Tourism On The Agenda As UNWTO Welcomes Fellow UN Agencies And World Leaders To Madrid For COP25

• All Regions
• 2 Dec 2019

Madrid, Spain, 2 December 2019 – The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has welcomed its fellow United Nations agencies to Madrid for the start of the COP25 Climate Change Summit. With tourism now high on the United Nations agenda, and with UNWTO the global leader in tourism for development and advocacy, this summit will see the near-limitless potential of the sector discussed at the very highest level and placed at the center of the climate emergency conversation.

Leaders from around the world are set to attend the summit, which will take place from 2-13 December under the Presidency of the Government of Chile. A key objective this year is to advance critical issues relating to the full operationalization of the Paris Agreement. Since the landmark climate change agreement was signed by 197 nations in 2015, tourism has established itself as one of the most important global sectors for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN Sustainability Agenda.

As the United Nations specialized agency for the promotion of tourism as a driver of the sustainable development agenda, UNWTO participates with a high-level delegation, led by UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili in the summit. UNWTO will also be holding a high-level side event on 3 December. This official side event in the Blue Zone brings back the tourism discussion into the heart of the COP, engaging policy makers whom are committed to the low carbon transformation of the tourism sector.

The official side event will mark the launch of the new UNWTO-ITF report Transport-Related CO2 Emissions in the Tourism Sector, a groundbreaking study that presents the climate implications of the different modes of transport used by the tourism sector and provides the evidence necessary for the global tourism sector to define a high ambition scenario for the years to come.

“UNWTO is proud to lead the efforts of the global tourism sector to deliver on climate response,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili. “Spain is a global tourism leader and Madrid the ideal setting for this. I thank the Government of Chile for organizing this high-level summit and Spain for hosting it. COP25 represents a great opportunity to stress the important role tourism can play in building a better, more sustainable world for all”, he added.

The event will feature high-level speakers, led by the UNWTO Secretary-General and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa. Also contributing at the event will be the Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, Ms. Isabel Oliver, Ms. Brigitte Collet, French Ambassador for Climate, Mr. Carlos Gentile, Secretary of State for Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Argentina and Chair of the Board of Directors of the One Planet network and Mr. Wills Agricole, Principal Secretary for Energy and Climate Change of Seychelles.

Relevant links

• One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme "Transforming tourism for climate action" official side-event at COP2
• UN Climate Change Conference, COP25
• Side events and exhibits at COP 25

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EBRD and UNWTO team up to promote inclusive tourism and achieve Sustainable Development Goals

• All Regions
• 4 Oct 2019

• EBRD and United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) join forces to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• The two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Madrid
• Focus on fostering education in tourism for job creation and socioeconomic inclusion

Madrid, 4 October 2019 - The EBRD and the UNWTO are joining forces to strengthen sustainable and inclusive tourism as a tool for achieving growth and development.

Under an MoU, signed by EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti and UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili at the UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid, the two institutions pledge to work together in promoting and fostering tourism for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The MoU is also aligned with the new property and tourism strategy the EBRD published yesterday.

In particular, the EBRD and UNWTO are looking for ways to strengthen the role of the tourism sector for social, economic and environmental development for regional integration and economic diversification.

Fostering education and training in tourism for job creation and socioeconomic inclusion, by adopting the best practices to increase and improve skillsets in the sector, is a key priority for both the EBRD and UNWTO.

The two institutions will also look to strengthen tourism governance and institutions, promote policy dialogue at national and regional level on matters of common concern, facilitate investments and advocate for the increase of Official Development Aid flows to the tourism sector, including through UNWTO.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili commented: “Tourism has become a central part of the global sustainable development agenda. Strengthening our partnership with the EBRD will help us drive the sector forward, deliver change in the tourism climate and digital economy and help guide the growth of tourism in a responsible and inclusive manner for the benefit of all. We are happy to be your tourism intelligence and action partner.”

EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said: “I am very delighted to be working with UNWTO to promote sustainable and inclusive tourism across the EBRD regions. Travel and tourism represent a vitally important and fast-growing sector of the global economy, and can benefit poorer, more remote regions, opening up job opportunities, promoting economic inclusion for all and facilitating the transfer of valuable skills. These are all objectives central to the EBRD’s mission.”

The EBRD and UNWTO are longstanding partners. In 2015, the two institutions signed an agreement in the framework of the EBRD’s commitment for supporting inclusive and sustainable tourism in the economies where the Bank invests, particularly in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region and the Western Balkans.

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