The 26th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government (La Antigua, Guatemala, 15-16 November) concluded with a high-level political declaration on sustainable development in which tourism plays a key supporting role. The commitment, which includes the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), marks the first time the tourism sector has been featured in a top-level multilateral cooperation agenda.

Ibero-American presidents and heads of state have mandated the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) with introducing tourism in the development cooperation portfolio of its 22 member states, all of which are also UNWTO Member States.

In the ‘La Antigua Action Program for Ibero-American Cooperation’, the mandate from heads of state and government specifically calls on SEGIB to closely coordinate its future work around tourism with UNWTO. Both organizations are asked to collaborate on initiatives to promote sustainable tourism that can impact on development, partnering with key actors of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This accord is unprecedented for its inclusion of tourism in an international multilateral action plan for cooperation. The commitment includes tourism and the economy together as one issue area, urging states to prioritize public policies for developing and managing sustainable and responsible tourism to boost competitiveness.

A first contribution of UNWTO has been the publication “The Contribution of Tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals in Ibero-America”, produced on the occasion of the First Ibero-American Conference of Ministers of Economy and Tourism held in September, and leading up to Summit of Presidents and Heads of State.

This advance has the potential to give tourism a deservedly strong voice at the highest political and policy levels, adding value to economies and complementing UNWTO’s work with its members and partners across and beyond Ibero-American states.

Speaking today at the inaugural WTTC Africa Leaders Forum in Stellenbosch, South Africa, which was hosted by Tourism South Africa, Guevara said: “In his State of the Nation address in February this year, President Ramaphosa not only mentioned the “incredible opportunities” of Travel & Tourism, he also set a powerful target to double the number of people directly employed in our sector from 700,000 to 1.4 million.

President Ramaphosa of South Africa is a “Travel & Tourism job creation champion” for his ambition to double the number of people employed in the sector, according to Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

“Travel & Tourism is without doubt South Africa’s greatest engine for the creation of jobs and the alleviation of poverty. It contributes to social equality, encourages the integration of women in the workplace, and enables economic self-reliance. It provides employment in parts of the country where other jobs may not exist and generates a sense of self-worth. We praise the Government for recognising those “incredible opportunities” of our sector and the steps it has already taken to realise the potential.

“We see those opportunities falling in three broad areas: We congratulate the Government of President Ramaphosa for its efforts to reform the visa process so that more tourists from more countries can visit the country and recommend that this is rolled-out as widely as possible. Secondly, we support the long-held ambition to fully liberalise the continent’s air services. Finally, we see the benefits of South Africa’s continued adoption of biometrics as a way to make travel safer and more efficient.

“These and other initiatives will help to achieve President Ramaphosa’s ambitions and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership with his Minister of Tourism, His Excellency Derek Hanekom,” concluded Guevara.

According to annually published WTTC data, Travel & Tourism currently contributes a total of 8.9% of South Africa’s GDP and creates 726,000 jobs directly, rising to 1.5 million when all the impacts of the sector are taken into account.

WTTC represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector. Its Members consist of more than 170 Chairs, Presidents and CEOs from companies in every part of the Travel & Tourism sector.

Given the potential of Travel & Tourism in Africa, WTTC gathered the CEOs and regional leaders of the top Travel & Tourism companies from across Africa, along with Tourism Ministers and regional experts at its inaugural Africa Leaders Forum in Stellenbosch to discuss the key issues facing the region’s Travel & Tourism sector. WTTC would like to thank the South Africa Ministry of Tourism for its hospitality in helping to bring the sector together to facilitate the dialogue.