World Tourism Day 2023: "Invest in people, planet and prosperity" 

13-08-23

The global disruption that COVID-19 brought to the tourism sector provides an opportunity to redefine and recalibrate the direction and discourse adopted in tourism investments in order to better support the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. UNWTO has therefore identified investment as one of its key priorities for tourism recovery and future growth and development.

UNWTO stresses that more and better targeted investments, both traditional and non-traditional, for people, planet and prosperity are needed for tourism to realise its enormous potential to provide opportunities for people, build resilience, accelerate climate action and greater sustainability for the planet, and bring inclusive prosperity around the pillars of innovation and entrepreneurship.

UNWTO has identified investment as a key priority for the sector, providing the bridge between its Member States, destinations, businesses and investors, culminating in World Tourism Day 2023, which will be a call to action for the international community, governments, multilateral financial institutions, development partners and private sector investors to unite around a new tourism investment strategy.

An international tourism day will highlight the vital need to invest in projects that work for people (by investing in education and skills), the planet (by investing in sustainable infrastructure and accelerating green transformation) and prosperity (by investing in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship).

Investing in people: prioritising education and improving skills

"Education is a fundamental human right. It is the foundation of societies, economies and the potential of every individual. But without adequate investment, that potential will be prematurely squandered" - United Nations Secretary-General, on the occasion of International Education Day (2023).

The crisis has highlighted the need to rethink the structure of tourism economies to improve competitiveness, build resilience and accelerate the achievement of SDG 4 (quality education). To do this, the sector must invest in education and skills development, including for women, in all areas to promote value-added jobs and resilience. We cannot create more sustainable tourism without the right talent.

Tourism is one of the world's largest employers. In 2019, the sector employed one in 10 people worldwide and has proven to be a tool for economic diversification and a key driver of employment with a multiplier effect on other sectors contributing to rural development. Moreover, in rural areas, tourism can particularly benefit traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as women - who constitute 54% of workers in the tourism sector compared to 39% in the economy as a whole - youth and indigenous peoples. Tourism is also an easily accessible sector for micro and small enterprises and the self-employed, who make up a considerable part of the tourism sector and of entrepreneurship at the community level in general.

However, in emerging destinations, 50% of young people are unable to work in tourism due to lack of opportunities, resources or access to formal training. Furthermore, current education and training opportunities, with a strong emphasis on hotel management, are unbalanced. As we look to the future, between now and 2030, millions of hospitality graduates will be needed each year as global tourism workers and a further 800,000 jobs per year will require specific vocational training.

For these reasons, we need to invest in people, who are the foundation of tourism. That is why UNWTO is dedicated to empowering them and directing investments towards the core of our future actions.

Investing in the planet: supporting tourism's green transition

We need to ensure that the tourism sector fulfils its responsibilities to address the climate emergency, which, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 20232, is one of the most urgent and pressing risks of the next 10 years.

The green transformation of the tourism sector is critically needed, not only for the planet, but also for tourism itself, to boost competitiveness and increase resilience, and green investment and innovation in the tourism sector must play a major role in supporting this transformation and the achievement of the green goals of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

In this regard, hotel investment has a crucial role to play and represents one of the largest shares of traditional investments, as the volume of global hotel investments has increased year-on-year by 131%, reaching a total of USD 66.8 billion in 2021, as the pandemic opened up various opportunities, particularly in relation to green buildings and retrofitting.

Looking ahead, the need to reduce emissions provides an investment opportunity of USD 24.7 trillion in the green buildings sector in emerging market cities up to 20304 , of which USD 1.5 trillion is for hotels, resorts and restaurants5 . In addition, there are many more investment opportunities in tourism related to new solutions and technologies to decarbonise the sector, as well as ensuring climate resilient infrastructure through adaptation solutions. Addressing all these opportunities will contribute to bridging the $4 trillion annual investment gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the developing world.

It is therefore time to rethink existing frameworks and approaches to tourism investments to accelerate the sector's green transition. The pandemic has provided us with an opportunity to create global and regional partnerships, as well as green investment frameworks and innovative financing initiatives, for the tourism sector to support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero as soon as possible before 2050.

Investing for prosperity: fostering innovation and entrepreneurship

Digitalisation and innovation programmes are a strategic priority to support in particular young people and women, who are crucial for improving the skills of tourism workers. Also, the global need to increase the level of investment in programmes that support and incentivise entrepreneurship and generate opportunities for innovations is very much present in the tourism sector.

Furthermore, the empowerment of women is a fundamental component of just and equitable societies. Tourism has been shown to provide avenues for empowerment and the opportunity for tourism to make a difference in this area should be maximised. According to the UNWTO World Report on Women in Tourism - Second Edition, 54% of those employed in tourism are women, while 39% of those employed in the economy as a whole are women. We therefore need to put more emphasis on supporting women entrepreneurs. World leaders need to act now and act decisively to invest in policies that promote more and better jobs for women and equal pay at work. Women's entrepreneurship is on the rise globally and has shown that it has the potential to drive economic growth and reduce poverty. However, with less than ten years left to meet the targets set out in the 2030 Agenda, the full potential of women-led businesses has yet to be realised. Investing in women entrepreneurs is an investment in change because they bring so much to the table: innovation, competitiveness, new values.

Investments in innovation and digitisation and their cross-sectoral impact therefore have a multiplier potential not only to reinforce large-scale global and regional strategic projects, but also to stimulate tourism recovery and safeguard jobs, by supporting the survival of MSMEs, mitigating systemic economic impact, sustaining employment and creating the conditions for future, post-pandemic growth.

Key issues to be addressed

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