The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is proud to announce that Hilton has signed on as an official partner of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The announcement comes ahead of the UNWTO's launch of the 'Travel.Enjoy.Respect' campaign.

The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The initiative aims to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behavior towards a more sustainable tourism sector.

"The involvement of the private sector is essential in amplifying the impact of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development," said Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General. "Hilton is a global hospitality leader whose focus on sustainable travel supports our broad goals of tourism that spurs dialogue, fosters mutual understanding, and supports building a culture of peace."

"Our founder Conrad Hilton often spoke of "world peace through international trade and travel, which remains just as important and core to our business today," said Katie Fallon, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Affairs, Hilton. "We are pleased to join with the UNWTO and its partners to communicate the benefits of sustainable travel for the communities where we work and live."

Hilton's Travel with Purpose strategy identifies innovative solutions that leverage its global footprint to provide positive impact in three key focus areas; creating opportunities for people, strengthening communities, and preserving the environment. By mobilizing its nearly 5,000 hotels in 103 countries and territories, Hilton continues to operate in responsible and sustainable ways.

The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development promotes tourism's role in the following five key areas: (1) inclusive and sustainable economic growth; (2) social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction; (3) resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change; (4) cultural values, diversity and heritage; and (5) mutual understanding, peace and security.

For more information on International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, please visit: http://www.tourism4development2017.org/

Become a partner of the International Year: http://www.tourism4development2017.org/partnerships/

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