June 2018: The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have published a report describing the ways in which the tourism sector can advance SDG implementation. The report titled, ‘Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030,’ aims to help governments, policymakers and tourism companies incorporate the SDGs into policy and financing frameworks, business operations and investments. The report recommends that all tourism stakeholders engage in partnerships and action to harness tourism’s contribution to (and mitigate the sector’s adverse effects on) sustainable development. It calls for sustainable development to be a shared responsibility and central to decision-making within the tourism sector to strengthen the sector’s role in achieving the SDGs.

The report bases its recommendations on an analysis of 64 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) submitted to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2016 and 2017, eight Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) country roadmaps, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of 60 tourism companies. The analysis reflects policymakers’ recognition of tourism’s contribution to the SDGs.

Tourism is mentioned in 41 of the VNRs, mainly relating to SDGs 8 (decent work and economic growth), 12 (sustainable consumption and production) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). The MAPS reports note that developing countries often view sustainable tourism as an SDG accelerator, given its direct and multiplier impact on other sectors and industries, as well as highlight tourism’s challenges and threats, including unsustainable consumption and production, and poor management of natural resources and waste.

The publication explains that, in some countries, external threats undermine tourism’s potential to advance sustainable development, highlighting, for example, global economic instability, natural disasters, climate change, biodiversity loss, and regional and international insecurity, all of which hinder progress on the SDGs. The report also calls for strengthening the engagement of tourism policymakers in national SDG planning as well as with other ministries and relevant stakeholders. It encourages integrated policies that consider tourism’s cross-cutting impacts on the SDGs.

The report emphasizes that the private sector can help the tourism sector achieve the SDGs by internalizing the Goals, particularly SDGs 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 1 (no poverty), 4 (quality education) and 8 (decent work and economic growth). By adopting more inclusive and sustainable business models, the private sector can also improve risk management, promote product differentiation and reduce leakage. However, the report stresses that businesses must ensure profits are retained locally and reinvested in the local value chain.

The report also explains that businesses must be able to measure progress, benchmark against comparable businesses and improve their performance to play a more significant role in advancing the SDGs. However, it laments the lack of frameworks to report on the full economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism; and underscores the need for knowledge and capacity, including in new technologies that encourage investment in greener and more sustainable businesses.

According to the study, policymakers can strengthen SDG engagement and commitment from the private sector, financiers and investors by developing supportive policy frameworks and providing subsidies and incentives, which are conducive to competitiveness, inclusiveness and sustainability. The report stresses that financing tourism and better financing frameworks are critical to realizing the SDGs, and explains that an increasing number of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and donor countries are supporting developing countries’ SDG efforts by investing in sustainable tourism. The report also highlights innovative financing mechanisms that can channel international, domestic, private and public funding and resources to sustainable tourism, such as green finance and biodiversity conservation funds. [Report Landing Page] [Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on UNWTO 2017 Annual Report]