Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #35

NEWS
Opening Ceremony
International Year for
sustainable tourism
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM:
TIME FOR A GLOBAL COMMITMENT
UNWTO launches a series of initiatives to celebrate the International year
of sustainable tourism for development
With 2017 being officially
named the “Year of
Sustainable Tourism for
Development” by the United
Nations, the World Tourism
Organization continues to
announce new initiatives to
move the sector towards a
more sustainable future.
The UN’s 70 th General Assembly,
in September 2015, designated
2017 as the International
Year of Sustainable Tourism
for Development (IY2017),
aiming to raise awareness on
the contribution of sustainable
tourism to development among
decision-makers and the public,
while mobilizing all stakeholders
to work together in making
tourism a catalyst for positive
change.
IY 2017 aims to raise
awareness on the contribution
of sustainable tourism to
development among decisionmakers
and the public, while
mobilising all stakeholders
to work together in making
tourism a catalyst for positive
change.
In the context of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the
Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), the International
Year aims foster a change in
policies, business practices and
consumer behaviour for a more
sustainable tourism sector.
One example was the recent
“Manilla Call for Action”,
stemming from the 6th
International Conference on
Tourism Statistics.
The aim of the conference was
to lay the groundwork for an
expanded statistical framework
to measure sustainable tourism
in its economic, social and
environmental dimensions.
The outcome, a “Call for Action
on Measuring Sustainable
Tourism”, represents a global
commitment to sustainable
tourism and the need to
measure it through a consistent
statistical approach recognising
that effective sustainable
tourism policies require an
integrated, coherent and robust
information base.
“The Manila Conference
constitutes a milestone for
tourism measurement, not
only by extending the current
statistical standards beyond
their economic focus to cover
the social and environmental
dimensions, but because it
represents a global commitment
to sustainable tourism and a
recognition of its contribution
to the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) of
the universal 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development”
said UNWTO Secretary General
Taleb Rifai.
The Manila Call for
Action reflects the collective
vision and commitment
to collaborate on the
further development and
implementation of a Measuring
Sustainable Tourism (MTS)
statistical framework.
Sustainable tourism is
understood as tourism that
takes full account of its current
and future economic, social
and environmental impacts,
addressing the needs of visitors,
the industries, the environment
and host communities. As such
it is a continuous process and
requires constant monitoring of
impacts
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