UNWTO and UNESCO are, for the first time, to bring ministers of tourism and culture together with experts and stakeholders from both sectors to explore new models of partnership between tourism and culture.

Taking place between 4-6 February at World Heritage Site Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the World Conference on Tourism and Culture will provide an unprecedented global platform for policymakers, experts and practitioners in tourism and culture to meet and identify the key challenges and opportunities for stronger cooperation between these highly interlinked areas.

During the two-day event, participants will cover five key topics – governance and partnership models, cultural preservation, living cultures and creative industries, cultural routes and urban regeneration through cultural tourism.

Culture shapes our identity and is a means to foster respect and tolerance among people,” said UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova. “It is also a way to create millions of jobs and improve people’s lives, a path to strengthen mutual understanding.

“Safeguarding cultural heritage must move forward with sustainable tourism, which is the core message of this conference. This vision guides our efforts to promote culture as a driver and as an enabler of sustainable development, and is especially important at this time of change, when countries are shaping a new global sustainable development agenda to follow 2015.”