G20 Embraces Roadmap to Make Tourism Empower SDGs

During India’s G20 Presidency, UNWTO served as the knowledge partner. They presented the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a Vehicle for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This occurred at the meeting of the world’s leading economies’ Ministers of Tourism.

UNWTO has developed with the G20 economies  a roadmap for making tourism a central pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During India’s G20 Presidency, UNWTO served as the knowledge partner. They presented the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a Vehicle for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This occurred at the meeting of the world’s leading economies’ Ministers of Tourism.

At the midpoint between the 2015 launch of the 2030 Agenda and its deadline, UNWTO urged G20 Tourism Ministers. They called on them to take the lead in driving the sector’s contribution. The objective was to accelerate progress towards achieving the agenda’s goals. The Goa Roadmap, developed with the Tourism Working Group, builds upon the five priority areas under India’s G20 Presidency:

Green Tourism:

Recognizing the critical need to work towards climate action and environmental protection and related international cooperation, the Goa Roadmap incorporates recommended actions and good practices from G20 economies and guest countries on issues such as financing, sustainable infrastructure and resource management, integrating circular approaches in the tourism value chain and engaging visitors as key actors in sustainability.

Digitalization:

The Roadmap makes clear the wide-ranging benefits of supporting businesses and destinations embrace digitalization, including enhanced productivity, improved infrastructure management and delivering a safer and more efficient visitor experience.

Skills:

In addition to being one of UNWTO’s core priorities for the sector, The Roadmap reflects one of UNWTO’s core priorities for the sector. It emphasizes the importance of providing tourism workers with the necessary skills. This is particularly crucial for youth and women in order to future-proof tourism jobs. The aim is to make the sector a more appealing career path.

Tourism MSMEs:

With Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) accounting for 80% of all tourism businesses worldwide, the Roadmap emphasizes the importance of public policies and public-private partnerships in addressing key challenges, including financing, marketing and skills gaps and market access to support MSMEs through the digital and sustainable transitions.

Destination Management:

The Roadmap offers a set of proposed actions. These actions aim to create a holistic approach to destination management. It emphasizes the strengthening of public-private-community partnerships. Additionally, it promotes the enhancement of a whole-of-government approach. It further shares examples of innovative programmes among G20 and invited countries. 

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili emphasized the importance of ensuring a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient recovery as tourism rebounds. Moreover, he highlighted that the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a Vehicle for Achieving the SDGs offers a proposed plan of action to the G20 economies. This plan aims to lead the way forward towards a better future for all.

Shri G. Kishan Reddy, highlighted the potential of tourism in addressing societal challenges. Reddy is the Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India. He emphasized the need for tourism to transform itself and address its socio-economic impacts. He added, “Working together on a common roadmap for recovery and long-term sustainability will unlock its immense potential to deliver on the SDGs.”

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