UN Statistical Commission encourages Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainable Tourism
The 48th Session of United Nations Statistical Commission has supported the UNWTO-led initiative of developing an international framework for Measuring Sustainable Tourism (MST). The initiative, being implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Statistics Division, aims to develop a new statistical framework for tourism — one that integrates the various dimensions of sustainable tourism (economic, environmental and social) and across relevant levels (global, national and subnational).
Overwhelming appreciation was expressed to the work of the UNWTO Committee on Statistics and TSA and the Working Group of Experts on Measuring Sustainable Tourism, which is leading the development of the new framework. The Commission encouraged the development of a Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainable Tourism as a priority to support more integrated policy in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in response to requests from Member States and various stakeholders.
It also highlighted the importance of linking the TSA to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the elaboration of a TSA Compilation Guide, and the need to enhance capacity building for measuring sustainable tourism, notably in compiling TSA.
Established in 1947, the Commission gathers Chief Statisticians from Member States and is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities. The last time that the Statistical Commission discussed a UNWTO report was in 2008, when the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) framework was approved.
Measuring Sustainable Tourism (MST) will be the central focus of the 6th International Conference on Tourism Statistics: Measuring Sustainable Tourism, to be held in Manila, the Philippines, 21-24 June 2017.
The Manila Conference is an Official Event of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017 and will be a landmark opportunity to discuss methodological advances, explore emerging issues and learn from pioneering country experiences. A Ministerial Roundtable will kick-start the Conference to underline the importance of measurement in better understanding the role that sustainable tourism plays in fostering economic growth, social inclusiveness, and the protection of cultural and natural assets.
UNWTO Silk Road Task Force Group discuss in Valencia a common framework for historic routes
Representatives from 24 countries of both private and public nature involved in the Silk Road Task Force have convened in the Mediterranean city of Valencia, Spain, to discuss strategies and best-practice examples on how to adapt the Silk Road to the challenges and opportunities of the globalized tourism age. The 7th UNWTO Silk Road Task Force event was held on 30-31 March 2017.
The discussions addressed the three pillars of the Silk Road Action Plan: i) marketing and promotion ii) destination management and capacity building and iii) travel facilitation. A specialised workshop session was also dedicated to the development of the Western link of the Silk Road. Greece, the host of the upcoming First Western Silk Road Workshop (Alexandroupolis, Greece; on 26-27 April 2017), and Bulgaria, who expressed its interest in hosting the Second Workshop, underlined their support and commitment to an initiative aimed at reviving Silk Road heritage located across Europe.
As expressed at the opening ceremony, by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, “UNWTO is extremely grateful for the support and commitment of the region and the city of Valencia to our work and mission. As the only United Nations Agency with its Headquarters in Spain, it is always a pleasure to organize a meeting in our host country – a country that understands the value and benefits to be derived from tourism.”
The opening ceremony also counted upon the presence of the Mayor of Valencia, Joan Ribó i Canut, and the Valencian Minister for Tourism, Francesc Colomer, who underlined the international dimension of the meeting and the importance of the Silk Road as a vehicle for peaceful exchange and development: “The Silk Road surpasses the boundaries of geography and touches upon our inner self, thus making us more tolerant, humble and cultured,” he said.
Important input was also contributed by UNWTO Affiliate Member, TripAdvisor, who presented the findings of the TripAdvisor Travel Trends for the Silk Road 2017, and by Eulogio Bordas, President of THR, who addressed the challenges of joint Silk Road marketing. The Spanish Institute for Quality Tourism, the International Tourism Consulting Group – SOENT, the World Federation of Tourist Guides Association (WFTGA), the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the University of Valencia also contributed valuable input to the meeting.
Overall, the meeting showcased the good work being carried out by Valencia in terms of Silk Road promotion and public-private cooperation. Since Spain’s inclusion in the UNWTO Silk Road Programme in 2015, best-practice examples implemented by the Valencian region have included branding Valencia as the “city of Silk” in 2016 and the rehabilitation of important Silk Road heritage located within the region.
The 7th UNWTO Silk Road Task Force Meeting was jointly organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Agència Valenciana del Turisme and the Fundación Turismo València. Turkish Airlines supported the event and shared its actions in promoting route development and connectivity across the Silk Road.
Sustainable Tourism Observatories: UNWTO welcomes collaboration between Guanajuato and Paraguay
UNWTO welcomes the agreement reached by the Sustainable Tourism Observatory of Guanajuato (Mexico) and Paraguay to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer. Guanajuato is one of the 16 Observations in the UNWTO Network.
“We praise the agreement signed by the State Secretariat of Tourism of Guanajuato (SECTUR) and the National Tourism Secretariat of Paraguay (SENATUR) as an important step to increase the development of sustainable tourism observatories” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
The State Secretary of Tourism of Guanajuato, Fernando Oliver Rocha said “through this alliance, we aim at fostering public policies with regard to sustainable tourism practices”.
The Executive Secretary of Paraguay, Marcela Bacigalupo, recognized the relevance of the work of the UNWTO Observatories and underlined the importance of engaging private sector in sustainable tourism initiatives. “UNWTO has referred to Guanajuato as one of the best Observatories in Latin America, so we are very glad to have undersigned this agreement,” she mentioned.
The Tourism Observatory of Guanajuato, the first in Latin American, became a member of the UNWTO International Network of Tourism Observatories in 2014. The first meeting held between SECTUR and SENATUR happened at the UNWTO International Meeting of Spanish Tourism Observatories, held in 2016.
The UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) is a network of tourism observatories monitoring the economic, environmental and social impact of tourism at the destination level, committed to regular monitoring of tourism in order to better understand destination-wide resource use and foster the responsible management of tourism. There are 16 observatories currently in operation worldwide.
Still Hope for Climate Sanity
It certainly hasn’t been a great month for Climate Resilience, as the new US Administration, led by global warming sceptics, started to gut environmental policies, people, programs, and budgets. At the same time, prioritising nationalism ahead of Internationalism, and publicly threatening to back out of US Paris Agreement leadership commitments and financial obligations.
This is seriously bad news, and it’s fair to assume that the kind of US global Climate leadership, that we saw under the Obama Administration – with its joint Heads of State and G20 outreach for progressively tougher Paris targets and its multibillion dollar US funding vision – is now history. In fact, the hidden agenda may be worse than has been revealed so far with short term politico-economic wins trumping long term planetary and humanity well-being. (pun intended).
But all is not yet lost there are several elements to add to the mix that yet may save the Paris dynamics.
First “Patience”– despite the proposed gutting of US climate programs it takes more than campaign trail rhetoric, 140 letter tweets and executive orders to destroy the action already in train. We can expect heavy legal, media and local political challenges, as well as countermanding State and City action for Climate resilience. This is a long transformation game, even though the short term has been dealt a very tough blow that is still unfolding.
Second “Business Acumen” – while oil and coal companies, as well as billionaire oligarchs support the rekindled fossil fuel love affair, the vast majority of business leaders don’t. There is no better example than Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric blogging employees that climate change is real, the science well accepted, GE is saving money by responding smartly with positive customer reaction.
Third “Market Forces” – the fact is the price trend of clean energy is moving sharply down as the availability is moving sharply up. And across the world business, citizens and governments are challenging vested fossil fuel subsidies. And then there are jobs – the new ones will be in the green growth sweet spot around the world, including the US, not in coal or oil powered infrastructure and consumption.
Fourth “Geopolitics” – even if the US were to renege on Paris, it would take some time to disentangle, and the other nations will still aggressively pursue clean energy over dirty. So despite the unhealthy potential alignment of autocrats, oligarchs and near-sighted politicians, there is still time to fight for a tough response to the one global challenge that is widely recognized as existential. We may yet be surprised, this week when President’s Xi and Trump meet to discuss a range of immediate massive global challenges, that the one concession that might come from the unpredictable US leader is that they can agree that climate change is a real near term jobs opportunity, as well as a long-term existential threat.
And that’s where SUNx has its place, in the vitally important Travelism sector, the multi-trillion-dollar Travel & Tourism ecosystem with its infrastructure, services, and supply chain. Our local focus on Climate Resilience and Impact -Travel, which is measured, green at the core and 2050 future linked, will hopefully serve as a beacon for smart lifestyle adaptation to today’s inexorably warming world.
Professor Geoffrey Lipman co-founder of SUNx – the Strong Universal Network – is also President of International coalition of tourism partners (ICTP) and former leader in IATA, WTTC and UNWTO. www.thesunprogram.com