8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism "Smart Cities, Smart Destinations"
UNWTO and the Mayor’s Office of Nur-Sultan organized the 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on 9-12 October 2019, under the theme ‘Smart Cities, Smart Destinations’. Representatives from more than 80 countries, including 10 mayors, deputy-mayors as well as ministers of tourism and representatives of the private sector explored how developing smart city destinations can contribute to addressing complex urban tourism challenges faced today across the world. The most critical issues in sustainability, accessibility, urban management, innovation and technology were discussed, while stressing the importance of including tourism in the wider city agenda as a means to make tourism a true contributor to the development of inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities.
Building on this, national and city representatives at the Summit officially adopted the Nur-Sultan Declaration on ‘Smart Cities, Smart Destinations’. The Declaration recognizes the growing popularity of cities as tourist destinations and their potential to drive socio-economic development and promote and preserve unique culture.
The summit also included a Masterclass on the meetings industry organized by UNWTO Academy and International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), focusing on topics such as current trends in the meeting industry, how to be a successful destination for meetings and how to organize sustainable meetings.
Related links
- Click here to visit the conference website
- Press Release
- Video: UNWTO 2019 Day 1. UNWTO-ICCA Masterclass on the Meetings Industry. Nur-Sultan, 2019
- 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism Day 2 Video
- 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism Day 3 Video
Documents
- Summit Programme
- General Information Note
- Nur-Sultan Declaration on Smart Cities and Smart Destinations
- Music Tourism Presentation-Shain Shapiro
- Niantic Presentation - Sarah Burslem
- Timelooper Presentation- Michael Oh
- Tourism Platform Optimizer Presentation- Diego Fuentes
