The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive social and economic impact. Both developed and developing economies have been hit. And marginalized groups and the most vulnerable have been hit hardest of all. The restart of tourism will help kickstart recovery and growth. It is essential that the benefits this will bring are enjoyed widely and fairly.
UNWTO has therefore designated World Tourism Day 2021 as a day to focus on Tourism for Inclusive Growth. This is an opportunity to look beyond tourism statistics and acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person. UNWTO invites its Member States, as well as non-members, sister UN agencies, businesses and individuals to celebrate tourism’s unique ability to ensure that nobody is left behind as the world begins to open up again and look to the future.
World Tourism Day, celebrated each year on 27 September, is the global observance day fostering awareness of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value and the contribution that the sector can make towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
Technical Note
Official Messages
The human desire to travel and explore is universal, which is why tourism must be open for everyone to enjoy.
So too must the many social and economic benefits that tourism brings be available to everybody.
World Tourism Day 2021 highlights the power of ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’.
Official Messages
Resources
Find everything you need to celebrate World Tourism Day, including social media images, graphics and logos
TRELLO UNWTO - WORLD TOURISM DAY 2021
Join World Tourism Day 2021!
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Join World Tourism Day 2021!World Tourism Day 2021 Events
Events by the global tourism community on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2021.
RFP/ICT/2021-02 “Contratación de asistencia técnica externa para el desarrollo e implantación de nuevos módulos del entorno financiero de la Organización Mundial del Turismo”
Type: Request of tender
Status: Awarded
Contractor: Siges Solutions S.L.U. (Lot A), Avanttic Consultoría Tecnológica S.L. (lot C and D)
Amount: Lot A: 136,261.12 EUR (plus VAT); Lot C: 72,418.50EUR (plus VAT); Lot D: 33,268.95 EUR (plus VAT)
RFP/ICT/2021-01 “Digitalización de los procesos de Recursos Humanos mediante la implantación de Oracle HCM Cloud en la Organización Mundial del Turismo”
Type: Request of tender
Status: Awarded
Date Contract: 2021-11-26
Contractor: ABAST SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS, S.L
Amount: 109.400,00 (plus VAT)
RFP/PBST/2021-01 “Maquetación y diseño de publicaciones, revistas y folletos de la OMT”
Type: Request of tender
Status: Awarded
Date Contract: 2021-12-15
Contractor: Impacto Creativo de Comunicación, S.L.
- Carta de invitación
- Documento I - Datos de la licitación
- Documento II - Contrato y Condiciones Generales de Contratación
- Documento III - Términos de Referencia
- Documento IV - Anexos de presentación de la oferta técnica
- Documento V - Anexo de presentación de la oferta económica
- Documento VI - Brand Guidelines
- Documento VII - UNWTO Author Guidelines
- Documento VIII - Style Guidelines
- Preguntas y respuestas
Competitiveness
The Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness Department works to provide knowledge and strategic guidance to support tourism destinations and the sector at large become more competitive and improve destination management through efficient policies and governance.
Market Intelligence
Market Intelligence
2018 marked the ninth consecutive year of sustained growth in international tourism. A total of 1.4 billion tourists travelled the world in 2018. Tourism generated US$1.7 trillion in worldwide exports in 2018.
Market IntelligencePolicy and Destination Management
Policy and Destination Management
UNWTO works to provide guidance and share good practices on policies and governance models aimed to effectively support the tourism sector at the different levels: national, regional and local.
Policy and Destination ManagementProduct Development
Product Development
As defined by UNWTO, a Tourism Product is "a combination of tangible and intangible elements, such as natural, cultural and man-made resources, attractions, facilities, services and activities around a specific center of interest which represents the core of the destination marketing mix and creates an overall visitor experience including emotional aspects for the potential customers. A tourism product is priced and sold through distribution channels and it has a life-cycle".
Product DevelopmentRFP/TECO/2021-03 “COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance in Dominican Republic”
Type: Request of tender
Status: Awarded
Date Contract: 2021-10-25
Contractor: Inmark Europa S.A + Atrevia Comunicación SLU
Amount: 176.692,00
RFP/TECO/2021-02 “Technical assistance to promote recovery of the tourism activity in the aftermath of the lockdown, regaining consumer confidence and building resilience in the tourism sector in the Republic of Maldives”
Type: Request of tender
Status: Awarded
Date Contract: 2021-10-13
Contractor: LLC Reformatics
Amount: 197.018,00
UN Tourism Data Dashboard
The UN Tourism Data Dashboard – provides statistics and insights on key indicators for inbound and outbound tourism at the global, regional and national levels. Data covers tourist arrivals, tourism share of exports and contribution to GDP, source markets, seasonality and accommodation (data on number of rooms, guest and nights)
Two special modules present data on the impact of COVID 19 on tourism as well as a Policy Tracker on Measures to Support Tourism
The UN Tourism/IATA Destination Tracker
UN Tourism Recovery Tracker
UN Tourism Data Dashboard
- International tourist arrivals and receipts and export revenues
- International tourism expenditure and departures
- Seasonality
- Tourism Flows
- Accommodation
- Tourism GDP and Employment
- Domestic Tourism
International Tourism and COVID-19
- The pandemic generated a loss of 2.6 billion international arrivals in 2020, 2021 and 2022 combined
- Export revenues from international tourism dropped 62% in 2020 and 59% in 2021, versus 2019 (real terms) and then rebounded in 2022, remaining 34% below pre-pandemic levels.
- The total loss in export revenues from tourism amounts to USD 2.6 trillion for that three-year period.
- International tourist arrivals reached 88% of pre-pandemic levels in January-December 2023
COVID-19: Measures to Support Travel and Tourism
Nº RFP/TECO/2021-01 Technical assistance to develop and promote the tourism industry in Benin
Type: Request of tender
Status: Awarded
Date Contract: 2021-06-15
Contractor: LLC Reformatics
Amount: 874.850,00
- Invitation letter
- Document I - Tender information
- Document II Contract and General Terms of Conditions
- DOCUMENT III (a) Terms of Reference – Lot I
- DOCUMENT III (b) Terms of Reference – Lot II
- DOCUMENT III (c) Terms of Reference – Lot III
- Document IV - Annexes
- Document IV Annex 7 - Financial template
- Questions and answers
- Document IV - Annexes (word format)
- Document IV - Annex 7 (word format)
A glance at Innovation at UNWTO
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) believes that innovation is the key to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. To drive the digitalization of tourism, create an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem that will maximize the potential of the sector in terms of economic growth, job creation and sustainable development, and to anticipate, address and overcome the new challenges and trends of the tourism sector, in 2018 UNWTO developed a framework for Innovation, Education, Digital Transformation and Investments.
In the three years since their launch, the UNWTO Innovation Competitions and Challenges, have attracted talent from every global region. Such wide reach is reflected in the results of the last the seven competitions and six specific challenges which received over 7,750 applications from more than 150 countries. These projects have a proven potential to scale up and incorporate new technologies such as block-chain, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and augmented/virtual reality. The Challenges and Competitions are multi-thematic and can be tailored to the prevailing needs and demands of the tourism sector at any given time.
2020 in review
This year has presented unprecedented challenges to the sector but has also promoted innovation. Entrepreneurs have provided ground-breaking ideas and solutions to reboot the sector, specially aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19. This year’s top winning and shortlisted Startups came from all regions of the world, especially Europe and the Americas. Among the participants, 27,8% were women-leading startups, and 41% of this year’s winners were female entrepreneurs.
2020 MILESTONES
+
Total
%
of Growth 2019 - 2020
Academia
Media
+
Startups
Government
Investors
United Nations
Incubators / Accelerators
Corporations
Among the solutions presented, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud were the preferred technologies mainly for delivering solutions related to Online Travel Agencies and Hotels & Hospitality Management. Even with the challenges of 2020, our Startups managed to source 37.122.932 USD in funding this year alone and 74.890.240 USD since the creation of the Department- ‘Angel’ and Venture Capitalists’ were identified as the main investors. Further information will be released soon in the Travel Tech Startups Ecosystem and Investment Landscape Report.
At the end of our second year of operation, UNWTO has directly supported more than 1,000 entrepreneurs around the world with numerous projects set to scale up in 2021 and beyond. These projects have the potential to restart tourism and benefit communities as well as contribute to the SDGs. Our gratitude goes to all the governments and public entities, academia, corporations, investors, Startups & MSMEs and supporting business partners who made these results possible during this unprecedented year. The 2021 UNWTO Innovation Agenda shall be full of more Challenges and Competitions to keep on encouraging the adoption of disruptive technologies and so offer more seamless and sustainable tourism, enhance capacity building and the chance to build back better, as well as the opportunity for the Startups to connect, partner, and scale-up.
List of 2020 Challenges and Competitions
JANUARY
2nd UNWTO Global Gastronomy Tourism Startup Competition set out to identify challenges and projects, and catalyzing innovations that can transform the Gastronomy Tourism sector in the near future. Partners: Basque Culinary Center (BCC). Participants: Over 300 applications from 150 countries. Winners: FoodieOn (the Republic of Korea) and Jiranis Food (Kenya)
FEBRUARY
UNWTO Rural Tourism Competition (Spain) set out to promote solutions to rural Spain's challenges, strengthen the role of tourism in addressing local problems with an emphasis on greater employment and entrepreneurship opportunities based on sustainability. Partners: Google, Ministerio de Industria Energía y Turismo de España y FADEMUR. Participants: Over 136 applications from 18/19 Spain’s Autonomous Communities. Winners: My Street Book and Vanwoow (Spain)
APRIL
UNWTO Healing Solutions for Tourism Challenge A global call to reach the most disruptive startups, entrepreneurs and drive solutions to mitigate COVID-19’s impacts on tourism. Partners: WHO. Participants: Over 1,000 applications from 100 countries. Winners: HandInScan/ Chameleon (Canada/USA), OUTPOST Healthcare (Canada), SeeTrue AI (Israel), Checkpoint (Spain) MyStay (Czech Republic), WAAM MACHINES (Poland), iBonus Limited (Hong Kong), Beautiful Destinations, Inc. and Airside (USA)
#EUvsVirus Hackathon – UNWTO played a central role within the framework of the pan-European Hackathon led by the European Commission, the European Innovation Council and in close collaboration with the EU member states to connect civil society, innovators, partners and investors across Europe in order to develop innovative solutions for coronavirus-related challenges. UNWTO Independently organized, selected and coordinated a 100+ person team with 7,000 participants to lead and coordinate the Education Pilar of the hackathon. Overall, over 20,900 people from across the EU and beyond took part, with 2,150 solutions submitted, 279 of which were selected in the field of education.
MAY
Hospitality Challenge: Supporting the Hospitality Talents of Tomorrow set out to identify ideas and individuals capable of accelerating the recovery of the tourism sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Partners: Sommet Education. Participants: over 1,000 applications from over 95 countries. The top 30 applicants will receive full-board scholarships to world class education programmes Winners: 15 made it to the final and 4 were picked as winners of the categories of Healing for People and Healing for Destinations. (See true(Israel, smart occupancy (Spain), MyStay (Czech Republic), WAAM (Poland)
Beyond Tourism Innovation Challenge set out to identify new digital skills for the recovery phase post-COVID, and environmental sustainability. Partners: Over 214 applications from 28 countries. Participants: Over 214 applications from 28 countries. Winners: Better Batteries (Barbados), Belizing Tourism Innovation Lab (Belize), INTO (Costa Rica), Green Fins Hub (Dominican Republic), Safe Lodges Equal Safe Guests (Guyana), Caribbean Tourism Career Accelerator (Haiti), Digital Transformation of Indigenous (Panama) and Nariva Swamp (Trinidad and Tobago)
JUNE
UNWTO Inspiration Africa Branding Challenge set out to identify a campaign that positions Africa as a destination in the minds of travellers supporting the efforts of individual countries and companies, making tourism a driver of development in the continent. Partners: CNN Participants: Over 150 applications from 48 countries. Winner: UBUNTU: Africa invites you to live-Atrevia (Spain)
Desafio Brasileiro de Inovação em Turismo set out to boost innovation in the Brazilian tourism sector, by improving the competitiveness of the sector throughout the country by digitally transforming public and private organizations. Partners: Ministério do Turismo Brasil and Wakalua. Participants: Over 700 applications participants. Winners: WorldPackers (Brazil)
JULY
UNWTO Sustainable Development Goals Global Startup Competition set out to support long-term recovery through the achievement of the SDGs. Partners: Google, Mastercard, Plug and Play, Amadeus, Telefónica and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) Participants: Over 10.000 participants from 138 countries. The 60 finalists from 28 countries were already announced. Winners: Not yet announced
AUGUST
UNWTO Smart Solutions for Smart Destinations Challenge set out to identify innovative, intelligent solutions that maximize the visitor’s experience of stadiums or events. Partners: Athletic Club of Bilbao and Deputy for Economic Promotion, Regional Government of Bizkaia. Participants: Over 99 applications from 37 countries. Winners: NECSUM Trisom (Spain) and Orwell Virtual Reality (Italy)
NOVEMBER
2ND edition of the Travel Tech for Good Accelerator initiative. In its second edition, this accelerator sourced top social impact startups from East Africa offering coaching for entrepreneurs, during which local and international mentors help them innovate their business models, research potential investors and clients, and bring their business pitches to the next level. Partners: Tui Care Foundation and Enpact Selected participants: Tripxio (Uganda), SINA Village (Uganda), Mauritius Conscious (Mauritius), 54HOMES (Uganda)
Voices from 2020:
