UN Tourism calls for inclusive growth to serve all communities
In a latest report by UN Tourism and the World Tourism Alliance (WTA), focused policies, regulation and governance mechanisms are essential in order to maximise the sharing of tourism benefits across all members of society, fostering inclusion and social equity. It is made certain by the report that the comprehensive role of tourism in attaining this goal can be achieved by gender empowerment, job opportunities, community development, natural and cultural heritage preservation, environmental sustainability measures, literacy, and infrastructure improvements.
As we approach the deadline to meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals it is evident that improvement is lagging and several threshold are under threat. Tourism, being one of the biggest socio-economic industries in the world, can assist in changing this direction — but only if we unlock its full potential. To achieve this, World must make communities the drivers of tourism growth and introduce tailor-made policies making our industry the real driver for more inclusive and sustainable development. UN Tourism stands by its conviction to guide such change and realise the dividends from tourism being more broadly shared – socially, financially, and ecologically.
Zhang Xu, WTA Chair, asserts, Nations and areas that have emerged from hardship want to go back to stable and sustainable development. To help them World need to make sure that the common fruits of society’s progress are shared more evenly and efficiently.
Recommendation for action
Particular cases include China’s poverty decrease via tourism policy and six village level cases from China, created in collaboration with WTA, and, Jordan, Albania, Indonesia, Peru, Rwanda and Vanuatu cases, highlighting how national policies ensure that tourism contributes to shared assets.
According to recommended measures, consider tourism as a cornerstone of approaches for boosting shared prosperity, alleviating poverty, development and socioeconomic integration. Ensure that tourism policies, regulatory frameworks, investment and governance create the right conditions for shared prosperity for all involved and in host communities at large.
Use the revenue earned from tourism to invest in tourism sustainability and contribute to the broader shared-prosperity-enablers like education, health and infrastructure in host communities and reduce any adverse impacts from the industry.
UN Tourism is the United Nations organisation for the promotion of tolerable, universally obtainable, and responsible tourism. A 160-member intergovernmental organisation, UN Tourism has 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and more than 500 Affiliate Members. The General Assembly is the highest organ of the Organization. Executive Council makes all such steps, under consultation with the Secretary-General, for the realisation of decisions and recommendations made by the General Assembly and also submits reports to the Assembly. Madrid, Spain hosts UN Tourism headquarters. Secretary General election is going to take place in May 2025.
