We must better understand the growing economic, societal and environmental impacts of technology and innovation in tourism if our sector is to sustain continuous and inclusive growth in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

This year, World Tourism Day highlights the need for investment in disruptive digital technologies that can help foster an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship in tourism.

We live in an increasingly connected and interdependent world with digital advances transforming how we inform ourselves, transforming our behaviour, and encouraging innovation. We need not only new tools but also new capacities and ways of thinking. So across the United Nations family we are designing innovative projects, initiatives and partnerships.

The sheer size of global tourism and its impact on many other sectors, and all of the Sustainable Development Goals, puts it at the forefront of social responsibility, which today goes hand-in-hand with innovation on all levels.

Harnessing innovation and digital advances provides tourism with opportunities to improve inclusiveness, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other objectives within the wider sustainable development agenda. The digital transformation is about providing benefits to all, and we are making sure that tourism contributes to this global commitment.

Zurab Pololikashvili,
UNWTO Secretary-General

The wide reach of tourism into many sectors, from infrastructure and energy to transport and sanitation, and its huge impact on job creation, make it a vital contributor to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the same time, tourism plays a pivotal role in advancing cultural understanding and bringing people together.

Yet tourism needs innovation in technology to realize its potential contributions. Its benefits need to flow to host communities. Governments can help to connect startups with investors to facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship, employment and a truly inclusive tourism sector.

Digital technologies have brought positive momentum to societies and economies around the world. They have connected us on a global level, helped to empower the most vulnerable and become our crucial allies for sustainable development. Our challenge is to continue harnessing this power for good while safeguarding against the risks.

On World Tourism Day, I call on governments to support digital technologies that can transform the way we travel, reduce the ecological burden of tourism and bring the benefits of tourism to all.

António Gutierres,
UN Secretary-General

The wide reach of tourism into many sectors, from infrastructure and energy to transport and sanitation, and its huge impact on job creation, make it a vital contributor to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the same time, tourism plays a pivotal role in advancing cultural understanding and bringing people together.

Yet tourism needs innovation in technology to realize its potential contributions. Its benefits need to flow to host communities. Governments can help to connect startups with investors to facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship, employment and a truly inclusive tourism sector.

Digital technologies have brought positive momentum to societies and economies around the world. They have connected us on a global level, helped to empower the most vulnerable and become our crucial allies for sustainable development. Our challenge is to continue harnessing this power for good while safeguarding against the risks.

On World Tourism Day, I call on governments to support digital technologies that can transform the way we travel, reduce the ecological burden of tourism and bring the benefits of tourism to all.

Zoltán Guller,
CEO, Hungarian Tourism Agency