Towards global statistics on city tourism: the World Tourism Organization, European Cities Marketing (ECM) and MODUL University Vienna join forces
PR No.: 14090
UNWTO, ECM and MODUL University Vienna agree to develop a common framework and methodology to compare city tourism data on a global level.
As part of the UNWTO Cities Project, and in the framework of the Istanbul Declaration (2012) on City Tourism, UNWTO, ECM and MODUL University join forces to promote the sustainable development of city tourism as a driver of economic growth.
The three partners will each provide specific expertise to this common goal, which is key to improve planning and decision making by private and public tourism stakeholders in cities worldwide. The project will count on essential research, insights and tools to benchmark city performance developed by European Cities Marketing’s as well as on TourMIS, a platform for tourism associations to exchange data on overnight stays, hotel capacities and occupancy rate hosted by the MODUL University Vienna.
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, welcomed this new partnership. “City tourism has become a strategic element in urban planning and management; thanks to this agreement with ECM and MODUL University Vienna, we will be able to work on systematic data collection on city tourism all over the world”, he said
Commenting on the partnership agreement, ECM President Ignasi de Delàs added: "We are thrilled to partner with UNWTO and MODUL University Vienna, and extend our expertise in benchmarking and measuring city tourism on the global level. This is a milestone in the history of the expertise developed within European Cities Marketing.”
Karl Wöber, President of MODUL University Vienna concluded: “At present, 115 cities enter their information in TourMIS on a monthly or annual basis and I am really honoured to extend the TourMIS database. We will certainly provide guidance to cities willing to participate in the Global City Tourism Benchmarking report so that they can meet the required standards.”
ECM, MODUL University Vienna and UNWTO aim to regularly publish a Global City Tourism Benchmarking Report. The partners will furthermore form a group of international experts to observe and comment on the progress of the project and provide guidelines on how to further integrate indicators on the economic, environmental and social impact of tourism into the current system of city tourism measurement.
European Cities Marketing is a non-profit organisation improving the competitiveness and performance of leading cities of Europe by providing a platform for convention, leisure and city marketing professionals to exchange knowledge, best practice and widen their network to build new business. European Cities Marketing is promoting and linking the interests of 110 members from more than 100 major cities in 36 countries.
Contact information
Flavie Baudot
Tel: +33 380 56 02 00
MODUL Research is a subdivision of MODUL University Vienna that aims to bridge the two domains of basic and applied research. MODUL Research engages in research projects that provide workable solutions to problems that private firms, industry associations, groups in civil society, and governmental organisations have identified as important.
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UNWTO
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Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: +34 91 567 81 60
