Source: UN Tourism

Madrid, Spain – The 63rd meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas, organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the National Tourism Secretariat of Paraguay (Asunción, 12-13 April 2018), highlighted the importance of advancing towards greater gender equity in tourism so that the sector can deploy its full potential in favour of sustainable development. "Women's Empowerment in the Tourism Sector" was the central theme of this edition of the International Seminar, held alongside the other ministerial meetings.

Tourism policies, the role of education, as well as ways to promote greater levels of leadership by women, were the topics addressed in the framework of the goal of achieving gender equality in tourism.

As a sector that is constantly growing on par with or outpacing the global economy, and accounting for up to 10% of the world's employment, tourism is ideally positioned to contribute to greater gender equality and the empowerment of women.

"We participate directly and indirectly in almost all areas of the economy and society. Our strength as an economic sector also obliges us to assume social responsibility," said the UNWTO's Secretary-General. Zurab Pololikashvili also recalled that "the active participation of men and women" is necessary "to advance the economic empowerment of women and their greater presence in decision-making positions".

Latin America and the Caribbean lead the world with the highest percentage of female employment in tourism, although this is concentrated in service and administrative positions (62%), as compared to professional and managerial levels (36%), with women earning between 10% and 15% less than their male counterparts. However, there are almost twice as many women entrepreneurs in tourism than in any other sector (51%).

Paraguay, host country of the 63rd meeting of the CAM, is an example of the better employment, entrepreneurship and leadership opportunities that tourism can offer to women, as highlighted by the Minister of Tourism of Paraguay, Marcela Bacigalupo, citing the example of the country's more than 200 tourism inns, 95% of which are managed by women. "This initiative was born from a need to generate economic development, and it not only served to generate a source of income for women, but also to awaken faith in the tourism potential of Paraguay," she said.

The seminar featured practices promoted in the region to showcase tourism products and projects led by women, as well as case studies that show how destinations can be more competitive through the introduction of gender equality policies and investment in projects for the empowerment of women.

The 64th Meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas will be held in Guatemala during the second quarter of 2019.

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.