“As the world economy re-energises following the recession, the tourism sector’s contribution required for the global economic recovery stretches far and wide, and that growing an economically, environmentally as well as socially sustainable travel and tourism sector on an ethical basis can play a meaningful role to stimulate growth, create jobs, develop infrastructure and rural economies, promote trade, alleviate poverty, and particularly facilitate development in the least developed and emerging economies.”

'T.20 Joint Communiqué'- (1st T.20 Minister´s Meeting, Feb 2010)

The first T.20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting was held in Johannesburg, at the invitation of the government of South Africa (23-24 February 2010) following an informal gathering of the T20 countries held in Kazakhstan during UNWTO’s General Assembly.

The meeting was attended by tourism high representatives of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Commission (UE), France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Republic of Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Spain (Presidency of the European Union).

The meeting had the full support of UNWTO and was enriched by expert contributions from other international organizations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

The purpose of the first T.20 Ministers’ Meeting was to initiate a ministerial dialogue on how further to explore the synergies between strengthened global economic cooperation and the tourism sector’s efforts to build resilience and stimulate new sustainable and responsible growth.

The outcomes of the meeting have been captured in a communiqué, which is being shared in various international fora.

Presentations:

Travel and tourism: Stimulus for the global economy
Keynote presentation on the State of the Global and the G20 Economies: Ms Tiziana Bonapace, Chief, Macroeconomics and Policy Analysis, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia

Building resilience in the travel and tourism sector
Mr Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), World Travel and Tourism Council
Mr George Dragnich, Executive Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Tourism and the transition to the green economy
Mr Theodore Oben, Chief, Sport and the Environment Unit, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Ministerial discussion

Positioning Tourism in the Global Agenda
Professor Ian Goldin, Director, James Martin 21st Century School, University of Oxford

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