is an agency of the United Nations for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It stands for the World Tourism Organization. UNWTO’s membership includes 157 countries, 6 Associate Members and over 480 Affiliate Members. It focuses on the six following areas:
 competitiveness
 sustainability
 poverty reduction
 capacity building
 partnerships
 mainstreaming
WTTC
WTTC stands for World Travel and Tourism Council. It has three missions, which are freedom to travel, policies for growth and tourism for tomorrow. Freedom to travel and tourism for tomorrow are both tourism related. Firstly, freedom to travel ensures that people can be able to cross international borders. Secondly, tourism for tomorrow addresses the population growth. WTTC states on their website that “ Travel & Tourism is growing faster than any other sector. Our sector already accounts for

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9.5 per cent of global GDP and 266 million jobs. Over the next 10 years
Travel & Tourism’s global impact on GDP is set to rise by 4 per cent per annum.”
Tourism Ministries of European Countries
The cabinets of ACIMGE are the English, Spanish, French, German,
Greek, Italian, Belgian, Dutch and Hungarian Cabinets. All of the cabinets have different tourism ministries, which aim different things in their cabinets.
Tourism Ministry of England
Tourism has a significant role in the rising economy of England. The ministry itself is called the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage. According to the UK Government, the goals of the Tourism and Heritage Ministry are:
 increase the population of UK residents who holiday in the UK,
 improve the sector’s productivity,
 become one of the top 5 most efficient and competitive visitor economies in the world,
 fund the most ambitious marketing campaign ever to attract visitors to the UK.
Tourism Ministry of Spain
The tourism ministry of Spain is combined with industry, energy and trade. It’s called the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. Its goals are as follows:
 to support the restructuring of mature destinations,
 the renewal of tourist infrastructures,
 to provide support for the tourist towns,
 the innovation in destination management,
 the evolution of Spanish tourism quality system,
 the enhancement of cultural, natural and gastronomic heritage,
Tourism Ministry of France

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Tourism Ministry
France is the top destination for tourists, with over 84 million visitors each year. There is a “Tourism Promotion Council” in France, who proposes a
French tourism strategy up to 2020. It has monthly plenary meeting on one of the following topics:
 gastronomy and wine
 destinations and brand names
 digital technology
 hotel industry, business and shopping tourism
 reception, the media and communication
 training
Tourism Ministry of Germany
The ministry of tourism of Germany is under the acronym BMWi. It aims to provide a beneficial environment for the development of tourism in
Germany. This is achieved by; maintaining good relations with foreign countries and advertising tourism via the German National Tourist Board.
Tourism Ministry of Greece
Tourism in Greece, routes to ancient times. It is mainly developed in the capital city, Athens, and the islands. Currently, the Greek National
Tourism Organization is running the tourism in Greece.
Tourism Ministry of Italy
The ministry of tourism of Italy is called the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. It performs functions and tasks for the supervision of institutions and assistance to tourist demand and social tourism, and development projects in the tourism sector.
Tourism Ministry of Belgium
Tourism in Belgium is under the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and
Development Cooperation.

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Tourism Ministry
Tourism Ministry of the Netherlands
The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC) is responsible for developing the tourism in the Netherlands. The Dutch government’s tourism policy has three focuses:
 entrepreneurship,
 sustainability
 boosting the number of foreign visitors to the Netherlands.
Tourism Ministry of Hungary
The Hungarian ministry of tourism is under the Ministry for National
Economy. It aims to increase the amount of tourists in Hungary and the ministry plans on developing more projects and stating more measures.
This year’s theme is "World in Chaos: Terrorism”. One of the main goals of terrorists is to frighten people and forbid them from performing various actions. Therefore, tourism is directly affected by terrorism.
Reasonably, tourists do not want to go to risky destinations and risk their lives or deal with consequences. When there is one terrorist attack or various attempts to attack, tourists change their plans and give up their ideas on going to the aforementioned destination. This causes a rapid decrease of touristic events.
There are various responsibilities of the Ministry of Tourism. Firstly, the ministry is responsible for protecting all the tourists within the countries territories. Tourists have chosen to come to the country by trusting this specific ministry and in case of a terror attack; the ministry is responsible for their protection.

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Tourism Ministry
Secondly, the ministry must provide ultimate protection for the prevention of attacks. At the end, it is about protecting the country and preventing the attacks; not about letting the attacks happen and then protecting tourists. The ministry must provide a budget only for security and protection.
Finally, the ministry is responsible for informing and warning all tourists.
Media shouldn’t be banned nor blocked within the country and there should be freedom of expression.
Tourism and terrorism are related to each other because terrorism effects tourism directly by decreasing the amount of tourists. The 9/11 attack is a very good example of how tourism gets affected by terrorism. On
September 11, 2001, when the attack in New York City took place, tourism in the city plummeted. This eventually caused enormous losses in the tourism sector in which approximately 280,000 people worked and generated $25 billion per year. One week after the attack, hotel occupancy fell below 40%, and 3,000 workers were unemployed. Air travel also fell utterly all across the country. During that time period, nobody wanted to neither visit New York City nor stay there. The attacks were rapidly affecting the tourism sector. The US tourism industry reported a $2 billion loss in the first two weeks after the attack and domestic airlines lost approximately $100 million. Consequently, the severe drop in tourism resulted in a GDP loss of $27.27 billion dollars.
During the post attack years, travel to the US decreased for three years and the following years US tourism labor market suffered 335,000 job losses, 141,000 jobs were lost in accommodation and 93,000 in air travel sectors.
Since New York City is one of the most touristic and populated cities in the world, it directly affected the general tourism of the world and not only the tourism of the US. Countries started to withdraw their economical and financial aid from the US. The effects of the attack started out as a major problem of tourism but eventually ended up by affecting the whole world and all of the industries.

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Tourism Ministry
This is the part where you, Ministers of Tourism, will try to prevent the massive effects or terrorism on tourism.
One of the possible solutions may be the assurance of travelers’ safety.
The governments must provide absolute safety for all tourists. They must convince tourist that their country is strong and secure enough to deal with terror attacks. However, this shouldn’t be fictitious. Governments must unquestionably provide support and security systems. For example, after the 9/11 attacks, the US government provided strict surveillance in airports: tourists or citizens started to pass rigid security in airports. They could neither enter with liquids to airplanes nor enter without taking off their shoes.
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