Resilient, determined tourism sector gearing up for next year

Tourists on a game drive at the Nairobi National Park. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

This year has been another challenging period for our societies and economies, especially tourism. Millions of jobs and businesses remain at the mercy of the evolving crisis and of the actions of governments.

However, we are not in the same place we were when coronavirus was declared a pandemic in March 2020. We have succeeded in laying the foundations to restart tourism around the pillars of sustainability, innovation, people and investing for a resilient future.

Over the past year, progress has been made in rolling out vaccinations and in both detecting and treating Covid-19. We have seen significant progress made in finding the right balance between keeping people safe and keeping the vital lifeline of tourism intact, as illustrated by United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s effective collaboration with the World Health Organisation since the start of the pandemic.

A collaborative and multilateral approach must remain at the centre of capitalising on the lessons we have learned in such a short space of time. We have also ensured that harmonized travel protocols are at the heart of tourism’s restart in many parts of the world, notably in the Northern Hemisphere destinations during the peak summer months. We are encouraged by the resilience and determination coming from the tourism sector itself, as well as from our Member States.

To expand our mandate, we have seen Interest in UNWTO’s innovation and start-up competitions grow, showcasing the talents we have unleashed and our shared readiness to hear new voices and embrace new ideas in the tourism sector.

Our global innovation ecosystem is now made up of more than 12,000 start-ups from 160 countries, with $83 million mobilized and 300 corporate partners currently working on new tourism technologies. Our education programmes through IE university, Les Riches, Glion Institute, Ecole du Casse and the Swiss Education Group have welcomed more than 20,000 students from 100 countries in just 18 months offering 19 online courses in Spanish, English and Arabic; a true ‘online university of universities’.

Restarting tourism is unthinkable without green investments. We are collaborating with institutions such as the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank. To date, more than 200 investors are part of UNWTO’s global investment network advancing critical work such as supporting hotel chains from 50 countries to become more sustainable.

Tourism is ready to do the hard work and live up to its responsibilities to people and planet as demonstrated by the huge interest we received in the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at the UN Climate Summit, COP26. We are receiving a growing number of commitments to halve emissions by 2030 and to reach Net Zero by 2050.

We are making sure the benefits tourism offers are enjoyed as widely and fairly as possible including establishing the sector as a driver of rural development, as demonstrated through the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO initiative.

Launched to great enthusiasm this year, 44 villages from 32 countries were granted the recognition during our recent General Assembly, for showing a commitment to tourism development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 24th UNWTO General Assembly in Madrid brought our members together to speak with one voice. Members commended UNWTO’s work done during the pandemic and its vision for the future of both the organization and the sector, endorsing key initiatives such as a first International Code for the Protection of Tourists. This landmark legal framework is designed to restore trust in travel, a vital ingredient for recovery.

In a crisis, you realize both what’s important and who your friends are. Like never before, the pandemic has made clear tourism’s relevance to our economies and societies. Tourism is now part of the global conversation and at the heart of both national and international recovery action plans.

And support for UNWTO has never been louder or more visible. Over the past 12 months, we have strengthened our key partnerships, among them the G20 and G7, as well as ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organization), FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), the World Bank, IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), CAF, (The Development Bank of Latin America) and the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). We have further strengthened our voice at the top of the United Nations, including the landmark recognition of tourism and UNWTO by the UN Secretary-General.

This year we opened the first regional office for the Middle East in Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Built and opened in record time, it will serve as the platform to deliver our commitment to education and as a global centre for tourism and rural development.

Moving closer to our members in other regions is an ongoing task and we will also work towards opening the first regional offices in Africa and the Americas.

As we advance preparations for these new hubs, we also welcome new member States. Antigua and Barbuda, a destination where tourism is an economic pillar, has joined UNWTO. This shows that tourism-dependent countries look to UNWTO and depend on us, and we are ready to live up to this responsibility.

Alongside this our network of Affiliate Members of the private sector, local administrations, destinations and academia, keeps growing. So too does our collaboration with media outlets and as a result, the message of tourism for development will continue reaching a global audience of unprecedented size and diversity.