High-level thematic event on Tourism

The high-level thematic event on tourism aims to advance a concerted approach on strengthening tourism resilience at the highest level and maximising its contribution to the sustainability agenda. The event offers Member States, Observers, civil society, UN System and other stakeholders a platform to discuss strategies, share best practices and experiences to promote sustainable and resilient tourism and its contribution to achieving SDGs.    

The event will comprise an opening, a fireside chat, two high-level plenary segments, two thematic debates and a closing segment. The meeting will be open to the United Nations system, ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations and other relevant stakeholders. 

Fireside Chat: The Future of Tourism

The successive natural and man-made crises have improved the awareness and development impact of the tourism sector. At the same time, they have revealed its vulnerability to external shocks and the consequences thereof on economies, societies and our planet while underscoring structural challenges that need to be addressed if we want to boost the resilience of the sector and maximize its contribution to a more inclusive and sustainable future.  

New business models and effective partnerships are emerging, calling for appropriate mechanisms to encourage more holistic policies as well as multistakeholder engagement and partnerships. The Fireside Chat will provide opportunities to involve non-state actors, private sector, academia and civil society to discuss how we can harmonize leadership in and of the tourism sector in order to ensure a prosperous and sustainable future.  

Thematic debate 1 –Launch of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism   

The Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainability of Tourism was adopted at the 55th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission held in February 2024. A living example of moving beyond GDP to value what counts, the SF-MST, the sustainability indicators, respond to the information needs of more integrated tourism policy.  

The key statistical data and indicators will be measured for three dimensions: economy, society, and environment. In addition, the data and indicators will be measured on a global, national, and sub-national levels. The SF-MST is to provide for a multipurpose conceptual statistical framework, which measures the impacts and dependencies of sustainable tourism.   

Pilot studies of the SF-MST have been carried out in over 20 countries and has helped to further strengthen the Framework as well as helped destination managers and policymakers in the countries to develop strategies to enhance sustainable tourism in their respective countries. In the implementation of the SF-MST, there will be more robust data to ensure that sustainable tourism action on the ground really contributes to raising living standards and ensuring that no one is left behind.   

Thematic debate 1 aims to launch the framework and provide a platform and give member states the opportunity to discuss the importance of such tools for sustainability in tourism. A commonly agreed evidence-based tool helps to engage with stakeholders across the board to jointly agree on where we stand, where we need to go, and how to get there. Harmonized and trusted data is critical to communicate progress more effectively, benchmark performance, align policy agendas and governance models, and promote innovative business practices and partnerships.  

Thematic debate 2 – Fostering Resilient Tourism to facilitate and ensure global sustainability 

 As the largest industry globally, tourism, makes a substantial contribution to sustainable development. Nevertheless, tourism is intrinsically susceptible to several disruptive occurrences such as climate change, pandemics, cyber-security incidents, terrorism, and political instability and conflict. Therefore, it is crucial to safeguard the worldwide tourism industry by ensuring the resilience of the global tourism ecosystem, including the capacity of tourist destinations to endure shocks, promptly recover from crises, or even prosper in the face of such difficulties. Developing resilience entails the process of planning, managing, and recovering from adversities. The corona disease (COVID-19) pandemic represents yet another episode in a series of global disruptions that has heightened the attention of global stakeholders to the inherent vulnerability of the tourism sector.    

Concurrently, it has underscored the sector’s remarkable capacity for rapid recovery and its potential to catalyse economic resurgence with even greater alacrity. It is imperative to investigate methodologies for fostering resilience within the global tourism sector, thereby facilitating and ensuring global sustainability.   

During thematic debate 2 Member States will discuss potential strategies for building resilience in the tourism sector including the sector’s ability to withstand and recover from various crises. The discussion will also focus on addressing vulnerabilities and risks, funding and investing in resilience and resilience-building frameworks and partnerships.   

SW-HLTE-Tourism-

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For further information please contact Ms. Vanessa Vandijsseldonk, Senior Adviser on Sustainable Development and Financing for Development, at the Office of the President of the General Assembly. –  vanessa.vandijsseldonk@un.org