Tourism statistics inform UN assessment of sustainable development

16-07-22

A global UN analysis of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the important role tourism has to play in achieving the ambitious agenda for change.

Launched at this year's High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is being held on the theme of "building back better" after the pandemic, the UN reports draw on the statistical work of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to assess tourism's role as a significant driver of development for people and planet. In particular, the UN Secretary-General's SDG Progress Report, including its statistical annex, will serve as a complementary input to the deliberations of the HLPF. Alongside this, the expanded version of the Sustainable Development Goals Report, aimed at the general public, provides an overview of the 17 goals with infographics, including those illustrating the importance of tourism.

Produced in collaboration with the entire UN Statistical System, the reports and their latest available data show that action is needed to meet the SDGs and to intensify measurement efforts at the national level, including in the area of tourism.

As demonstrated in SDG8 ("Decent work and economic growth"), tourism, one of the biggest drivers of development, was one of the economic sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with global GDP related to the sector almost halving between 2019 and 2020, with far-reaching consequences for employment, local businesses and conservation efforts.

With regard to SDG12 ("Responsible Consumption and Production"), UNWTO statistics serve to highlight the importance of national efforts to implement standardised tools such as the Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). Both underpin the UNWTO-led Statistical Framework for Measuring Tourism Sustainability (MST), which assesses the social, economic and environmental impacts and dependencies of the sector at both national and sub-national levels. These tools also demonstrate the importance of the multi-stakeholder collaboration promoted through the One Planet Network's Sustainable Tourism Programme.

As countries apply the principle of building back better and aim to create more sustainable and resilient tourism, various policy areas have recognised the need for such measurement tools to guide their efforts and thus contribute to more evidence-based policy making. Examples at the international and regional level include the UNWTO Recommendations for the transition to a green travel and tourism economy and the UNWTO Framework for Inclusive Community Development through Tourism, both endorsed by the G20; the European Parliament resolution on establishing a strategy for sustainable tourism; the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework; UNWTO General Assembly resolutions and UN Statistical Commission decisions.