In the framework of the International Year on Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is launching a consumer-oriented campaign aimed at raising awareness of the value and contribution that sustainable tourism can make towards development. The ‘Travel.Enjoy.Respect’ campaign wants to engage tourists in making the sector a catalyst for positive change.

The main message of the campaign is summarized by the UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai: “Whenever you travel, wherever you travel, remember to: respect nature, respect culture, and respect your host. You can be the change you want to see in the world. You can be an ambassador for a better future. TRAVEL, ENJOY AND RESPECT.”

The campaign, which will run in various languages and outlets around the world, includes a manual of ‘Tips for a Responsible Traveller’, developed by the World Committee on Tourism Ethics in line with the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The manual provides travellers with a set of recommendations to help them make responsible choices when travelling and have a positive impact on the destinations they visit.

“Today more than ever, ensuring that tourism is an enriching experience for visitors and hosts alike demands strong, sustainable tourism policies and practices and the engagement of national, as well as local, governments and administrations, private sector companies, local communities and tourists themselves,” added Mr. Rifai.

The message will reach consumers through campaign supporters including among others CNN International, the Government of Andorra, the Madrid City Council, Iberia, the Spanish National Railways System (Renfe), Minube, PR MEDIACO, Cleverdis and Air Mauritius.

Destinations and companies from around the world are invited to join the campaign and celebrate the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development with a commitment from the sector to ‘Travel.Enjoy.Respect’.

ETOA offers its heartfelt sympathy to Spain following yesterday’s shocking and senseless attacks, to the people of Barcelona and Cambrils, and to our members and partners throughout Catalonia.

Regional and national authorities have acted promptly and efficiently. Daily life has quickly been resumed. Only the immediately affected areas have been cordoned off. Public transport systems are largely unaffected.

Visitors will see substantial additional police presence. Some temporary restrictions are in place: Las Ramblas is open with visitors subject to police controls; Plaza Cataluña in Barcelona may only be accessed on foot, and without large luggage; Paseo Marítimo in Cambrils is open. There is no wider disruption of any significance. ETOA will continue to monitor the situation.

Mario Bodini, Chairman of ETOA – the European tourism association, commented: “Spain reacted with impressive resilience to the terrible train attacks on Madrid in 2004; her admirable reaction to yesterday’s events in Catalonia underlines the determination for life to carry on as normal. Europe in general, and Spain in particular, remains a very safe destination.”

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) strongly condemns the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, Spain on 17/18 August 2017.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, said: “I am extremely saddened to hear about these callous attacks in Spain, my heart goes out to the victims, their friends, and families.

Barcelona and Cambrils are two beautiful and strong tourist spots. The Travel & Tourism sector offers its full support to all those impacted – both destinations, Spain, and its people – as it is going through these difficult times.”

UNWTO strongly condemns the heinous attack perpetrated yesterday in the city of Barcelona and expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the innocent victims and to the people and government of Spain.

“We are deeply saddened by this act of terror and the tragic loss of innocent lives. In these difficult times, our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “This is again a cowardly attack against all of us and a strong reminder that we need to be united, as an international community, in fighting these forces of darkness and all acts of terror”, he added expressing UNWTO’s full solidarity with Spain, headquarters of UNWTO, and its people.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Hilton and the WYSE Travel Confederation will join forces ahead of International Youth Day at the Youth General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters to highlight tourism’s capacity to empower youth.

The New York event is part of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 framework, and will focus on the tourism industry’s potential to create jobs, provide entrepreneurship opportunities, and deliver a more responsible tourism sector for today’s Youth.

Young people represent around 23% of the 1,235 million tourists travelling internationally each year. The event will discuss the contribution of this influential to world peace and a better future through sustainable tourism.

“Youth can be a powerful catalyst to advance the contribution of tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 8 on economic growth and jobs, and Goal 12 on sustainable consumption and production as they can lead a transformation into a more responsible way of travelling” said Sandra Carvao,  Chief Communications at UNWTO.

Hilton and the International Youth Foundation plan to preview the latest Global Youth Wellbeing Index, revealing that young people are “plugged in,” and yet disconnected from vital skills, economic opportunities, local communities and governments. Reconnecting Youth is an urgent need at this moment in history when half of the world’s population is under 30.

“Our future depends on resilient and thriving societies, and this starts with young people. To help better understand the challenges facing Young people, Hilton collaborated with the International Youth Foundation to commission the Global Youth Wellbeing Index,” said Daniella Foster, Senior Director of Global Corporate Responsibility, Hilton. “To better equip today’s Youth for the workforce, Hilton has committed to opening our doors to one million young people by 2019. As of today, we are more than half way there.”

The Global Report on the Power of Youth Travel by UNWTO and the WYSE Travel Confederation shows that youth and student travel markets are increasingly important and resilient. It also concludes that youth travel spend more on local communities and thus represent a growing opportunity for socio-economic development.

The event will also highlight the role of tourism in the accomplishment of the SDGs, in particular for Youth, through job creation, entrepreneurship and social inclusion. It will also look into the future of tourism jobs and skills development.

Participants include leaders and influencers including:

• Sandra Carvao, Chief, Communications, UNWTO
• Daniella Foster, Senior Director of Global Corporate Responsibility, Hilton
• Russ Hedge, Representative of WYSE Travel Confederation and Hostelling International
• Susan Reichle, President, International Youth Foundation
• Kelley Louise, Executive Director, Travel SocialGood and Travel Blogger
• Shoaib Rizvi, Youth Assembly Awardee 2017

The Youth Assembly (YA) is a unique platform for fostering dialogue and generating partnerships between exceptional youth, civil society, the private sector, and the United Nations.

Session: “The Power of Youth: Making a Difference Through Sustainable Tourism”

Date: Friday, August 11

Time: 10:00am to 11:30am ET

Livestream: http://webtv.un.org/

Learn more about the event

Learn more about the Youth Assembly

Learn more about the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

This year’s World Tourism Day, held on 27 September, will be focused on Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development. Celebrated in line with the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, the Day will be dedicated to exploring the contribution of tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

World Tourism Day has been celebrated since 1980 on September 27, the day in which the Statutes of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) entered into force. Peace and Dialogue, Energy, Accessibility, World Heritage and Water and Tourism have been some of the topics tackled on the 37 previous editions of World Tourism Day.

“Last year alone, 1.235 million travellers crossed international borders in one single year. By 2030, this 1.2 billion will become 1.8 billion. The question, as we celebrate World Tourism Day 2017, is how we can enable this powerful global transformative force, these 1.8 billion opportunities, to contribute to make this world a better place and to advance sustainable development in all its three pillars. This World Tourism Day, whenever you travel, wherever you travel, remember to respect nature, respect culture and respect your host,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

The official celebrations of World Tourism Day 2017 will be held in Qatar, as decided by the UNWTO General Assembly. The event will be structured around two sessions, focused on ‘Tourism as a driver of economic growth’, and ‘Tourism and the Planet: committed to a greener future’. In addition, a high-level think tank will be conducted with the aim of opening the debate on the potential of the sector to enhance cultural preservation and mutual understanding.

On the Agenda will also be the presentation of the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy, which advances sustainable approaches. The initiative is aligned with the Qatar National Vision 2030, which focuses on Economic, Social and Human Development and prioritizes tourism as a catalyst to progress towards a more diversified economy.

Together with the events conducted in Qatar, the World Tourism Day will be celebrated across the globe. UNWTO calls upon the tourism community, including travellers, private sector, governments and civil society, to join the celebrations and share them at www.wtd.unwto.org

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Ministry of Tourism of Argentina are pleased to announce that the 2nd UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism will take place on 29-30 September, 2017 in Mendoza, Argentina.

Following the success of the 1st edition, which took place in the Kakheti Region, Georgia, in September 2016, this upcoming edition will be held in the Province of Mendoza. This region, known as the heart of Argentine winemaking, accounts for 70% of the national production of wine and about 85% of the bottled wine sales. The identity of Mendoza is strongly linked to wine and it is an ideal venue offering participants the opportunity to experience firsthand a variety of wine tourism projects, linking both the public and private actors of the tourism and wine sectors. Against the majestic backdrop of the Argentinian Andes, Mendoza is located on one of the highest mountain ranges in the world which subsequently produces some of the world’s greatest wines.

Furthermore, as this second edition falls within the framework of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, the former will be the core overarching theme of the conference. The International Year aims to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behavior towards a more sustainable tourism sector that can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The link between wine tourism and sustainability also aligns with the 2030 Universal Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. In that respect, the Conference will be dedicated to strengthening the relationship between sustainability and wine tourism, highlighting the valuable role of wine tourism on the sustainable development of tourism destinations.

The Conference will include working sessions taking place in wine tourism venues throughout the province, giving all participants the opportunity to further explore the topics addressed in the sessions and interactively share and exchange ideas. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a technical visit of one of the listed wineries and participate in workshop following the visit. Said workshop will explore the concepts introduced during the morning sessions in a pragmatic way. Ultimately, the groups will participate in an interactive session to draw the most relevant conclusions that will later be incorporated into the conference brief.

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The United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) Secretary-General, Dr. Taleb Rifai, was in Mauritius until 2nd August. He was invited by Air Mauritius on the occasion of the 50th-anniversary celebration of the company.

Taleb Rifai also participated in various activities during his stay, such as working sessions with the Ministry of Tourism and Air Mauritius, and a seminar on aviation and sustainable tourism.

He also launched the “Travel, Enjoy and Respect” campaign in the context of the international year of sustainable tourism for development. Several visits around the island were scheduled for the UNWTO Secretary-General during his visit to Mauritius. Dr. Rifai was being accompanied by Elsia Grandcourt, the UNWTO Director for Africa.

The new Schengen border controls, which were planned and announced before the Brexit vote last year, impose rigorous checks on those people entering the Schengen zone, which embraces 26 European countries. This has caused severe delays – the very kind of delays routinely experienced by visitors entering the UK from the USA or Japan. Having “hard” borders create a miserable experience for visitors. These new controls apply to all Europeans, irrespective of nationality, if they arrive from outside the Schengen zone.

What is illuminating is the reaction these new controls have caused in UK government circles. An unnamed UK minister, noting the disruption a “hard” border creates, has suggested that the UK should retaliate by imposing “British-only lanes in the UK if they want to behave like that”.

“There are many ironies here,” said Tom Jenkins CEO of ETOA. “What is proposed is not a retaliation but an escalation. It shows disregard for legal rules and international agreements. When British citizens are inconvenienced abroad, the minister feels free to attack foreigners with meaningless delays. It will serve them right for wanting to come here and for being foreign. That is about as close to a thought process as we can spot.”

Having ‘hard borders’ is economically catastrophic: failures in this area carry their own punishment. According to the UK Tourism Alliance, EU visitors spend over £10 billion per annum, supporting over 185,000 jobs. EU visitors alone count for more jobs than motor manufacturing.

Yet these people are now singled out for attack. Abusing customers out of a misplaced sense of grievance is a prelude to decline.

The countries of the Schengen area are behaving exactly the way the UK has been suggesting they do. An instant way of improving the situation would be for the UK to join more aspects of the Schengen agreement (the UK is already part of the Schengen Information System. They are, after all, now imposing stringent controls.

“This is a discussion of queues: a French word for what was perceived as being a French invention. When it was first witnessed in Paris, English correspondents in the mid nineteenth century hoped that no-one in Britain would have to resort to such a mechanism. We are now experiencing what we have long imposed on others: our subsequent sense of outrage prompts an urge for self-mutilation.”

The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), representing thirty of the main donor countries, has included the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the List of ODA- eligible International Organizations.

UNWTO’s inclusion in this list implies that countries´ financial contributions to the Organization such as membership fees can now be considered Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is funding that aims to advance economic development and welfare in developing countries. As such, contributions to the UNWTO can be part of the commitment of OECD DAC Members to dedicate 0,7% of Gross National Income to ODA. Furthermore, voluntary contributions for UNWTO activities and technical cooperation projects in any of the 146 ODA- beneficiary countries continue to be considered as well as ODA.

This landmark decision coincides with the celebration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly.

The inclusion of UNWTO in the List, as well as the International Year 2017, are a clear recognition of the important contribution of sustainable tourism to development, peace and prosperity and thus to the universal 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

UNWTO very much welcomes this decision as it opens new opportunities to increase ODA flows for tourism, which currently only represents 0,14% of total ODA, despite representing 10% of world’s GDP and 1 in 10 jobs.

“This is a strong encouragement to UNWTO’s work in and commitment to advance sustainable, responsible and universally accessible tourism as a major contributor to economic development, environmental and cultural preservation and peace” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“Spain congratulates UNWTO and its Secretary-General, Mr. Taleb Rifai, for this outstanding achievement, which is an example of the fruitful collaboration of our country with the Organization”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, Mr. Alfonso Dastis.

The proposal was presented to OECD by Spain, UNWTO’s host country, and co-sponsored by Germany and the United Arab Emirates.