Source: UN Tourism

he 26th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government (La Antigua, Guatemala, 15-16 November) concluded with a high-level political declaration on sustainable development in which tourism plays a key supporting role. The commitment, which includes the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), marks the first time the tourism sector has been featured in a top-level multilateral cooperation agenda.

Ibero-American presidents and heads of state have mandated the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) with introducing tourism in the development cooperation portfolio of its 22 member states, all of which are also UNWTO Member States.

In the 'La Antigua Action Programme for Ibero-American Cooperation', the mandate from heads of state and government specifically calls on SEGIB to closely coordinate its future work around tourism with UNWTO. Both organizations are asked to collaborate on initiatives to promote sustainable tourism that can impact on development, partnering with key actors of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This accord is unprecedented for its inclusion of tourism in an international multilateral action plan for cooperation. The commitment includes tourism and the economy together as one issue area, urging states to prioritize public policies for developing and managing sustainable and responsible tourism to boost competitiveness.

A first contribution of UNWTO has been the publication "The Contribution of Tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals in Ibero-America", produced on the occasion of the First Ibero-American Conference of Ministers of Economy and Tourism held in September, and leading up to Summit of Presidents and Heads of State.

This advance has the potential to give tourism a deservedly strong voice at the highest political and policy levels, adding value to economies and complementing UNWTO's work with its members and partners across and beyond Ibero-American states.

Useful links:

La Antigua Action Programme for Ibero-American Cooperation (in Spanish)

The Contribution of Tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals in Ibero-America (in Spanish)

Guatemala Declaration: Ibero-American Commitment to Sustainable Development (in Spanish)

SEGIB news release on the 26th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government (in Spanish)

UNWTO Regional Department for the Americas

UNWTO Regional Department for Europe

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.