Data, Sustainability and Collaboration the Focus as UN Tourism Returns to ITB Berlin

• All Regions
• 7 Mar 2024

UN Tourism returned to ITB Berlin, bringing its new name and look to the leading travel trade fair and uniting the sector around its focus on sustainability, investments and collaboration.

Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili joined the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wenger, and other public and private sector leaders in officially opening the 2024 event. He said: “Tourism’s return means so much to so many people. Tourism is a great uniting force. Together, we are growing new areas of our sector, to build greater resilience and spread the benefits of tourism even wider.” At the opening, the event’s host, Messe Berlin was recognized for its 40 years as a UN Tourism Affiliate Member and for its key role in advancing international meetings and events tourism and fostering partnerships in the German capital.

Together, we are growing new areas of our sector, to build greater resilience and spread the benefits of tourism even wider

Under its new look and name, UN Tourism once again made ITB Berlin a top platform for high-level collaboration and for advancing several of its key priorities for the sector:

Better data for deeper transformation

UN Tourism and the World Tourism Cities Federation (WCTF) launched a joint report highlighting the need to measure the social and environmental impacts of tourism in urban destinations in a more effective and harmonized way. The report stresses the importance of embracing big data and other forms of technology and looks ahead to the creation of a first global urban tourism database.

The launch of the publication comes in the same week that all 193 UN members adopted the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST).

Accelerating Climate Action

Continuing its leading role in the One Planet Tourism Network and the Glasgow Declaration, UN Tourism launched Policy Guidance to Support Climate Action by National Tourism Administrations (NTAs). The guide will assist NTAs everywhere to develop policies and create initiatives designed to accelerate the shift towards a low-carbon sector The guide, which also contains examples of best practice, was developed after consultations with Ministries of Tourism of Member States. The guidance is complemented by a Glasgow Declaration Engagement Pack, with practical recommendations on how to get started on climate action in tourism. Also at ITB Berlin, UN Tourism officials participated in a roundtable event on Reconciling Safety and Sustainability.

Additionally, bringing together its focus on rural development, gender equality and sustainability, UN Tourism also participated in a special side event, Sustainable Rural Tourism: A Foundation for Biodiversity Preservation and Gender Equality – Potentials and Interactions, providing insights and best practice recommendations.

Working closely with Member States

Within the framework of ITB 2024, UN Tourism Secretary-General Pololikashvili held a series of high-level bilateral meetings with Ministers of Tourism and other high-level representatives from Member States from across the world. The meetings served to advance plans for joint projects and for key upcoming UN tourism events.

Related links

• Download the News Release on PDF
• UN Adopts a New Global Standard to Measure the Sustainability of Tourism
• UN Tourism and WTCF Advance Data-Driven Approach to City Tourism
• Glasgow Declaration - Policy Guidance to Support Climate Action
• Policy Guidance to Support Climate Action by National Tourism Administrations

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UN Tourism to Make Residents Focus of Thassos Island’s Tourism Recovery

• All Regions
• 11 Mar 2024

UN Tourism is to work with the Thassos Municipality of Greece to put people at the heart of work to build greater resilience for the sector on the island.

In partnership with UN Tourism Affiliate Member ICF, the United Nations Specialized Agency will engage with local tourism stakeholders and residents from across the island on a series of Technical Cooperation projects. The collaborative work will focus on several key areas, all designed to accelerate recovery from the impacts of the pandemic on island tourism and on building greater resilience against future shocks. 

Promoting Tourism on Thassos 

The project’s main scope is to support the tourism recovery efforts of the island of Thassos after the pandemic, through firstly assessing the marketing initiatives of the island of Thassos and its tourism product offer during the pandemic, and then providing recommendations on improvements. The project partners will: 

• Assess the effectiveness of marketing initiatives implemented during the pandemic, with a focus on how compatible they are to current tourism trends and demands. 
• Examine the Municipal authorities’ and local stakeholders’ views and opinions on the current tourism products of Thassos 
• Research and identify international best practices regarding marketing activities for post-pandemic and identifying both short and long-term models to be implemented for Thassos. 
• Identify the tourism markets that will be of importance to Thasos and identify ways of better engaging with them. 

Working with Local Stakeholders 

UN Tourism will also work with Thassos Municipality and ICF on the implementation of the Thassos Residents Study (TRS). The study will collect information on how local residents view and engage with tourism on the island, both in terms of the sector’s economic impact as well as its socio-cultural impacts. The study will be built around focus groups, interviews and questionnaires. The information obtained will be used for a report, to include a series of recommendations and follow-on actions if necessary. 

The project was officially launched at a kick-off event, hosted by UN Tourism in partnership with Thassos Municipality and ICF (8 March) and attended by key stakeholders. The marketing activity will conclude at the end of July, with the Residents Study to run until the end of November, with results published by the end of the year. 

Thassos stakeholders welcome UN Tourism support 

UN Tourism Executive Director Natalia Bayona says: “Along with education and capacity building, this technical cooperation project can help create a future for the sector aligned with the sustainable development Goals. Now, when up to 25% of tourism workers in the European Union have low qualifications, we need to give them tools to find innovative ways to succeed in the tourism sector, even more taking into account that 882,000 jobs in the sector will require vocational training by 2030” 

The Mayor of Thassos Island, Eleftherios Kyriakides, says: “This is a project that puts our local community at the center of the direct policies of tourism development of the island of Thassos, through synergies and collaborations, by strengthening the diversity and resilience of tourism and therefore to lay the foundations for a balanced and sustainable development of tourism sector, on our island.” 

The Head of Tourism of the UN Tourism Affiliate Member ICF, Nikolaos Gkolfinopoulos adds: “The management of tourism is paramount to ensure coordination and identify and minimise potential negative impacts. The inclusion acknowledgement of residents as a key stakeholder is the right direction towards a better, more participatory governance that takes into account the interests of local communities. ICF is proud to be joining forces with UN Tourism, paving the way for a targeted tourism development that benefits both the economic and social fabrics of Thassos.” 

Related Links:

• Download News Release on PDF
• UN Tourism: Technical Cooperation

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UN Adopts a New Global Standard to Measure the Sustainability of Tourism

• All Regions
• 5 Mar 2024

A groundbreaking statistical framework, developed under the leadership of UN Tourism, has been adopted by all 193 UN member states.

The Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) thus becomes the internationally agreed reference framework for measuring the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism.

The adoption by the UN Statistical Commission at its 55th session (27 February – 1 March 2024) marks a historical milestone towards harnessing the full potential of the sector, providing a solution to the pressing need for a harmonized methodology to effectively assess the sustainability of tourism.

"Tourism is a powerful force for positive change when managed responsibly and sustainably," says Zurab Pololikashvili, UN Tourism Secretary General. "The adoption of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism marks a paradigm shift, going beyond GDP by enabling the measurement of what matters most to people and planet."

The adoption of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism marks a paradigm shift, going beyond GDP by enabling the measurement of what matters most to people and planet

Collaborative effort

This achievement is the fruit of a seven-year UN process led by Austria and Spain as co-chairs of the UN Tourism Committee on Statistics, with Saudi Arabia and Seychelles as co-vice chairs.  Under auspices of the Committee, the Framework was developed thanks to the extraordinary work of the multistakeholder Expert Group on Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism composed of 40+ countries and 30+ international and regional organizations including the UN Statistics Division, the International Labour Organization (ILO), subnational authorities and observatories, academia and others.

The work involved technical guidance from an Editorial Board chaired first by the Philippines and then by Canada, as well as extensive engagement and consultation with input from numerous pilots in countries.

The Statistical Commission expressed an overwhelmingly enthusiastic support with 34 countries, 3 world regions and international organizations taking active part in the deliberations: Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Benin on behalf of the African Group, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland on behalf of the European Statistical System, Greece, Jamaica, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Slovenia, Spain, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities and ILO.  

Looking ahead, the Commission also welcomed the future development of an implementation programme, including a compilation guide, and called on the international donor community to support the financing for measuring the sustainability of tourism.

Established in 1947, the UN Statistical Commission gathers Chief Statisticians from Member States and international organizations, and is the highest decision-making body for international statistical activities. The last time that the Commission adopted a statistical standard for tourism was in 2008, when the International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account framework were presented.

Closing the gap between policy and statistics

In the margins of the United Nations Statistical Commission, Austria, Spain and UN Tourism co-organized the high-level side event “Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism: Closing the gap between policy and statistics”, in collaboration with the UN Committee for Economic-Environmental Accounting. Austria and Spain shared their vision on the importance of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism for evidence-based policy and decisions, while acknowledging its significance in upholding the relevance of statistical systems worldwide and the links to key topics like data governance and stewardship.

Mexico, the Philippines and Canada reflected on their pioneering experiences with implementing the framework, showcasing the power of integrating data from different domains and sources to distil more holistic and meaningful information on tourism.

The event raised awareness of the Statistical Framework for MST and functioned as an informative preamble to the UN Statistical Commission’s formal deliberations. 

Releted links

• Download the News Release on PDF
• 55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (all documents)
• Report of the World Tourism Organization on tourism statistics to the 55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
• Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism as presented to the 55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission
• Videos of the 55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, item 4a on tourism statistics: part 1
• Videos of the 55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, item 4a on tourism statistics: part 2
• Side Event “Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism: Closing the gap between tourism policy and statistics”
• Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) programme of work
• MST Governance

UN Tourism Calls on Sector to #InvestInWomen

• All Regions
• 8 Mar 2024

UN Tourism has issued an urgent call to “invest in women” and accelerate progress towards gender equality across the sector.

As the world marks International Women's Day (8 March), the United Nations Specialized Agency celebrates the achievements of women in tourism while highlighting the fact that women remain under represented in leadership positions, face barriers to career progression and have limited access to education and training.  

#InvestInWomen 

This year's theme, #InvestInWomen, highlights the need for investment to address the projected annual deficit of USD 360 billion in funding if the world is to achieve the global gender equality goals set under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 5 – to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. 

International Women's Day provides the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on the progress that has been made and call out the huge investment that is needed for us to reach gender equality in the tourism sector

The benefits of increased investment in women could be huge, with evidence showing that closing gender gaps could boost GDP per capita by 20% and create almost 300 million jobs in the global economy by 2035. 

“International Women's Day provides the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on the progress that has been made and call out the huge investment that is needed for us to reach gender equality in the tourism sector" says UN Tourism Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili,. "In many countries we are seeing the fruits of previous investment, but more is needed to help unlock new opportunities for economic growth, social inclusion, and sustainable development." 

Supporting Members to take concrete actions  

In the week leading up to International Women’s Day, UN Tourism ran a webinar series in different world regions calling on governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and individuals to take concrete actions to invest in women and promote gender equality in the tourism sector. These include: 

• Implementing policies and initiatives that promote gender equality and women's empowerment in tourism, including equal pay, access to education, training, and leadership opportunities. 
• Supporting women-owned businesses, enterprises, and initiatives in the tourism value chain. 
•  Fostering partnerships and collaboration to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in tourism at the local, national, and international levels. 

Related Links:

• Download the News Release on PDF
• UN Tourism #IWD24 Webinar Series #InvestinWomen 
• UN Tourism and women’s empowerment 
• Centre Stage Programme 
• Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines for the Public Sector in Tourism 
• Gender Inclusive Strategy for Tourism Businesses 
• ‘Gender Equality in Tourism Training’ 1-hour online course 
• Snapshot of gender-equality and women’s empowerment in National Tourism Strategies 

World Congress on Snow, Mountain and Wellness Tourism to Focus on New Travellers

• All Regions
• 29 Feb 2024

“Mountainlikers: Sustainability and wellbeing, the keys to mountain tourism” will be the theme of the 12th edition of the World Congress on Snow, Mountain and Wellness Tourism, which will take place on 20-22 March in Andorra within the framework of the United Nations’ "Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions".

To address the main topics, the meeting will focus on health and wellness tourism, sustainability, the promotion of premium tourism in mountain areas, emerging tourism products and the training and recruitment of human talent. 

On this occasion, UN Tourism will present its recent report prepared together with the Mountain Partnership (MP) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) “Understanding and Quantifying Mountain Tourism”. Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism awardees will also be represented by 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).  

Reflecting the demand of today’s tourist

This year, as a new element, the Congress will focus on the theme of "wellbeing", reflecting the demand of today’s tourists and the need to adapt offerings to new trends among travellers and to the challenges posed for mountain destinations by the need for diversification and the advance of climate change. 

Organized by the Government of Andorra and UN Tourism, with the collaboration of the Comú (municipal government) of Encamp, the Congress also has the support of other municipalities in Andorra and two main sponsors: Andorra Telecom as technological sponsor and Creand Crèdit Andorrà as silver sponsor. 

Experiences in the implementation of "wellness tourism" will be featured by speakers such as 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), among others. 

Another topic to be discussed will be that of "spa tourism", with a view to further developing this segment in mountain areas with the participation in the Congress of Csilla Mezősi, Secretary-General of the European Spas Association. 

Sustainability will also be a key subject, with interventions such as that of Javier Corso, who will present the project that National Geographic has carried out together with Andorra Turisme to manage the impact of the sector on the environment and on people entitled: “Andorra al natural, el entorno en el que germinan las ideas" (Andorra in its natural state: an environment where ideas germinate). Javier Corso is a National Geographic Explorer, a distinction that is only accorded to a handful of people around the world who work to protect the planet. 

Education and capacity building will also have a prominent place in this edition of the Congress, where Rui Zhou, President of the Bella Vista Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, together with María Abellanett, President of CETT in Barcelona, will discuss the human resources challenges and needs in mountain tourism for the near future.  

Sport will be another prominent theme, to be developed by David Astrié, Director of Icònic Andorra, who will present the medical-sports residential centre that aims to become a European and world leader for sports training at altitude. Successful experiences of representatives from Best of the Alps, Lech Zürs Tourism (Austria), the Pyrenees and Pic du Midi Agency (France) will also be highlighted.  

Related links

• Download News Release on PDF
• See the programme here

UN Tourism Applauds Saudi Arabia's Historic Milestone of 100 Million Tourists

• All Regions
• 26 Feb 2024

In a testament to its strategic vision and robust sector growth, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed over 100 million tourists, marking a significant milestone in its journey to become a global tourism powerhouse.

In an exceptional achievement, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed over 100 million tourists, a milestone celebrated by the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism). This remarkable accomplishment achieved seven years ahead of its original schedule, not only underscores Saudi Arabia's emergence as a global tourism powerhouse but also highlights its leading role in the economic diversification and sustainable development of the tourism sector worldwide. This milestone, marked by the arrival of over 27 million international tourists and over 79 million domestic tourists with a combined total spend of over USD 67 billion, not only showcases the Kingdom's robust tourism sector but also underscores the Saudi Ministry of Tourism's commitment to advanced data gathering and statistical analysis, a priority echoed by UN Tourism.

The Kingdom's success story is built on a foundation of strategic initiatives and reforms that have propelled its tourism sector to new heights. With a staggering 390% increase in demand for tourism activity licenses in 2023 and the contribution of tourism to the non-oil GVA estimated to exceed 7%, Saudi Arabia's vision for the future is clear. With the tourism sector's direct contribution to the GDP estimated to exceed  4 %, the country has showcased its resilience, innovation, and commitment to excellence.

Strategic Partnerships and Global Leadership

UN Tourism has closely collaborated with Saudi Arabia, recognizing its efforts in developing a robust tourism infrastructure and statistical analysis capabilities. The inauguration of UN Tourism's Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh in 2021 marked a significant step towards fostering tourism innovation, education, and rural development. This partnership has been instrumental in positioning Saudi Arabia as a leader in sustainable tourism practices and statistical excellence.

Elevating its global position in the tourism sector, Saudi Arabia has distinguished itself by leading the G20 in international tourist growth rate in 2023 compared to 2019. This recognition underlines the Kingdom's pivotal role in the global tourism sector's recovery following the pandemic. Moreover, the Middle East has emerged as the sole region not only to rebound but also to outpace pre-pandemic tourism levels, with a 122 percent recovery in international tourist arrivals in 2023 compared to 2019. At the forefront of this remarkable growth, Saudi Arabia witnessed a staggering 156 percent recovery in international tourist arrivals compared to 2019, underscoring its central role in the region's tourism boom.

A Testament to Resilience and Innovation

The Kingdom's tourism sector has shown remarkable resilience, with inbound spending reaching over USD 37 billion in 2023 and a significant increase in hotel keys across the kingdom. These achievements are a testament to Saudi Arabia's commitment to creating a prosperous and sustainable tourism sector.

Empowering the Workforce

The employment opportunities created by the tourism sector are a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia's success. As of 2023, with 925.5 thousand jobs in the tourism sector and significant investments in training, the Kingdom is on track to make tourism the second-largest employer by 2030. This focus on workforce development ensures that the benefits of tourism growth are shared widely and sustainably.

Gratitude and Future Vision

UN Tourism extends its congratulations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this historic achievement. We commend the leadership, the Ministry of Tourism, and all partners for their unwavering support and dedication. As Saudi Arabia continues to drive towards its goal of 150 million tourists by 2030, UN Tourism looks forward to supporting its journey, celebrating its successes, and promoting a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive future for global tourism.

Saudi Arabia's achievement of welcoming over 100 million tourists in 2023 is a beacon of what is possible through collaboration, innovation, and a clear vision for the future. The Kingdom not only promises a diverse and rich tourism experience but delivers on that promise, paving the way for a brighter future for the global tourism industry.

Related links:

• Download the News Release on PDF
• International Tourism to Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2024