2017: International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development

screen-shot-2016-12-06-at-13-56-03The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. 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 behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector that contributes to the SDGs.

Main responsibility to perform activities in the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development lays with UNWTO. They have the following information for the launch of the International Year, which will be organised alongside the Spanish travel fair Fitur:

screen-shot-2016-06-29-at-11-07-56
LT&C workshop 2016 at Red Rocks in Rwanda: working to combine sustainable tourism and nature protection with development support

“The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, to be launched in January in Madrid, is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the contribution of sustainable tourism to development among public and private sector decision-makers and the general public, while mobilizing all stakeholders to work together in making tourism a catalyst for positive change,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

The year will promote tourism’s role in the following five key areas:

(1) Inclusive and sustainable economic growth

(2) Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction

(3) Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change

(4) Cultural values, diversity and heritage

(5) Mutual understanding, peace and security.

A full programme of activities will be unveiled on 18 January on the occasion of the Opening of the International Year.

More information:

International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

Join the Celebrations

Sponsorship opportunities

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

screen-shot-2016-12-22-at-17-44-16LT&C is connected with UNWTO by its partnership with the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP STP), which UNWTO is leading. LT&C just recently participated actively with delegation headed by LT&C Co-founder Sergio Chiarandini and complemented by LT&C Members  Eike Otto, a senior consultant in sustainable tourism ( http://www.sustainable-tourism.com/) and the film-maker Catherine Cunningham ( http://www.eikosphere.com/) in their sustainable tourism conference in Marrakech: The 22nd session of Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP22), had been convened in the City of Marrakech from 7-18 November 2016. As part of the activities of the 10YFP STP, the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco had hosted a three-day Tourism Side Event simultaneously with the UNFCCC COP22, with the theme “Advancing Sustainable Tourism in a Changing Climate”. 

 

20161112_170622
Sergio Chiarandini presented the LT&C vision, mission and best LT&C-Examples at the Annual Conference of the 10YFP STP

Sergio Chiarandini  presented the LT&C vision, mission and best LT&C-Examples at the Annual Conference of the 10YFP STP in the Focus Group 3 : Advancing Tourism in a changing Climate – innovation in endangered sites. The Focus Group was chaired by  10YFP Director of Sustainable Development for Tourism Programme  of UNWTO, Dirk Glässer

 

In the  operning remarks, the UNFCCC Director Patricia Espinosa included in her video message the statement that “it has never been so easy to be a tourist, in remote areas and that tourism must be part of the transformation to a more responsible model of doing business”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9W1KizRWEQ.

Mr Glässer complemented her message with a statement that “the Travel and Tourism sector, when conducted sustainably and responsibly, can be a major driver for positive change”. LT&C-delegation leader Sergio Chiarandini in his presentation amplified the concept expressed by the Chairman by presenting  concrete examples where tourism is already a driver of change through contributing to the creation and  effective management of nature and protected areas. Chiarandini also expressed his firm convinction that the freedom of being a player in tourism does not come with a free lunch or a licence to extract and pollute nature, rather it comes with a burden of duties and responisbilities wether you are an individual, a tour operator or a government organization, He concluded showcasing technical innovation and appropriate technologies that tourism enterprises have implemented to prevent and mitigate climate change impacts.

 

The 10YFP is a concrete and operational outcome of Rio+20. The 10YFP is a global framework that enhances international cooperation to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in both developed and developing countries. It provides capacity building and technical and financial assistance to developing countries, and encourages innovation and cooperation among all countries and stakeholders, so as to shift to SCP patterns in this sector.(http://www.unep.org/10yfp/Portals/50150/downloads/publications/10YFP/Brochure_10YFP%20Sust%20Tour%20Prog_EN_updated_27July2016.pdf)

The Tourism Side Event targeted the global tourism sector to promote increased action and contributions to national commitments of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development should come up with concrete and convincing examples, where tourism is actively contributing to achieve the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals. LT&C wants to play a role here, in particular regarding the biodiversity SDGs 14 and 15, and therefore will participate January 18 in Madrid with some of its members running activities in developing countries to launch the International Year. We will there also explain, how we and tourism in general can contribute to reach the climate goal (SDG 13).

 

Guided by Indigenous People through the Yasuni National Park. Photo: Peter Prokosch
Guided by Indigenous People through the Yasuni National Park. Photo: Peter Prokosch

Look also for LT&C-Study tours in the frame of the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development.

And contact us, if you have any idea to contribute to the International Year yourself or joining us in Madrid:

Contact us

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Email*
Privacy is important to us*
By submitting this form you accept our current LT&C Privacy policy and that we may store use your contact information for the purpose of communicating with you.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Make a donation

We are grateful that you support the work and mission of LT&C! We accept donations through Credit Card, PayPal or international bank transfer:

Alternative 1: Donate through Credit Card:

Alternative 2: Donate through PayPal (amount in Euro):

Please click the Donate button and then choose your PayPal account

Alternative 3: Donate through international bank transfer

Bank details:
Cultura Sparebank
Pb. 6800, St. Olavs plass
N-0130 Oslo

Name: Linking Tourism & Conservation,
Account no.: 1254 05 95168
IBAN: NO8712540595168
BIC/SWIFT: CULTNOK1
Routing BIC: DNBANOKK

Please mark payments with your name and/or email address

Sign up now

Sign up for an LT&C membership by filling in the details below.

Add your LT&C-Example

Would you like your LT&C-Example/Initiative to be listed on our website? Please fill in the form below.

  • Would you like your LT&C example/initiative to be listed on our website? Please fill in the form below.
  • Please tell us about your LT&C example/initiative and how it fits with Linking Tourism & Conservation (LT&C)
  • Please elaborate on the following topics:
    a) Political/management support
    b) Financial support
    c) Educational support
  • Website with more information on the LT&C example/initiative
  • Please leave your contact details so that we can get in touch with you. This information will not be displayed on our website unless you ask us to.
  • By submitting this form you accept our current LT&C Privacy policy and that we may store and manage your contact information and that we may use the submitted material on our website.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.