UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili praised both South Africa’s leadership and the firm commitment of member countries to shaping policies that place tourism at the heart of national development agendas. In his assessment, he highlighted that the G20 Declaration represents “a clear signal” that tourism is no longer a peripheral activity, but rather “an essential lever” for social and economic progress. He also emphasized that this recognition opens new opportunities to address persistent gaps such as air connectivity between destinations, the digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises, and access to financing for sustainable investment.
Among the main pillars of the agreement reached in South Africa are the promotion of innovation, the digitalization of tourism MSMEs, the improvement of international air connectivity, and the creation of financial mechanisms that encourage sustainable-impact investment. The Declaration points to the need to “unlock” public and private capital for resilient tourism infrastructure, support the creation of new air routes and markets, and ensure that local communities, women, youth, and Indigenous peoples benefit from tourism activity.
UN Tourism stresses that these decisions come at a crucial moment: tourism in G20 countries represents nearly 3.1% of total GDP, around 5% of all exports, and approximately 21% of service exports. This economic weight makes it essential that the sector’s policies and strategies remain coherent, effective, and aligned with sustainable development goals.
The South African G20 Presidency has been explicitly recognized for its leadership in placing tourism as a priority topic and for involving UN Tourism as a “Knowledge Partner” of the Tourism Working Group, ensuring that technical and ministerial discussions fully incorporated a tourism perspective. This technical collaboration has enabled a clearer path for tourism to contribute to inclusive development, particularly in regions with limited connectivity or greater infrastructure challenges.
UN Tourism’s expression of gratitude also reflects a clear commitment to linking tourism with major global challenges: post-pandemic economic recovery, the fight against inequality, digital transformation, and environmental sustainability. By integrating tourism into national development strategies and giving it a prominent role within the G20, a window of opportunity opens for countries to guide investments, regulations, and alliances that maximize the sector’s potential. Moreover, the Declaration highlights the importance of ensuring that tourism growth is inclusive, benefiting not only consolidated destinations but also marginalized communities and emerging economies.
For the global tourism industry, this support marks a shift in status: moving away from being perceived merely as a leisure activity or fragmented sector, and becoming instead a strategic component of national economies. This means that tourism businesses, governments, and international organizations must align with stronger governance frameworks, adopt development models that are resilient to crises, and ensure that tourism’s benefits are shared more equitably across society. Concretely, the sector will need to take advantage of its increased political visibility to attract investment, adopt emerging technologies, professionalize its workforce, and strengthen more integrated and sustainable value chains.
UN Tourism welcomes the decisive step taken by G20 leaders and the South African Presidency toward integrating tourism into the global development and sustainability agenda. This recognition, beyond its symbolic significance, carries practical effects: it opens the door to new air routes, new investment opportunities, initiatives that strengthen connectivity between regions, communities, and businesses, and the assurance that tourism can contribute more effectively to social, economic, and environmental well-being. The message is clear: tourism must cease to be an exception within the global economy and become a key ally in advancing shared development.
