Participants at the UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit stressed that “immense synergies” between mega-events and tourism should be used to generate long-time benefits for the destination and its people.
Participants at the UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit stressed that “immense synergies” between mega-events and tourism should be used to generate long-time benefits for the destination and its people.
Opening the Summit, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, said “Destinations need to consider infrastructure, investment and jobs, intangible benefits such as how the country is perceived and the most effective way to involve the community when looking at the legacy of mega-events.”
In terms of infrastructure, one benefit of Brazil’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2014 was that its airports are now privatized. Brazil’s Vice-Minister of Tourism, Vinícius Lemmertz, said: “The World Cup set the agenda for public-private cooperation.”