UN Tourism advances global standards for measuring tourism’s economic impact

International

New statistical frameworks aim to improve comparability and sustainability reporting

Tourism is one of the world’s most dynamic economic sectors, moving billions of people each year, supporting hundreds of millions of jobs and driving global trade. Yet existing data systems have often struggled to keep pace with the sector’s rapid transformation. At the 57th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, UN Tourism took further steps to strengthen how tourism is measured within the global economic system, with the aim of providing more reliable and internationally comparable data.

Global standards to close data gaps

A central focus of the discussions was the need for harmonised statistical standards. By improving measurement frameworks, governments and businesses will be better equipped to assess tourism’s real economic contribution and make evidence-based decisions.

“Tourism is one of the world’s most dynamic economic sectors, and it deserves data systems that reflect its true scale and impact. Strengthening global tourism statistics and linking them with business sustainability reporting helps ensure that decisions across the sector are grounded in reliable, comparable evidence,” said Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UN Tourism.

Tourism integrated more clearly into global trade statistics

One key outcome was the endorsement of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026, to which UN Tourism contributed. The updated framework strengthens the measurement of tourism as a globally traded service, enabling countries to better capture its role within international trade flows and economic policy.

In addition, the Commission acknowledged the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST), which has been recognised by the United Nations General Assembly. This model enables the combined assessment of tourism’s economic, social and environmental impacts, moving beyond traditional GDP-based indicators.

Linking company data with official statistics

UN Tourism also convened a high-level side event focused on bridging macroeconomic data and company-level sustainability reporting. The discussion explored how ESG data generated by tourism businesses can be aligned with official statistical frameworks.

This approach aims to improve consistency across the sector, support small and medium-sized enterprises and reduce fragmented reporting requirements. By connecting corporate sustainability data with national statistics, the initiative seeks to create a more coherent and actionable data landscape for tourism.

International collaboration supports implementation

The event was hosted at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in collaboration with the UN Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics. It was supported by Statistics Netherlands and sponsored by easyJet holidays and Booking.com, highlighting the growing role of public-private partnerships in advancing tourism data systems.