tourism according to world tourism organization meaning

Sustainable tourism

Related sdgs, promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable ....

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Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries and an important source of foreign exchange and employment, while being closely linked to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of many countries, especially developing countries. Maritime or ocean-related tourism, as well as coastal tourism, are for example vital sectors of the economy in small island developing States (SIDS) and coastal least developed countries (LDCs) (see also: The Potential of the Blue Economy report as well as the Community of Ocean Action on sustainable blue economy).

The World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities".

Based on General assembly resolution 70/193, 2017 was declared as the  International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development SDG target 8.9, aims to “by 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”. The importance of sustainable tourism is also highlighted in SDG target 12.b. which aims to “develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”.

Tourism is also identified as one of the tools to “by 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries” as comprised in SDG target 14.7.

In the Rio+20 outcome document The Future We want, sustainable tourism is defined by paragraph 130 as a significant contributor “to the three dimensions of sustainable development” thanks to its close linkages to other sectors and its ability to create decent jobs and generate trade opportunities. Therefore, Member States recognize “the need to support sustainable tourism activities and relevant capacity-building that promote environmental awareness, conserve and protect the environment, respect wildlife, flora, biodiversity, ecosystems and cultural diversity, and improve the welfare and livelihoods of local communities by supporting their local economies and the human and natural environment as a whole. ” In paragraph 130, Member States also “call for enhanced support for sustainable tourism activities and relevant capacity-building in developing countries in order to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development”.

In paragraph 131, Member States “encourage the promotion of investment in sustainable tourism, including eco-tourism and cultural tourism, which may include creating small- and medium-sized enterprises and facilitating access to finance, including through microcredit initiatives for the poor, indigenous peoples and local communities in areas with high eco-tourism potential”. In this regard, Member States also “underline the importance of establishing, where necessary, appropriate guidelines and regulations in accordance with national priorities and legislation for promoting and supporting sustainable tourism”.

In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg called for the promotion of sustainable tourism development, including non-consumptive and eco-tourism, in Chapter IV, paragraph 43 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

At the Johannesburg Summit, the launch of the “Sustainable Tourism – Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) initiative was announced. The initiative was inaugurated by the World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with UNCTAD, in order to develop sustainable tourism as a force for poverty alleviation.

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) last reviewed the issue of sustainable tourism in 2001, when it was acting as the Preparatory Committee for the Johannesburg Summit.

The importance of sustainable tourism was also mentioned in Agenda 21.

For more information and documents on this topic,  please visit this link

UNWTO Annual Report 2016

In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. This is a unique opportunity to devote a year to activities that promote the transformational power of tourism to help us reach a better future. This important cele...

UNWTO Annual Report 2015

2015 was a landmark year for the global community. In September, the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal agenda for planet and people. Among the 17 SDGs and 169 associated targets, tourism is explicitly featured in Goa...

Emerging Issues for Small Island Developing States

The 2012 UNEP Foresight Process on Emerging Global Environmental Issues primarily identified emerging environmental issues and possible solutions on a global scale and perspective. In 2013, UNEP carried out a similar exercise to identify priority emerging environmental issues that are of concern to ...

Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom, We recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for su...

Towards Measuring the Economic Value of Wildlife Watching Tourism in Africa

Set against the backdrop of the ongoing poaching crisis driven by a dramatic increase in the illicit trade in wildlife products, this briefing paper intends to support the ongoing efforts of African governments and the broader international community in the fight against poaching. Specifically, this...

Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012

Previous Caribbean assessments lumped data together into a single database regardless of geographic location, reef environment, depth, oceanographic conditions, etc. Data from shallow lagoons and back reef environments were combined with data from deep fore-reef environments and atolls. Geographic c...

15 Years of the UNWTO World Tourism Network on Child Protection: A Compilation of Good Practices

Although it is widely recognized that tourism is not the cause of child exploitation, it can aggravate the problem when parts of its infrastructure, such as transport networks and accommodation facilities, are exploited by child abusers for nefarious ends. Additionally, many other factors that contr...

Natural Resources Forum: Special Issue Tourism

The journal considers papers on all topics relevant to sustainable development. In addition, it dedicates series, issues and special sections to specific themes that are relevant to the current discussions of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)....

Thailand: Supporting Sustainable Development in Thailand: A Geographic Clusters Approach

Market forces and government policies, including the Tenth National Development Plan (2007-2012), are moving Thailand toward a more geographically specialized economy. There is a growing consensus that Thailand’s comparative and competitive advantages lie in amenity services that have high reliance...

Natural Resources Forum, a United Nations Sustainable Development Journal (NRF)

  Natural Resources Forum, a United Nations Sustainable Development Journal, seeks to address gaps in current knowledge and stimulate relevant policy discussions, leading to the implementation of the sustainable development agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable...

Road Map on Building a Green Economy for Sustainable Development in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada

This publication is the product of an international study led by the Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, Foreig...

UN Ocean Conference 2025

Our Ocean, Our Future, Our Responsibility “The ocean is fundamental to life on our planet and to our future. The ocean is an important source of the planet’s biodiversity and plays a vital role in the climate system and water cycle. The ocean provides a range of ecosystem services, supplies us with

UN Ocean Conference 2022

The UN Ocean Conference 2022, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, came at a critical time as the world was strengthening its efforts to mobilize, create and drive solutions to realize the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

58th Session of the Commission for Social Development – CSocD58

22nd general assembly of the united nations world tourism organization, world tourism day 2017 official celebration.

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 Deve

World Tourism Day 2016 Official Celebration

Accessible Tourism for all is about the creation of environments that can cater for the needs of all of us, whether we are traveling or staying at home. May that be due to a disability, even temporary, families with small children, or the ageing population, at some point in our lives, sooner or late

4th Global Summit on City Tourism

The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Regional Council for Tourism of Marrakesh with support of the Government of Morroco are organizing the 4th Global Summit on City Tourism in Marrakesh, Morroco (9-10 December 2015). International experts in city tourism, representatives of city DMOs, of

2nd Euro-Asian Mountain Resorts Conference

The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Ulsan Metropolitan City with support of the Government of the Republic of Korea are organizing the 2nd Euro-Asian Mountain Resorts Conference, in Ulsan, Republic of Korea (14 - 16 October 2015). Under the title “Paving the Way for a Bright Future for Mounta

21st General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization

Unwto regional conference enhancing brand africa - fostering tourism development.

Tourism is one of the Africa’s most promising sectors in terms of development, and represents a major opportunity to foster inclusive development, increase the region’s participation in the global economy and generate revenues for investment in other activities, including environmental preservation.

• January 2017 International Year of Tourism In the context of the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 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 SDGs.
• January 2015 Targets 8.9, 12 b,14.7 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits Member States, through Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.9 to “devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”. The importance of sustainable tourism, as a driver for jobs creation and the promotion of local culture and products, is also highlighted in Sustainable Development Goal target 12.b. Tourism is also identified as one of the tools to “increase [by 2030] the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries”, through Sustainable Development Goals Target 14.7.
• January 2012 Future We Want (Para 130-131) Sustainable tourism is defined as a significant contributor “to the three dimensions of sustainable development” thanks to its close linkages to other sectors and its ability to create decent jobs and generate trade opportunities. Therefore, Member States recognize “the need to support sustainable tourism activities and relevant capacity-building that promote environmental awareness, conserve and protect the environment, respect wildlife, flora, biodiversity, ecosystems and cultural diversity, and improve the welfare and livelihoods of local communities” as well as to “encourage the promotion of investment in sustainable tourism, including eco-tourism and cultural tourism, which may include creating small and medium sized enterprises and facilitating access to finance, including through microcredit initiatives for the poor, indigenous peoples and local communities in areas with high eco-tourism potential”.
• January 2009 Roadmap for Recovery UNWTO announced in March 2009 the elaboration of a Roadmap for Recovery to be finalized by UNWTO’s General Assembly, based on seven action points. The Roadmap includes a set of 15 recommendations based on three interlocking action areas: resilience, stimulus, green economy aimed at supporting the tourism sector and the global economy.
• January 2008 Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria represent the minimum requirements any tourism business should observe in order to ensure preservation and respect of the natural and cultural resources and make sure at the same time that tourism potential as tool for poverty alleviation is enforced. The Criteria are 41 and distributed into four different categories: 1) sustainability management, 2) social and economic 3) cultural 4) environmental.
• January 2003 1st Int. Conf. on Climate Change and Tourism The conference was organized in order to gather tourism authorities, organizations, businesses and scientists to discuss on the impact that climate change can have on the tourist sector. The event took place from 9 till 11 April 2003 in Djerba, Tunisia.
• January 2003 WTO becomes a UN specialized body By Resolution 453 (XV), the Assembly agreed on the transformation of the WTO into a United Nations specialized body. Such transformation was later ratified by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of Resolution A/RES/58/232.
• January 2002 World Ecotourism Summit Held in May 2002, in Quebec City, Canada, the Summit represented the most important event in the framework of the International Year of Ecosystem. The Summit identified as main themes: ecotourism policy and planning, regulation of ecotourism, product development, marketing and promotion of ecotourism and monitoring costs and benefits of ecotourism.
• January 1985 Tourism Bill of Rights and Tourist Code At the World Tourism Organization Sixth Assembly held in Sofia in 1985, the Tourism Bill of Rights and Tourist Code were adopted, setting out the rights and duties of tourists and host populations and formulating policies and action for implementation by states and the tourist industry.
• January 1982 Acapulco Document Adopted in 1982, the Acapulco Document acknowledges the new dimension and role of tourism as a positive instrument towards the improvement of the quality of life for all peoples, as well as a significant force for peace and international understanding. The Acapulco Document also urges Member States to elaborate their policies, plans and programmes on tourism, in accordance with their national priorities and within the framework of the programme of work of the World Tourism Organization.

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Chapter 1. History and Overview

1.1 What is Tourism?

Before engaging in a study of tourism , let’s have a closer look at what this term means.

Definition of Tourism

There are a number of ways tourism can be defined, and for this reason, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) embarked on a project from 2005 to 2007 to create a common glossary of terms for tourism. It defines tourism as follows:

Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure (United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2008).

Using this definition, we can see that tourism is not just the movement of people for a number of purposes (whether business or pleasure), but the overall agglomeration of activities, services, and involved sectors that make up the unique tourist experience.

Tourism, Travel, and Hospitality: What are the Differences?

It is common to confuse the terms tourism , travel , and hospitality or to define them as the same thing. While tourism is the all-encompassing umbrella term for the activities and industry that create the tourist experience, the UNWTO (2020) defines travel as the activity of moving between different locations often for any purpose but more so for leisure and recreation (Hall & Page, 2006). On the other hand, hospitality can be defined as “the business of helping people to feel welcome and relaxed and to enjoy themselves” (Discover Hospitality, 2015, p. 3). Simply put, the hospitality industry is the combination of the accommodation and food and beverage groupings, collectively making up the largest segment of the industry (Go2HR, 2020). You’ll learn more about accommodations and F & B in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 , respectively.

Definition of Tourist and Excursionist

Building on the definition of tourism, a commonly accepted description of a tourist is “someone who travels at least 80 km from his or her home for at least 24 hours, for business or leisure or other reasons” [1] . The United Nations World Tourism Organization (1995) helps us break down this definition further by stating tourists can be:

• Domestic (residents of a given country travelling only within that country)
• Inbound (non-residents travelling in a given country)
• Outbound (residents of one country travelling in another country)

Excursionists  on the other hand are considered same-day visitors (UNWTO, 2020). Sometimes referred to as “day trippers.” Understandably, not every visitor stays in a destination overnight. It is common for travellers to spend a few hours or less to do sightseeing, visit attractions, dine at a local restaurant, then leave at the end of the day.

The scope of tourism, therefore, is broad and encompasses a number of activities and sectors.

Spotlight On: United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

UNWTO is the United Nations agency responsible “for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism” (UNWTO, 2014b). Its membership includes 159 countries and over 500 affiliates such as private companies, research and educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations. It promotes tourism as a way of developing communities while encouraging ethical behaviour to mitigate negative impacts. For more information, visit the UNWTO website .

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Given the sheer size of the tourism industry, it can be helpful to break it down into broad industry groups using a common classification system. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was jointly created by the Canadian, US, and Mexican governments to ensure common analysis across all three countries (British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, 2013a). The tourism-related groupings created using NAICS are (in alphabetical order):

• Accommodation
• Food and beverage services (commonly known as “F & B”)
• Recreation and entertainment
• Transportation
• Travel services

These industry groups (also commonly known as sectors) are based on the similarity of the “labour processes and inputs” used for each (Government of Canada, 2013). For instance, the types of employees and resources required to run an accommodation business whether it be a hotel, motel, or even a campground are quite similar. All these businesses need staff to check in guests, provide housekeeping, employ maintenance workers, and provide a place for people to sleep. As such, they can be grouped together under the heading of accommodation. The same is true of the other four groupings, and the rest of this text explores these industry groups, and other aspects of tourism, in more detail.

It is typical for the entire tourist experience to involve more than one sector. The combination of sectors that supply and distribute the needed tourism products, services, and activities within the tourism system is called the Tourism Supply Chain. Often, these chains of sectors and activities are dependent upon each other’s delivery of products and services. Let’s look at a simple example below that describes the involved and sometimes overlapping sectoral chains in the tourism experience:

Before we seek to understand the five tourism sectors in more detail, it’s important to have an overview of the history and impacts of tourism to date.

Media Attributions

Front Desk © Staying LEVEL is licensed under a CC BY-NC (Attribution NonCommercial) license

• (LinkBC, 2008, p.8) ↵

Tourism according the the UNWTO is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes.

UN agency responsible for promoting responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism worldwide.

Moving between different locations for leisure and recreation.

The accommodations and food and beverage industry groupings.

someone who travels at least 80 km from his or her home for at least 24 hours, for business or leisure or other reasons

A same-day visitor to a destination. Their trip typically ends on the same day when they leave the destination.

A way to group tourism activities based on similarities in business practices, primarily used for statistical analysis.

Introduction to Tourism Copyright © 2020 by NSCC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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United nations world tourism organization (unwto).

Activity Start date ongoing:  Ongoing Activity End date ongoing:  Ongoing Activity:  UNWTO takes charge of the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. UNWTOpromotes the value of tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmentalsustainability, and offers leadership and support in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.Recognizing the UNWTO’s role in promoting the potential of tourism in fighting poverty and achieving the SDGs,the UN General Assembly declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development(IY2017) and as of July 2017, UNWTO features on the DAC/OECD’s list of development assistance organizations.Tourism is included in SDG 14: ‘Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources forsustainable development’ (besides the SDG 8: ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,full and productive employment and decent work for all and SDG 12: ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’).Nevertheless, given its cross-cutting nature, it can advance on all 17 SDGs.• In recent years, several capacity-building activities have been carried out by UNWTO and its member states(on a bilateral or regional level) and also with the support of some of the UNWTO Sustainable TourismObservatories in various coastal countries. An example of such a successful project could be the COASTproject (http://www.un.org/depts/los/nippon/documents/Non_recurrent_e_publication_Oceans_final.pdf).• UNWTO pays special attention also to the situation of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and to theirchallenges related to the development of a sustainable tourism.• Given the importance attached by UNWTO to the maritime, coastal and inland water tourism, upon theproposal of the Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness, the 22nd General Assembly adopted in China, inSeptember 2017 the definition of “Maritime, coastal and inland water tourism”. The adopted definitions areavailable on this page: http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/ctc_definitions_en_web.pdf. Objectives:  Promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism including maritime, coastal and inland water tourism Lead Organization/Partners :  United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Scope of Activity:  Global Websites:  http://www.un.org/depts/los/nippon/documents/Non_recurrent_e_publication_Oceans_final.pdf http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/ctc_definitions_en_web.pdf Activity Start date:  Ongoing Activity End date:  Ongoing Submitted By:  Relevant Stakeholder Relevant Stakeholder:  United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

UNWTO – The World Tourism Organization

The World Tourism Organisation  is a united nations agency which is responsible for the development and promotion of tourism at the world level.

The World Tourism Organisation needs its beginnings as the International Congress of Official Tourist Traffic Associations set up in 1925 in the Haghe. In 1934 International Union of Official Tourist Propaganda organization (IUOTOP) was created. However, it was renamed as the International Union of Official Travel Organisation (IUOTO) after World War 2nd in Geneva.

IUOTO was a technical, non-government organization, whose membership at its peak included 109 National Tourist Organisation (NTOs) and 88 associated members, among them private and public sector organizations.

With passes of time as tourism grew and became an integral part of the fabric of modern life, its international dimensions increased and national Governments started to play significant as well as a proactive role in tourism activities such as infrastructure development.

During the 1960s. It was recognized that there is a need for tourists’ development of international, regional, and national levels, and to keep to the peace of tourist development, specialized inter-Governmental machinery is required. That is why in 1967 IUOTO members called for its transformation into an intergovernmental body empowered to deal on a worldwide basis with all matters concerning tourists and cooperated with other international bodies.

In 1970, on the 27th Sept. IUOTO’s Extraordinary General Assembly adopted the statutes of the World Tourism Organisation in Mexico. Thus, IUOTO became the World Tourism Organisation and its first General Assembly was held in Madrid in May 1975 . The Secretariat was installed in Madrid and the Spanish Government provided the initial infrastructure.

In 1979, World Tourism Day created, to be celebrated every year on 27th September. Since the inception of UNWTO, it has been playing a pivotal role in the field of travel and tourism.

In fact, UNWTO is acting as an umbrella organization, and plays a catalytic role in promoting technological transfers and international cooperation, stimulating and developing public-private sector partnership, encouraging the implementation of the Global Code of ethics for tourism, maximizes the possible economical-social, cultural impact of tourism and minimize its negative social, cultural and environmental impact.

To further strengthen its overall role in tourism, UNWTO was converted into a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Aims & Objective of UNWTO

Through tourism , UNWTO aims at stimulating economic growth and job creation, providing incentives, protecting the environment, and cultural heritage, promoting peace, prosperity, and respect for rights. The UNWTO’s main missions/aims are as:

• To create employment opportunities.
• To improve international understanding and contribute peace among all the nations of the world.
• To create intercultural awareness and personal friendships.
• To promote and develop responsible, sustainable , and universally accessible tourism.
• To stimulate and develop responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism.
• To stimulate and develop public-private sector partnerships.
• To develop and encourage the implementation of the Global Code of ethics for travel and tourism.
• To help in equalization in Economic opportunities.
• To coordinate and cooperate with the other international Agencies in tourism promotion and development.
• To focus on destination development.
• To promote the use of information technology.
• To develop Human Resources.
• To promote and spread the message of peace, harmony through quality educations and training.
• To develop a conceptional framework for tourism an encourage to use.

Membership of UNWTO

In 2003 UNWTO membership reached 141 countries, seven territories, and 360 affiliate members representing the private sector educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism bodies. The UNWTO has three categories of membership:

Full Member

• Associate Member
• Affiliated Member

It is opened to all Sovereign states. At present, full members are 141 countries. India is the founder member of UNWTO.

Associate Members

This type of membership is opened to all territories not responsible for their external relations. The membership requires the prior approval of the Government which assumes responsibility for their external relations. At present seven territories are associated members.

Affiliate Members

Affiliate membership comprises a wide range of organizations and companies working directly in travel, tourism, and related sectors. These may include airlines, cruises, transport, hotels, resorts, restaurants, tour operators , travel agents , banking institutions, insurance companies, and other travel-related organizations. Moreover, the affiliate members made up of three groups namely:

• The UNWTO Business Council
• The UNWTO Education Council
• The UNWTO Task Force in Destination Management

The affiliate membership requires endorsement by the government of the state in which the headquarters of the applicant is located.

The UNWTO is the only inter-governmental organization that offers membership to the operational sector and in this way offers a unique contact point for discussion between government officials and industry leaders. UNWTO broad-based afflicted membership also has its own programmes of activities which includes, regular meetings, seminars, workshops, the conference on the specific topic such as e-business for tourism, and public-private sector cooperation and partnership.

Organizational Structure of UNWTO

UNWTO administration is carried out under a secretary-general, executive council, regional commission, committees, and secretariat, etc. The overall control and management of UNWTO lie with the General Assembly, which takes place every year. Thus, the bodies and organizational structure of UNWTO follows as:

General Assembly

It is the supreme and principal body of UNWTO . The General Assembly is composed of members and associate members, whereas affiliate members and representations of other international organizations can participate as observers. Every four years it elects a Secretary-General. General Assembly meets every year to approve the budget and program of work and to debate topics of vital importance to the tourism sector.

Executive Council

It is important for the smooth working of UNWTO. In fact, the Executive Council is a Governing board of UNWTO, is responsible for ensuring that the organization carried out its functions to achieve goals/objectives. The board meets twice a year and is composed of 27 members elected in the general assembly in a ratio of one for every five full members.

Spain has a permanent seat on the executive council as a host country of UNWTO’s headquarters. Further, representatives of associate and affiliate members participate in Executive council meetings as observers.

Regional Commissions

Strengthen and support the efforts carried out by the National Tourism administration, UNWTO has established a regional commission. At present, UNWTO has six regional commission – Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Each region receives special attention from its regional representative based at the headquarter in Madrid. The commissions meat at least a year and are composed of all the full, associate members from the region and affiliate members from the region participate as an observer. In the special effort to help boost tourism to Sub-Saharan Africa, UNWTO has developed a specific program of technical activities for the years 2003-04.

Committees of UNWTO

UNWTO has appointed various committees of Full, Associate and affiliated members to advice UNWTO administration and to achieve its mission, these committees are:

• Programme Committee
• Budget and Finance Committee
• Statistic and micro-economical analysis of tourism Committee
• The quality support Committee
• Education Council
• Business Council
• Sustainable development of the Tourism Committee
• Tourism Ethics Committee

Secretariat of UNWTO

Secretariat is the hierarchy of authority and responsibility through which UNWTO works. It tells us who is responsible for what. The UNWTO Secretariat is led by Secretary-General, these officers are responsible for implementing UNWTO programs. The UNWTO Business Council is head by a full-time chief executive and is supported by the Regional Commission and Committee.

Role and Contribution of UNWTO

At the beginning of the new millennium, tourism has firmly established as the number one industry in most of the counties of the world. For more than a dozen countries, tourism is the fastest-growing economic sector in terms of foreign exchange earnings, job creation, and an important factor in the balance of payment.

UNWTO has been playing an increasingly important role to make tourism as a number one industry at global, regional, and national levels. Since its inception i.e. from 1924 UNWTO has taken various initiatives to promote and develop tourism in a systematic and scientific way such as:

• Develop intercultural awareness and personal friendship.
• Encourage investment in tourism.
• Help in equalize economic opportunities.
• Develop international understanding and peace.
• Regional development.
• Develop sustainable and responsible tourism.
• Cooperate and coordinate with international agencies for tourism development.
• Provide leadership, and quality education.
• Destination development and management.
• Promote technology.
• Develop statistical measurement.
• Develop ethics and social responsibility.

What is tourism? A definition of tourism

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Whilst most of us have been tourists at some point during our lives, you might find yourself asking ‘what is tourism?’ or ‘what is the definition of tourism’?

Having studied, worked in and taught tourism management for many years, I can tell you that there is no straight-cut answer to this question! In fact, I do tell you- in this YouTube video below!

The tourism industry is argued to be the largest industry in the world, providing more employment than any other industry. Note, however, the use of the word ‘argued’. You see, the tourism industry is somewhat grey in nature. Elements that some may consider ‘tourism’, others may not. Some people believe they are ‘ tourists ‘, when others do not. Some things are black and white, and others are not.

In this post I will explain why there is no simple explanation in answer to the question ‘what is tourism?’. I will explain the diversity of the tourism industry and provide a range of definitions of tourism that have been developed by academics and practitioners.

What is tourism?

Tourism is the generic term used to cover both demand and supply that has been adopted in a variety of forms and used throughout the world. 

Tourism essentially refers to the activities undertaken by visitors, also known as the visitor economy. The tourism industry encompasses all activity that takes place within the visitor economy.

This includes activities that are directly related to the tourist, such as staying in a hotel, ordering a meal or visiting a tourist attraction. It also includes indirect activities, such as the transport company which delivers the food to the restaurant in which the tourist eats or the laundry company that has a contract with the hotel for cleaning bed sheets.

It is largely due to the indirect contributions to tourism, that defining and measuring the tourism industry is so difficult!

Tourism comes in many different shapes and sizes and there are many different types of tourism . There is mass tourism , niche tourism and special interest tourism. There is domestic tourism and international tourism . There is inbound tourism and outbound tourism .

Whilst there is a range of different forms of tourism, they all come under the broad tourism umbrella, nonetheless. This is because they all revolve around visitors and they all feed the visitor economy in one way or another.

A definition of tourism

Tourism is a phenomenon with no universally accepted definition, owing to the complexity and individualism of the travellers themselves and the activities that they choose to undertake.

The most widely utilised definition of tourism, proposed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and United States (UN) Nations Statistics Division (1994), prescribes that in order to qualify as a tourist one must travel and remain in a place outside of their usual residential environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business or other purposes.

Matheison and Wall (1982) on the other hand, do not impose a timeframe, simply stating that one must travel to a destination temporarily.

Leiper (1979) believed that defining tourism is more complex than this, proposing that there are three approaches that can be taken. The economic stance focuses on tourism as a business, the technical stance focusses on the tourist in order to provide a common basis by which to collect data and the holistic stance attempts to include the entire essence of the subject.

The Cambridge Dictionary define tourism quite simply as; ‘the business of providing services such as transport, places to stay or entertainment for people who are on holiday’.

Read also: – The importance of tourism – Types of tourism: A glossary – Outbound tourism | Understanding the basics – The structure of the tourism industry – Domestic tourism tourism explained – The history of tourism

Whilst such attempts to define the concept of tourism may be useful from a generic perspective, the practical application of such definitions is difficult when applied to specific tourism types, such as those outlined in this post outlining the different types of tourism.

In fact, Robinson and Novelli (2007), in their introduction to the niche tourism phenomena, postulate that tourists have developed as consumers, becoming increasingly sophisticated in their needs and preferences as a result of an emergent culture of tourism.

Despite such acknowledgements of the progressive and adaptive nature of tourism, particularly evident through the limitless introduction of new and niche tourism forms, there appear to have been no attempts to develop the commonly accepted definitions of tourism in parallel.

As such, I would argue that there is a need the definition of tourism to be revisited by academics and industry practitioner, to ensure that it is representative of the tourism industry that operates today.

How would you define the term tourism?

For more information on what makes up the tourism industry, I recommend the key text Tourism: Principles and Practice by John Fletcher, available from Amazon here .

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• Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)
• Member States in Asia and the Pacific
• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OBSERVATORIES (INSTO)

© UNWTO Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

• SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• Competitiveness
• Innovation and Investments
• ETHICS, CULTURE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
• TECHNICAL COOPERATION
• UN Tourism ACADEMY

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Sustainable development

"Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities"

Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability.

Thus, sustainable tourism should:

• Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.
• Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.
• Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.

Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary.

Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them.

COMMITTEE ON TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY (CTS)  

Biodiversity

UN Tourism strives to promote tourism development that supports, in equal measure, the conservation of biodiversity, the social welfare and the economic security of the host countries and communities.

Climate Action

Tourism is both highly vulnerable to climate change while at the same time contributing to it. Threats for the sector are diverse, including direct and indirect impacts such as more extreme weather events, increasing insurance costs and safety concerns, water shortages,  biodiversity loss and damage to assets and attractions at destinations, among others.

Global Tourism Plastics Initiative

The problem of plastic pollution in tourism is too big for any single organisation to fix on its own. To match the scale of the problem, changes need to take place across the whole tourism value chain.

Hotel Energy Solutions (HES)

Hotel Energy Solutions (HES) is a UN Tourism -initiated project in collaboration with a team of United Nations and EU leading agencies in Tourism and Energy . 

Observatories (INSTO)

The UN Tourism 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. 

When responsibly planned and managed, tourism has demonstrated its capacity to support job creation, promote inclusive social integration, protect natural and cultural heritage, conserve biodiversity, generate sustainable livelihoods and improve human wellbeing.  As the sector is experiencing tremendous growth, collective efforts to ensure its long-term sustainability are essential.

Resource Efficiency in Tourism

The report aims to inspire stakeholders and encourage them to advance the implementation of the SDGs through sustainable tourism.

Small Islands Developing States (SIDS)

Small Island Developing States face numerous challenges. For a significant number, their remoteness affects their ability to be part of the global supply chain, increases import costs - especially for energy - and limits their competitiveness in the tourist industry. Many are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change - from devastating storms to the threat of sea level rise.

Travel facilitation

Travel facilitation of tourist travel is closely interlinked with tourism development and can be a tool to foster increased demand and generate economic development, job creation and international understanding.

UNGA Sustainable Tourism Resolutions

The UN Tourism is regularly preparing reports for the General Assembly of the United Nations providing updates on sustainable tourism policies both from UN Tourism member States and States Members of the United Nations, as well as relevant agencies and programmes of the United Nations system.