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UNWTO Puts Spotlight on Tourism Investment in the Americas

Read more about UNWTO Puts Spotlight on Tourism Investment in the Americas

UNWTO Puts Spotlight on Tourism Investment in the Americas

Americas
30 Jun 2023

UNWTO further strengthened its cooperation with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean as it brought together public and private sector leaders to advance investments in the tourism sector.

Against the backdrop of the meeting of its 68th Regional Commission for the Americas in Quito, Ecuador, UNWTO hosted the Seminar on Sustainable Investments to explore the main challenges and opportunities around this topic in the region.

Tourism Investments: A defining priority

The latest data from UNWTO shows that tourism in the Americas is steadily recovering, with international arrivals reaching 86% of 2019 levels by the end of the first quarter of this year. Moreover, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tourism sector, which had experienced a decline, is now showing signs of revitalization:

Registered projects investment projects rose by 185% between 2022 2021. These projects accounted for a total value of 192.6 billion USD, reflecting rising investor confidence in the region's potential.

Additionally, in 2021, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) surged to US$134 billion, a 56% year-on-year increase, reclaiming a substantial portion of the ground lost in 2020.

To realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Americas, attracting investments that actively support their achievement is of utmost importance. It is crucial to establish a robust multilateral regulatory framework that fosters sustainable investments, further propelling the region's progress towards the SDGs.

Quito Seminar Provides High-Level Platform

The Seminar on Sustainable Investments: A Strategy towards Competitiveness invited tourism ministers, traditional and non-traditional investors, multilateral funds, regional economic communities, tourism technology start-ups and the media to share good practices and knowledge. Highlighting the level of high-level political support for UNWTO’s work in this area, the Seminar counted on the presence of Ministers of Tourism of Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Puerto Rico and Vice Minister of the Dominican Republic. The focus was on:

Encouraging strategic frameworks that facilitate the climate of doing business in the region, including measures to safeguard, attract and promote tourism investment projects to accelerate economic recovery and build resilience.

Fostering cooperation for the application of sustainable investment frameworks for the promotion of tourism investments and job creation, including through the promotion of incentives focused on innovative financing instruments.

Promoting regional cooperation for streamlining sustainable tourism investment mechanisms, through economic recovery and diversification instruments with multiplier effects.

Contributing to the discussions were high-level representatives the Development Bank of Latin American and the Caribbean (CAF), fDi Intelligence of the Financial Times, IDB - Inter-American Development Bank and, representing investors and the private sector, Hotel Jama Campay, WAYRA (Telefónica), IMPAQTO, UnTours, Maraey, Metropolitan Touring, GHL Hoteles and the Confederación Panamericana de Escuelas de Hotelería, Gastronomía y Turismo, amongst others, sharing sustainable investment models in innovative infrastructure.

UNWTO and CAF

In January 2023, UNWTO and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) announced a new partnership to promote and retain investment in tourism across the Latin American and Caribbean region. In Quito:

UNWTO and CAF released the first of a series of investment guidelines titled "Tourism Doing Business¨. The first edition, “Investing in Ecuador" aims to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ecuador's tourism sector by showcasing the country's favorable conditions and solid economic recovery post-pandemic, demonstrated by a favorable 2.9% growth in 2022 alongside a 21.7% growth in FDI between 2021 and 2022 .
The partnership includes the development of tourism investment guides for five countries: Barbados, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay

UNWTO Welcomes Members of the Americas to Ecuador

Americas
28 Jun 2023

Tourism leaders from across the Americas committed to a more ethical, inclusive tourism as the sector bounces back to drive economic recovery across the region. The 68th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas brought together high-level delegations from 20 countries.

The meeting saw participants work together around shared priorities, with a focus on jobs and education, boosting investment in the sector and advancing sustainability and climate action efforts.

The Americas: Strong demand drives tourism recovery

According to UNWTO data, tourism in the Americas has experienced rapid recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.

International arrivals to destinations across the Americas reached 86% of pre-pandemic levels at the end of the first quarter of 2023. International seat capacity on planes in the region is also close to pre-pandemic levels, at 97%.

Several destinations in the region are already above pre-pandemic levels in terms of international arrivals, including Saint Maarten (+51%), El Salvador (+26%), Colombia (+18%), the Virgin Islands and the United States (+17%), Guatemala (+14%), Honduras (+13%) and the Dominican Republic (+11%).

Strong demand from the United States outbound market has been key to driving recovery.

Our Regional Commission meeting has made clear a shared commitment to make the most of this recovery by building a stronger, more resilient and more sustainable sector that delivers real benefits for many millions of people right across the region

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “For the Americas, tourism’s recovery has been rapid and remarkable. Our Regional Commission meeting has made clear a shared commitment to make the most of this recovery by building a stronger, more resilient and more sustainable sector that delivers real benefits for many millions of people right across the region.”

High-Level Support as Regional Commission Meets

On the eve of the Regional Commission meeting, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili met with the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, reflecting his Government’s strong support for tourism as a key pillar of sustainable economic development, both in the country and across the region. Also participating in the Commission meeting were Ministers and Vice-Ministers of Tourism from 15 countries. Key achievements of the Commission Meeting included:

Legal Protection for Tourists: Chile, Costa Rica, Haiti and Honduras all announced they will adhere to the UNWTO International Code for the Protection of Tourists. This landmark legal first is designed to provide comprehensive and harmonized legal protection for tourists, thereby boosting confidence in travel and making the responsibilities of different tourism stakeholders more transparent. From the region, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay and Uruguay have already adhered to the Code.

Tourism Law: UNWTO announced plans to establish a first UNWTO Observatory on Tourism Law for Latin America and the Caribbean

Tourism Education and Youth Empowerment: Member States were updated on UNWTO’s progress in one of its priority areas, with achievements in the region including UNWTO Academy courses held in Argentina and Mexico, collaboration on specialist tourism courses with the Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico.

Tourism Investments: UNWTO has produced Investments Guides for Dominican Republic, Colombia and Paraguay, with seven more focused on countries in the region set to follow. In Quito, UNWTO also hosted a special Investments Seminar and announced the next step in its collaboration with CAF, the Investment Bank of Latin America.

Collaboration: UNWTO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Honduras around tourism for sustainable development.

Looking Ahead

In line with UNWTO’s statutory obligations, Members from the Americas agreed:

Argentina and Paraguay will serve as Vice-Presidents for the UNWTO General Assembly, set to be held in October.
The Dominican Republic will serve as President of the Regional Commission for the Americas for 2023-2025. Argentina and Paraguay will serve as Vice-Presidents for the same period.
Colombia and Jamaica will serve on the UNWTO Executive Council for 2023-2027.
The 69th Regional Commission meeting will be held in Cuba in 2024. Peru will then host the 70th meeting in 2025.

Americas
14 Apr 2023

UNWTO has announced Tlaxcala’s Sustainable Tourism Observatory as the latest member of its International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).

UNWTO has identified evidence-based decision making and the participation of local stakeholders as key for the successful development of sustainable tourism at the destination level. The Tlaxcala Secretary of Tourism and its Sustainable Tourism Observatory have shown their commitment to both of these areas, paving the way for them to become part of the expanding global Network.

The INSTO network is an opportunity to work together to ensure that tourism is a tool that contributes to sustainable development

Looking beyond tourism's economic impact

Within the INSTO framework, the Observatory will shift from focusing largely on the economic impact of tourism to also measuring tourism's social and environment impacts. This will help Tlaxcala to manage tourism development in a responsible and sustainable manner, taking a holistic view in developing adequate and innovative strategies for "rethinking" tourism.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "As we rethink tourism and guide the sector towards greater resilience, inclusivity and sustainability, measurement has never been more important. It provides a better understanding of where a destination stands and where it wants to go. The INSTO network is an opportunity to work together to ensure that tourism is a tool that contributes to sustainable development. We are very pleased to welcome Tlaxcala as a new member."

Tlaxcala's Tourism Observatory will now monitor the 11 mandatory INSTO key areas, namely: tourism seasonality, employment, economic benefits, energy management, water management, wastewater management, solid waste management, climate action, accessibility, local satisfaction and governance.

Collaboration as key

The State of Tlaxcala is located in the central part of Mexico and is the smallest federal entity in terms of geographical size. Rich in culture and history, with important archaeological sites as well as natural resources, Tlaxcala welcomed 570,000 tourists in 2019, accounting for 8.5% of the State GDP and 5.5% of the State's employment. In accordance with the Tlaxcala State Tourism Law of 2022, a Tourist Consultative Council was established, composed of private, public and civil sector actors, to provide multi-disciplinary advice to the Ministry of Tourism of Tlaxcala on sustainable tourism development.

This participatory approach is also reflected in the mission statement of the Tourism Observator, "to be an effective instrument for the sustainable tourism development of Tlaxcala through the participation of all the agents linked to tourist activity and the authorities related to it, through having reliable, timely and relevant information that supports decision-making and monitoring of the results of public policies to promote tourism."

Tlaxcala´s Secretary of Tourism, Ms. Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, noted: "Becoming a member of INSTO allows as us to frame our tourism sustainability efforts according to the 11 key monitoring areas that are mandatory for INSTO members. We are honored to become the third Observatory in Mexico to be part of this network."

About INSTO

The UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) was created in 2004 with the main objectives to support the continuous improvement of sustainability and resilience in the tourism sector through systematic, timely and regular monitoring of tourism performance and to connect dedicated destinations, helping them to exchange and improve knowledge and understanding about destination-wide resource use and the responsible management of tourism.

Tlaxcala Sustainable Tourism Observatory

Americas
13 Apr 2023

Member since

2023

Hosted by

Secretariat of Tourism of the State of Tlaxcala

Monitoring area

Tlaxcala, México

The Tourist Consultative Council of the State of Tlaxcala is the collegiate, inter-institutional and plural body of necessary consultation, advice and technical opinion of the State Tourism Secretariat, whose objective is to integrate strategies and mechanisms that promote the development of tourism in the Entity. Through the Council, the public, social and private sectors, whose actions have a direct or indirect impact on tourism, will have active, committed and responsible participation in the development of the tourism sector. Considering the integration and attributions of the Council and the fact that it is chaired by the Governor of Tlaxcala, there are many advantages that the Observatory is within the Council.

FACTS & FIGURES

MISSION

To be an effective instrument for the sustainable tourism development of Tlaxcala through the participation of all the agents linked to the tourist activity and the authorities related to it, through having reliable, timely and relevant information that supports decision-making and monitoring of the results of public policies to promote tourism.

CURRENT MONITORING PROCESSES

Currently, the tourism Observatory of Tlaxcala mainly measures economic impact. With this purpose, the current Observatory has carried out permanent monitoring since 2016 with the support of other sources, among which the National Institute of Statistics and Geography and the Federal Tourism Secretariat stand out, the contribution of tourism to the economy and employment in the state is calculated. The current version of the Tourist Observatory does not measure environmental issues. However, several agencies of the Federal Government of Mexico are in charge of these issues and carry out follow-up work related to the management of wastewater, solid waste, air quality, clean energy generation, among others. To this goal, the Ministry of Tourism has been working on redesigning the Tourism Observatory to turn it into an effective tool for the participation of all agents in the sector, as well as a vehicle for better monitoring of progress and results in terms of making the tourism a promoter of the economic and social development of Tlaxcala.

KEY MONITORING AREAS

TOURISM AND ECONOMY:
tourism seasonality, employment, destination economic benefits

ENVIRONMENT:
energy management, water management, waste water management, solid waste management, climate action

SOCIAL:
accessibility, governance, local satisfaction

KNOWLEDGE ON THE TOURIST:
tourist profile

DID YOU KNOW...

Between the months of June and August, it is possible to see thousands of fireflies illuminating the forest during the reproduction process, one of the biggest tourist attractions is the Sanctuary of the Fireflies.

RESOURCES

Preliminary Study of the Tlaxcala Sustainable Tourism Observatory

CONTACT

TLAXCALA SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OBSERVATORY

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Workshop on Tourism Statistics with a focus on the Caribbean

Read more about Workshop on Tourism Statistics with a focus on the Caribbean

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16 -17 February 2021 Online

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Americas

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Wed, 02/17/2021 - 15:00

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Workshop on Tourism Statistics with a focus on the Caribbean

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Workshop on Tourism Statistics, 16 - 17 February 2021

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UNWTO and Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador Dario Item Share Vision of Tourism for Growth and Opportunity

Americas
6 Feb 2023

UNWTO has identified the potential of tourism to drive economic growth and social opportunity across its newest Member State, Antigua and Barbuda.

The Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to Spain, Dr. Dario Item, along with the embassy's Advisor, Daniel Yakovlev, were welcomed to the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid to build on the friendly cooperation in place since the Caribbean destination became the Organization’s newest Member State and eighth in the Caribbean region when it joined in 2021. Since then, Dr. Dario Item has served as his country’s Permanent Representative to UNWTO, alongside his Ambassadorial role.

Welcoming the delegation, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, commended the leadership of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and congratulated him on his recent re-election. He also sent his thanks to Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Transport and Investments Charles Henry Fernandez for his ongoing support. In 2021 Antigua and Barbuda welcomed around 170,000 international arrivals and revenues from the sector reached US$490 million. As with many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), tourism is a key economic sector for Antigua and Barbuda and UNWTO is working with the Government to maximise its potential as a pillar of sustainable and inclusive growth.

The official visit to the UNWTO headquarters took place within the framework of the 2023 FITUR tourism trade fair in Madrid. To conclude, Dr. Dario Item and his delegation extended an invitation for UNWTO Secretary-General to visit Antigua and Barbuda, with details to be confirmed in due course.

UNWTO and Antigua and Barbuda

Tourism for Growth and Opportunity

UNWTO and Antigua and Barbuda

Tourism for Growth and Opportunity

UNWTO and Antigua and Barbuda

Tourism for Growth and Opportunity

Mexico’s Yucatán State Joins the UNWTO Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories

Americas
24 Jan 2023

UNWTO has welcomed Yucatán’s Tourism Observatory into its International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).

The Yucatán Tourism Observatory was established in 2018 to generate and manage information around tourism development. This work has identified key challenges and opportunities and so led to the design of relevant policies aimed at supporting the destination’s overall sustainable development, thereby increasing its competitiveness. Joining the INSTO Network will help Yucatán manage tourism development in a responsible and sustainable manner, taking a holistic view in developing adequate and innovative strategies for “rethinking” tourism.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “In this time of rethinking tourism, measurement is increasingly important as it provides a better understanding of where a destination stands and where it wants to go. The INSTO network provides an opportunity to work together to ensure that tourism is a tool that contributes to sustainable development. We are very pleased to welcome Yucatán as a new member.”

Green and sustainable future plans for Yucatán´s tourism

The INSTO network provides an opportunity to work together to ensure that tourism is a tool that contributes to sustainable development. We are very pleased to welcome Yucatán as a new member

Yucatán is home to the Maya, has an extensive coastline, is mostly covered by forests, jungles and has numerous cenotes, sinkholes created by collapsed limestone rocks that expose groundwater. This and other tourism resources attracted 2.1 million overnight tourists in 2019, two-thirds of them domestic tourists. Tourism GDP accounts for 11,1% of Yucatán’s overall GDP. According to the vision of the Secretariat of Tourism of the State of Yucatán (SEFOTUR) “In 2030 tourism is widely recognized as a key sector that benefits Yucatán society, and to conduct tourism development in consensus with industry actors and with a full insertion of society in the benefits of tourism”. Among the environmental priorities climate action, ecosystem restoration and conservation, water quality preservation, and sustainable energy supply are cited, as well as the need to create a culture of sustainability within Yucatán society.

Yucatan's Secretary of Tourism, Michelle Fridman Hirsch, noted: "We are very pleased to have been enrolled in the UNWTO's INSTO network, as we become the second Observatory in Mexico to be part of this network, which will allow us to better evaluate the impact of tourism in Yucatan and contribute with better data to global sustainable tourism".

Yucatán’s Tourism Observatory will monitor the 11 mandatory INSTO key areas for tourism sustainability: tourism seasonality, employment, economic benefits of the destination, energy management, water management, wastewater management, solid waste management, climate action, accessibility, local satisfaction and governance.

About INSTO

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