The power of tourism to induce poverty reduction and development constituted the main focus of the UNWTO Workshop held in Guangdong, China. The workshop was conducted under the framework of the agreement signed between UNWTO and the Chimelong Group in 2016 designed to support sustainable tourism and wildlife protection through tourism.

Raising awareness on the relevance of the tourism sector in the reduction of poverty and promoting knowledge sharing on best practices constitute the major objectives of the Workshop for Poverty Reduction and Tourism Development held in Guangdong. The event takes place in a highly relevant momentum as 2017 is celebrated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, a global campaign lead by UNWTO.

"Guangdong, one of the top economic hubs in China, is one of the best examples of what is happening in China in terms of the links between development and tourism and therefore it is a perfect location to conduct this event" said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.

"We sincerely appreciate the agreement with UNWTO that includes a number of initiatives in the field of sustainable tourism and wildlife conservation, which are very much in line with our philosophy 'Wherever Chimelong goes, the happiness follows' as our CEO, Su Zhigang highlights," said Chen Wancheng, President of Guangdong Chimelong Group.

Accounting for 6.3% of GDP, tourism is one of the most important sectors in Guangdong. The province receives more than 300 million domestic tourists annually and around 35 million international tourists.

The workshop included case studies from the UNWTO ST-EP Project Great Himalaya Trail Development Programme, the UNWTO Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories and from activities conducted by Chimelong in the Guangdong Province. Representatives of Provincial Tourist Authorities and Provincial Tourism Organizations, in particular from the Guangdong Province, stakeholders from the private sector and Chinese NGOs attended the event.

About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

Rut Gómez Sobrino
Principal Media Officer
(+34) 91 567 81 60
UN Tourism