UN Tourism News

Diversifying tourism across Asia and the Pacific, alongside promoting more and better education, will be key to building a more resilient and sustainable sector.

Tourism leaders from across the world have met again to shape the sector’s future, emphasizing the sector’s vital economic importance while also placing it firmly on the political agenda.

International tourist arrivals reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024. According to UN Tourism, more than 285 million tourists travelled internationally in January-March, about 20% more than the first quarter of 2023, underscoring the sector’s near-complete recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.

The 69th meeting of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for the Americas brought together prominent representatives of countries of the region in the Cuban city of Varadero. The meeting addressed the challenges and opportunities of the tourism sector that the region is facing.

The United Nations General Assembly has held a second thematic event focused on tourism and the sector’s critical role in critical role of tourism in advancing sustainable development and resilience

Europe’s national tourism authorities have met to advance shared solutions to the biggest challenges facing tourism as well as the opportunities offered by the sector’s post-pandemic return.

Offering more diverse experiences and investing in talented people will play a key role in helping mountain areas grow tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner. The 12th World Congress on Snow, Mountain and Wellness Tourism identified key challenges, among them climate change and evolving consumer trends, while recognizing the role tourism can play in the protection of the fragile mountain ecosystem, the building of resilience for mountain communities, and the preservation of the local heritage.

A groundbreaking statistical framework, developed under the leadership of UN Tourism, has been adopted by all 193 UN member states.
The Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) thus becomes the internationally agreed reference framework for measuring the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism.
 

With the latest UN Tourism data showing international arrivals returning to 88% of pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2023, emphasis has now shifted to protecting the sector from future shocks. The official visit of the delegation led by Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili coincided with the second Global Tourism Resilience Day. A series of high-level meetings in Jamaica also advanced shared efforts around ethical, inclusive and sustainable tourism as well as the priorities of education and investment.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) enter a new era with a new name and brand: UN Tourism. With this new brand, the Organization reaffirms its status as the United Nations specialized agency for tourism and the global leader of tourism for development, driving social and economic change to ensure that "people and planet" are always center stage.