Guiding tourism's recovery
"This crisis is an opportunity to rethink the tourism sector and its contribution to the people and planet; an opportunity to build back better towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient tourism sector that ensure the benefits of tourism are enjoyed widely and fairly."
Zurab Pololikashvili,
UN Tourism Secretary-General
"Tourism is one of the world's most important economic sectors. It employs one in every ten people on Earth and provides livelihoods to hundreds of millions more."
António Guterres,
UN Secretary-General
Leading the way forward
Global coordination was essential for tourism to deliver on its status as a leading generator of opportunity for all. UN Tourism led the way forward, uniting tourism leaders from all over the world. More than ever, the sector needed to be united on behalf of the millions of people trusting their future to the power of tourism to drive sustainable growth.
RESTARTING TOURISM
In a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient way
MONITORING TOURISM’S PERFORMANCE
Restarting tourism with data-driven decisions.
- COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions
Travel restrictions
Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations.
- COVID-19 | Tourism Tourism
Impact assessment
The COVID-19 caused a 72% decline in international tourist arrivals in 2020 and 71% in 2021, compared to 2019. This represents a loss of 2.1 billion international arrivals.
- UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer
World Tourism Barometer
The report is published four times a year and includes an analysis of the latest data on tourism.
- UN Tourism Statistics
- UN Tourism Global Tourism Dashboard
Tourism Dashboard
The UN Tourism Tourism Recovery Tracker compiles all the relevant data in one place, giving governments and the private businesses the ability to track the recovery of tourism
Taking Action
Restarting tourism with concrete guidelines and initiatives developed by UN Tourism.
- Transforming Tourism
Covid-19 and Transforming Tourism Policy Brief
Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting economies, livelihoods, public services and opportunities on all continents.
- Recovery
Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package
We are facing an unprecedented global health crisis, the repercussions of which are being felt in all sectors of society and the economy. Health institutions and governments worldwide are doing their utmost to combat COVID-19
- Priorities for Tourism Recovery
Restarting Tourism
The UN Tourism Global Tourism Crisis Committee endorsed UN Tourism’s Global Guidelines to Restart Tourism, an action plan focused on the Priorities for Tourism Recovery.
- UN Tourism AlUla Framework
- Recommendations
Supporting Jobs and Economies Through Tourism
A Call for Action to Mitigate the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Accelerate Recovery
Travel and Tourism is among the sectors most affected by this crisis, and urgent support is required given the millions of jobs that are at risk
- Supporting recovery
Covid-19 and Supporting recovery
Tourism is currently one of the most affected sectors and UN Tourism has revised its 2020 forecast for international arrivals and receipts, though emphasizes that such any predictions are likely to be further revised
Zurab Pololikashvili, UN Tourism Secretary-General
Executive Council – 112th session
For people
- Vulnerable Groups
Sociocultural impacts of Covid-19
Tourism activities should respect the equality of men and women; they should promote human rights and, more particularly, the individual rights of the most vulnerable groups, notably children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples.
- Recommendations for the Assistance
International Tourists
The unprecedented situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic is not the only recent disruptive situation in which the lack of an international framework regarding the assistance to tourists in emergency situations has created confusion and a loss of the necessary confidence to travel abroad.
- Women’s empowerment
Centre Stage
The UN Tourism project ‘Centre Stage: Women’s empowerment during the COVID-19 recovery’ aims to strengthen, coordinate and focus work towards gender equality in tourism governmental institutions and businesses as they recover from the pandemic, boosting the sector’s potential for empowering women.
- Recommendations travelers with disabilities
Accessible Tourism
These Guidelines, produced in collaboration with ONCE Foundation and ENAT show that simple, thoughtful measures can make a real difference for travellers – and in return, allow destinations to welcome this wide and diverse demographic as they look to recover from COVID-19
- Paris Peace Forum 2020
Weaving the Recovery
Indigenous Women in Tourism
Selected as one of the ten most promising projects of the Paris Peace Forum 2020
COVID-19 has simultaneously reduced revenues and increased the housework burden for Indigenous Women, while exposing their dire lack of access to essential services.
- #TravelTomorrow
#TravelTomorrow
"By staying home today, we can travel tomorrow”. #TravelTomorrow encapsulates this message of solidarity and hope, through which the UN Tourism calls for shared responsibility among travellers and the tourism sector around the world to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
For planet
- Green Transition of Tourism
Recommendations for the Green Transition of Tourism
Tourism is one of the hardest hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, international arrivals dropped by 74% given the widespread of travel restrictions and socio-economic challenges, representing an estimated loss of USD 1.3. trillion in export revenues and around 120 million direct jobs at risk
- Global Tourism Plastics Initiative
Plastics and COVID-19
The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative unites the tourism sector behind a common vision to address the root causes of plastic pollution. It enables businesses, governments and other tourism stakeholders to take concerted action, leading by example in the shift towards circularity in the use of plastics.
- Transforming Vision Into Action
From Vision to Action
The One Planet Vision calls for a responsible recovery of the tourism sector from the COVID-19 crisis which is founded on sustainability. The Vision strives to enhance the resilience of tourism, balancing the needs of people, planet and prosperity. The Vision is available in all UN languages.
Boosting tourism’s recovery with
Investment
Innovation
Education
In collaboration with WHO
UN Tourism issued a joint statement with WHO, the lead UN agency for the global response to COVID-19 calling for responsibility and heightened coordination to ensure that health measures were implemented ensuring safety and protecting livelihoods.
UN Tourism encouraged travellers to stay safe and travel responsibly by following these simple but effective guidelines.
In February 2022, UN Tourism and WHO Regional Office for Europe agreed to further develop their collaboration and strengthen cooperation.