Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST)

The Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) is an internationally agreed reference framework for measuring the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism.

As a living example of going beyond GDP, MST supports the production in countries of reliable, internationally comparable data on the performance of countries and subnational tourism destinations when it comes to the sustainability of tourism.

All in all, MST leads to more robust data to ensure that tourism action on the ground really contributes to the betterment of people’s lives now and into the future.

The MST Statistical Framework has been developed by UN Tourism in partnership with leading countries, and with the support of the United Nations Statistics Division, the International Labour Organization and others.

Governance

Under the auspices of the UN Tourism Committee on Statistics, the development of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism was led by the Expert Group on MST with the technical guidance of the Editorial Board on MST.

Governance

Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism

The Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST) is an organizing structure for integrating statistics on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable tourism.

Statistical Framework

Pilot studies and country experiences

Country pilot studies have contributed to the design and development of the statistical framework by testing its relevance and feasibility.

Pilot Studies

RELATED INITIATIVES

Sustainable Development Goals Indicators

UN Tourism Committee on Statistics liaises with the official UN process (IAEG-SDGs) on the development of statistical indicators for the measurement of tourism's role in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG Indicators

ESG Framework for tourism businesses

ESG Framework for tourism businesses

While a number of ESG reporting and disclosure initiatives already exist, they have been developed relatively independently, meaning the comparability and scalability of ESG reporting is limited. In this context, UN Tourism is joining efforts to provide a single ESG framework that can be used as a single reference by all kinds of tourism businesses.

ESG Framework

DOCUMENTS/PUBLICATIONS

Events related to MST

MST in the media

?The #UN55SC has adopted the UN Tourism Statistical Framework for Measuring Tourism Sustainability.? This milestone marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to measure tourism's impacts on the economy, society, and environment.

Congratulations to all involved! ? pic.twitter.com/eVqSv70a6f
— UN Tourism (@UNWTO) March 1, 2024

Consultation on past versions of SF-MST

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Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism

The Statistical Framework for MST is an internationally-agreed framework describing the main concepts, definitions and data organization structures to support the production and organization of data on the impacts and dependencies of tourism on the economy, society and the environment. The Framework has been endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) at its 55th session (27 February – 1 March 2024). The final version (subject to official editing) is available at: https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/session_55/documents/BG-4a-SF-MST-E.pdf.

Quick overview of contents:

List of abbreviations and acronyms
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Key features of SF-MST
Chapter 3: Measuring the economic dimension
Chapter 4: Measuring the environmental dimension
Chapter 5: Measuring the social dimension
Chapter 6: Implementation and application of SF-MST
Annex 1: SF-MST Research agenda
Bibliography
Glossary

Global Consultation on the SF-MST

The global consultation was undertaken with the objective to present the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism to the United Nations Statistical Commission for its endorsement

Global Consultation SF-MST

Consultation on past versions of SF-MST

Consultation on past versions of SF-MST

Several rounds of consultation on the different versions of Statistical Framework for MST have been carried out among the Expert Group on MST and the UNWTO Committee on Statistics.

Consultation past versions SF-MST

UNWTO Statistics - UN System

United Nations Statistical Commission

The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the apex entity of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world.

UNSC

UNWTO Committee on Statistics

The Committee is a subsidiary advisory body of the UNWTO Executive Council.

Committee on Statistics

Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities

The Inter-agency Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities was established on 19 September 2002 (CCSA) and meets twice a year.

Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities

Employment and Decent Work in Tourism - ILO-UNWTO Joint Project

UNWTO has been cooperating on with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through an agreement in the area of employment and decent work in tourism

Employment and Decent Work in Tourism

Statistics of tourism

The United Nations recognizes the World Tourism Organization as the appropriate organization to collect, to analyse, to publish, to standardize and to improve the statistics of tourism, and to promote the integration of these statistics within the sphere of the United Nations system.

“Official statistics provide an indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society, serving the government, the economy and the public with data about the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation.”

Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

The UNWTO Statistics Department is committed to developing tourism measurement for furthering knowledge of the sector, monitoring progress, evaluating impact, promoting results-focused management, and highlighting strategic issues for policy objectives.

The department works towards advancing the methodological frameworks for measuring tourism and expanding its analytical potential, designs practical guidance for their implementation in countries, supports statistical strengthening in countries through capacity building, and compiles and disseminates tourism statistics of countries all over the world.

Standards

The United Nations recognizes the World Tourism Organization as the appropriate organization to collect, to analyses, to publish, to standardize and to improve the statistics of tourism, and to promote the integration of these statistics within the sphere of the United Nations system.

Standards

Tourism Statistics Database

UNWTO systematically gathers tourism statistics from countries and territories around the world into a vast database that constitutes the most comprehensive statistical information available on the tourism sector.

Tourism Statistics Database

COVID-19 AND TOURISM STATISTICS

With new situations emerging from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, some clarifications need to be made to the UN statistical standards on tourism to maintain as far as possible data consistency and international comparability

COVID

COVID-19 and tourism statistics

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Tourism Statistics Database

UN Tourism systematically collects tourism statistics from countries and territories around the world in an extensive database that provides the most comprehensive repository of statistical information available on the tourism sector. This database consists mainly of more than 145 tourism indicators that are updated regularly. You can explore the data available through the UN Tourism database below:

145 Key Tourism Statistics

Data on inbound, outbound and domestic tourism, international tourism flows, tourism industries, employment and other indicators.

145 Key Tourism Statistics

Economic Contribution and the SDGs

Data on the economic contribution of tourism and the implementation of relevant standards, such as the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

Economic Contribution and the SDGs

Economic Contribution and SDG

Read more about Economic Contribution and SDG

145 key tourism statistics

Read more about 145 key tourism statistics

Workshops on Tourism Statistics and on the Elaboration of a Tourism Satellite Account

Read more about Workshops on Tourism Statistics and on the Elaboration of a Tourism Satellite Account

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