Tourexpi
At
a meeting of the Ministers of Tourism of the G20 economies in Belem,
Brazil, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili noted that the sector
is on track to fully recover pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. Given
this, the focus must now shift to the future, with an emphasis on empowering
and including local communities, fighting climate change, and progressing
nature net positive and circularity.
Secretary-General
Pololikashvili said: “Tourism heavily depends on biodiversity, climate
stability and natural resources. Accelerating climate action in tourism is
critical for the resilience of the sector and host communities.” In this
context, he applauded Brazil’s G20 Presidency focus on inclusion and
sustainability.
Accelerating
climate action in tourism is critical for the resilience of the sector and host
communities
Closing
the the meeting, Minister of Tourism of Brazil, Celso Sabino said “the Belém
Declaration affirms the collective commitment to promote a more sustainable,
resilient and inclusive tourism in the world”.
Climate
change, e-skills development and inclusion key to tourism’s future
At
the G20 meeting, UN Tourism stressed the critical importance of education and
skills for the future of the sector and its transformation. “ILO data shows
that around 880,000 tourism jobs annually will require specialized training
until 2030 and that 25% of tourism stakeholders report significant shortages in
skilled employees, particularly in customer service and managerial roles,” Mr
Pololikashvili noted.
The
Secretary General also recalled the role tourism can have in development and
welcomed the G20’s tourism focus on financing for development.
“For
many developing countries, including Least Developed Countries and Small Island
Developing States, tourism is a major source of employment, foreign exchange
earnings and tax revenues. Yet, the sector continues to be overlooked as a tool
for development, with the total Official Development Assistance disbursements
for tourism remaining below 0.25% of total ODA.” he said.
Secretary-General
thanked and commended the Belem Declaration adopted by the G20 Tourism
Ministers which highlights the Statistical Framework for Measuring the
Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST) as a tool to produce credible, comparable,
and integrated data on tourism's economic, social, and environmental impact as
well as the G20 Tourism and SDGs Platform developed by the G20 Tourism in
collaboration with UN Tourism.
G20
economies: Tourism powerhouses
The
G20 economies represent over 70% of all international tourist arrivals and
receipts generated worldwide and 82% of tourism’s global GDP. In 2023, the
sector accounted directly for 3.1% of the GDP of the G20, 5% of all exports of
the group and 23% of all its service exports.
International
tourism recovered 97% of its pre pandemic levels in the G20 economies in the
seven months 2024. G20 tourism direct GDP value recovered fully already in 2023
at US$ 2.8 trillion.
Image
Credit: © UN Tourism
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