8 March 2011: The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Tourism Forum convened in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, from 6-7 March, and considered the need for collective action to tackle global challenges including environmental pressures and poverty.

Over 200 representatives from the public and private sector, including UN agencies, regional and international organizations such as the World Travel and Tourism Council, the World Economic Forum, the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), academia and civil society attended the event, aimed at charting new pathways for tourism growth. According to the UNWTO, issues of local community involvement in tourism development, best practices and the three pillars of sustainability – economic, environmental and social – were central to discussions on responsibility. The Forum called for the international tourism community to move the tourism agenda forward sustainably. [UNWTO Press Release]