UN Tourism and UN Habitat Partner for a Better Urban Future Through Tourism

• All Regions
• 25 Mar 2024

UN Tourism and Spain’s Office of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) partnered to discuss the role and challenges of tourism in cities and territories.

The meeting, held with the support of the Department of Territorial Planning of the Basque Government under the theme “Advancing Sustainable Urban Tourism: developing tools for promoting good practices in cities”, gathered experts from UN agencies, international organizations, representatives of national, regional and local governments, academia and the private sector. The Experts Group explored how the sector can contribute to the creation of more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities, as well as addressing the challenges around urban tourism. 

Representatives from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bilbao, Genoa, Medellin, Porto, Valencia, Venice, as well as the Basque Country, shared their policies and practices fostering knowledge exchange and opportunities for mutual collaboration. From the UN Tourism and UN-Habitat intersection of mandates, different perspectives about the role of tourism as a contributor to the social, economic, environmental, and cultural sustainability of the cities were brought to the debate. 

Representatives of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme and the (OECD) Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development were also part to the meeting and shared their vision and experiences in a topic that brings together cities, tourism, territories, economy, environment, culture and heritage.  

Objectives and outcomes of the Expert Group Meeting 

The experts meeting focused on:  

• Identifying current challenges for sustainable urban tourism. 
• Understanding the role of tourism in the Urban Agenda.  
• Looking into the latest trends and ongoing initiatives, policies and plans on urban tourism.  
• Exploring how innovative approaches could contribute to promoting sustainable tourism in urban contexts and territories. 
• Exploring ways to integrate a sustainable urban tourism approach into policies and plans in urban and territorial settings. 

Next Steps in the Global Urban Agenda  

The Expert Group Meeting takeaways will deepen the work of both UN Agencies on advancing sustainable and resilient cities and territories and will serve to guide regional and local governments and other stakeholders in identifying the key challenges facing urban tourism in order to move towards sustainability in their contexts, providing them with tools and proposals to address them.  

The conclusions from the meeting will also serve to prepare the discussions and events on sustainable urban tourism at the 12th World Urban Forum (WUF 12) in November 2024 in Cairo, Egypt and the Mayors Forum for Sustainable Urban Tourism, led by UN Tourism. 

Related links:

• Download News Release on PDF
• Urban Tourism

New Products and Experiences: an opportunity for mountain tourism

• All Regions
• 21 Mar 2024

Offering more diverse experiences and investing in talented people will play a key role in helping mountain areas grow tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner.

The 12th World Congress on Snow, Mountain and Wellness Tourism (20-21 March 2024, Andorra) identified key challenges, among them climate change and evolving consumer trends, while recognizing the role tourism can play in the protection of the fragile mountain ecosystem, the building of resilience for mountain communities, and the preservation of the local heritage. 

Five Years of Action  

Held in the framework of the United Nation’s Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions, the Congress focused on medical and wellness tourism, sustainability, the promotion of premium segments in mountain areas, emerging tourism products and the attraction and retention of human talent. 

Also on the agenda was ensuring the importance of measuring the flow of visitors to mountains, representing the vital step towards unlocking the potential of the sector, promoting evidence based policies and ensure its sustainable management, according to a UN Tourism report, jointly developed with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership (MP) presented at the event. 

Opening the Congress, Prime Minister, Xavier Espot, stated: “Tourism in Andorra has recovered pre-pandemic numbers, with more than 9 million tourists and 12 million overnight stays in 2023. However, it is important to seek a balance that ensures environmental continuity and the well-being of people, moving towards a model based on sustainability to find the balance between quantity and quality. Tourism should not be perceived as a problem, but as part of the solutions to the great challenges that the future brings, because a tourism that is respectful of nature, culture and society guarantees resources for the future." 

Natalia Bayona, Executive Director at UN Tourism, recalled that “Tourism is a lifeline for many communities in mountain regions. At the same time, it can play a leading role in protecting these important ecosystems. It can provide new opportunities for conservation and drive the development of local communities. I trust that this Congress will help us move towards a better, more innovative, inclusive and sustainable growth for people and planet.” 

High-level panel looks into polices for mountain tourism development   

A high-level panel on policies that promote diversification, innovation and sustainability for mountain destinations gathered Jordi Torres Falcó, Minister of Tourism and Commerce of Andorra, Rosana Morillo Rodriguez, Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain, and Alessandra Priante, President of the Italian National Tourism Board (ENIT). Participants stressed the importance of creating a strong framework that aligns all related stakeholders towards a common vision for the development of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive mountain tourism that benefits its communities directly. 

Exploring health tourism for mountain development   

As an outcome of the 2022 edition, the 2024 Congress included a new focus on health (medical and wellness) tourism, a segment where mountains can offer important added value and have a competitive advantage. This reflects the shift to diversify mountain tourism products, create demand all year around and address the demand of today’s tourist. 

Experiences in this segment were presented by speakers such as Csilla Mezősi, Secretary-General of the European Spas Association, Lászlo Puczko, CEO of Health Tourism Worldwide, Joan Muro, President of the Health Tourism Association of Andorra Health Destination and Emma Haefeli, Marketing Director of CHENOT GROUP (Switzerland). 

Tourism for rural development  

Recalling how tourism can be a driver of rural development, promoting the valorisation and preservation of local culture and values of mountain communities, the Congress also counted with the participation of representatives from three Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism: Saas-Fee of the Swiss region of Valais (BTV in 2021), St. Anton am Arlberg of Austria (BTV 2023) and Ordino of Andorra (BTV in 2023). These villages presented how they stand out in addressing seasonality by diversifying tourism products in an innovative and sustainable manner. 

Over 300 participants from 14 countries gathered in Andorra, with many also joining via livestreaming. Speakers included, among others, representatives from Slow Food Carinthia in Austria, National Geographic, l’Agence des Pyrénées, the Sustainable Alpine Tourism Initiative, Pic du Midi, the Creative Tourism Network, Mabrian (Spain), Horwath HTL, as well as leading education institutions such as CETT Barcelona and the Bella Vista Institute of Higher Education of Switzerland. 

Minister of Tourism and Commerce of Andorra, Jordi Torres Falcó, concluded: “This year we have introduced a new segment, wellness, demonstrating that in the tourism sector we evolve and adapt to new tourism trends. We also face the need to continue working to advance the Congress, allowing us to respond to the needs of the sector, providing knowledge and tools to improve the mountain tourism offer and, at the same time, become a laboratory where we can delve deeper into topics as varied as the integration of tourism in local communities, or education and training”. 

New Products and Experiences: an opportunity for mountain tourism

Andorra

New Products and Experiences: an opportunity for mountain tourism

Andorra

New Products and Experiences: an opportunity for mountain tourism

Andorra

New Products and Experiences: an opportunity for mountain tourism

Andorra

Related Links

• Download News Release on PDF
• 12th World Congress on Snow, Mountain and Wellness Tourism
• UN Tourism Report ‘Understanding and Quantifying Mountain Tourism’

UN Tourism and WTCF Advance Data-Driven Approach to City Tourism

• All Regions
• 6 Mar 2024

UN Tourism and the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) have launched a new report highlighting the need to measure the social and environmental impact of tourism on urban destinations.

The report assesses into the current situation and challenges of tourism data at the city level. The analysis will help advance the creation of global database of urban tourism, enabling better understanding and benchmarking of its size and value, both globally and by region.

More and better data needed

The new report provides an overview of the current situation of tourism data collection and reporting in 22 destinations in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. The study:

• Identifies existing indicators and relevant data, highlighting the efforts taken to pave the path towards a creation of a global urban tourism database.
• Addresses the importance of measuring impacts beyond the economic factors and adding the socio-cultural and environmental dimensions of city tourism.
• Provides an overview of the potential use of big data for measuring urban tourism, including the main challenges, with a view to enhancing key elements of a smart destination including technology and governance.

The report was launched during the 2024 edition of the leading global travel and tourism trade fair, ITB Berlin

Towards a global urban tourism database

UN Tourism, with the support of the the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other parties, is leading the development of a Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST). This will develop a common approach to building harmonized data at the national and subnational level to support the analysis of tourism activity and its sustainability at all scales.

To date, the UN Tourism International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories has played a crucial role in helping destinations in its endeavours towards monitoring and evaluating the economic, environmental and social impacts of tourism fostering sustainable tourism practices locally and globally. 

Related links

• Download News Release on PDF
• “Quantifying tourism in city destinations: Towards a better understanding of urban tourism”
• Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST)
• UN Tourism International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories
• ITB 2024
• Urban Tourism

UN Tourism reports openness is back to pre-pandemic levels

• All Regions
• 12 Mar 2024

UN Tourism has released its latest Tourism Visa Openness report on global visa policies, revealing continuous shifts in international travel regulations.

The report sheds light on the evolving landscape of travel facilitation. It includes the Tourism Visa Openness Index that measures the degree to which destinations facilitate tourism and how open a country is in terms of visa facilitation for tourism purposes. Also, mobility scores are included to indicate to the extent to which citizens around the world are subject to visa policies, as well as an in-depth analysis of the reciprocity of visa policies.

Key findings include¹:

Regional Openness Scores:

• Return to Pre-pandemic openness: Destinations' openness to international travel has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels following the lifting of COVID-19 related travel restrictions. As a consequence of the pandemic, new forms of travel facilitation, such as "nomadic visas", also appeared.
• Decline in traditional visa requirements: Fewer people worldwide now require a traditional visa to travel, falling from 77% in 2008 to 59% in 2018, and then to 47% in 2023.
• Visa-exempt travel: 21% of the world population do not need any form of visa, an increase from 17% in 2008 and 20% in 2018.
• Visa on arrival: 14% of the world population can apply for visa on arrival, an increase from 6% in 2008. and 15% in 2018.
• eVisas: 18% of the world population can apply for eVisas, an increase from 3% in 2013 and 7% in 2018.

The report looks at visa regulations for tourism by region, highlighting:

• Asia and the Pacific had the highest openness score of all world regions.
• The most open sub-regions are South East Asia, East Africa and the Caribbean.
• The greatest increase in openness since the last report in 2018 was observed in South Asia and West Africa.
• The most restrictive regions remain Central and North Africa, North America and Northern and Western Europe.
• Visa exemptions are particularly prevalent in the Caribbean and Central America.
• Visa on arrival policies is common in East Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and West Africa.
• Traditional visa requests in the Middle East decreased from 71% of the global population in 2015 to 57% in 2023.
• eVisas are prevalent in West and East Africa and South Asia.

Recommendations for streamlined travel

The report underscores the pivotal role of visa policy improvements in fostering tourism growth. Key recommendations include increased integration of tourism perspectives into visa strategies, targeted visa-exemption programs for low-risk traveler markets and expanded visa on arrival facilities. In addition, clear communication on visa policies is vital, along with a streamlined visa application process, accelerated processing times and optimized entry procedures for an enhanced visitor experience.

Related Links

• Download News Release on PDF
• UN Tourism: Travel Facilitation
• UN Tourism Visa Openness Report 2023

1 Data collection and validation took place January to May 2023.