The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held a virtual discussion to showcase how to better understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the perspective of tourism and recognize the true potential of the sector as a driver to achieve the SDGs. Held last July 13 as a side event during the recently concluded UN High Level Policy Forum (HLPF) 2022, the session was broadcasted through Zoom webinar platform and Youtube Live.
This virtual session aims to introduce the collaborative work of UNWTO and JICA with project-based indicators to measure the contribution of tourism at different levels, adapted to the scale of a project and involved stakeholders.
In the same virtual event, a panel discussion on the power of tourism as a driver for Sustainable Development was also attended by representatives of government and private stakeholders who shared their initiatives in achieving SDGs through tourism. Their experiences showed how tourism can be a tool to deliver sustainable benefits for the development of communities. The invited panelists were:
- Mr. Takashi Aoki, Project Leader, “Project for Enhancing the Mechanism for Sustainable Community Based Tourism Development in the North Region”, Dominican Republic
- Mr. Chris Cocker, CEO, South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO)
- Ms. Delphine Malleret-King, Executive Director, The Long Run
- Ms. Lina Fernanda Pinto, International Cooperation Program and Delegate of the Directorate of Quality and Sustainable Development of the Vice-Ministry of Tourism Colombia
- Ms. Nadine Pinto, Global Sustainability Manager, The Travel Corporation
The discussion highlighted importance of long-term collaboration between national and local government, private businesses and the community, as well as bringing in a shared vision and accountable leadership in tourism development. The speakers also showed how traceability and measurement of impacts of tourism can help in achieving and aligning efforts to the Sustainable Development Goals.
We invite you to listen to the complete session here:
