The tourism sector has set out its plans to achieve its climate action ambitions. At COP27, UNWTO brought leading sector stakeholders together to share practical insights into accelerating the shift to greater sustainability and reaching Net-Zero.

Since the launch Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at COP26, more than 700 businesses, destinations, civil society groups and even countries have signed up, committing to decarbonize, regenerate and measure in order to halve their carbon emissions by 2030 and reach Net-Zero by 2050 at the latest.

UNWTO Executive Director Zoritsa Urosevic said: “One year after its launch, we are proud to see the way the Glasgow Declaration has inspired our sector into action. Unlocking finance and developing measurement frameworks will be critical to scaling-up our support and continue accelerating climate action for resilience.”

Unlocking finance and developing measurement frameworks will be critical to scaling-up our support and continue accelerating climate action for resilience

Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, added: “The Declaration, provides a framework for all tourism stakeholders to raise their climate ambitions. Further integrating tourism into the Nationally Determined Contributions will be key to mobilizing the support needed to scale-up the efforts.”

“A net zero future for tourism largely depends on the ocean and the regeneration of destinations, notably coastal destinations. We have to turn tourism into a sector that is responsive to the climate emergency” said Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean

Whole-of-sector commitment

Participants represented the different dimensions of tourism, at both the national and subnational level. Financial and UN institutions, in particular United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank Group and CAF (the Development Bank of Latin America) voiced their readiness to support tourism destinations in their transformation towards more low-carbon, sustainable and resilient tourism models.

On 10th November, the side event focussed on the pathways of measurement and decarbonization. The Secretaries of State for Tourism and for Environment of Guanajuato, Mexico, shared about their unique collaborative approaches; the Minister of Tourism of the Canary Islands presented their climate action plan – one of the first ones at destination level; Iberostar released its decarbonization roadmap; the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance reflected on the improvements of the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative; and Intrepid Travel put forward the multiplier role that tour operators can have by supporting smaller businesses to decarbonize.

“The tourism sector requires a reset. A transition to sustainable tourism models requires a collective effort, one that UNDP is ready and willing to support,” said Assistant Secretary General and Regional Director for UNDP Arab States, Dr Khalida Bouzar.

Financing the green transition

On 11th, the event focused on regeneration and finance. The Minister of Tourism of the Maldives and representatives from The Bahamas Ministry for Tourism reiterated the place of tourism in the protection of fragile ecosystems. At the same time, the challenges faced by Ministries of Tourism to play an active role in climate negotiations at the national level was highlighted, as was the need to enhance the education of communities and visitors. The Foundation for Environmental Education also stressed the importance of integrating the Glasgow Declaration pathways as criteria in certification systems such as Green Key. NOAH Regen presented an innovative approach to protect and regenerate blue carbon ecosystems through blended finance. The Latin American Bank for Development (CAF) voiced its support for climate action in tourism.

“Achieving Net Zero by 2050 remains ambitious for tourism and more finance is needed. Investing in climate action in tourism is investing in green resilient and inclusive development” said Mari Pangestu, Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank Group

Committee of Tourism and Sustainability

Also in Sharm El-Sheikh, UNWTO convened its Committee of Tourism and Sustainability, chaired by the Ministry of Tourism of Croatia, for the first time within the framework of a UNFCCC COP. This allowed Member States to discuss the guidance materials available, such as the Baseline Report on Climate Action in Tourism and the Technical Brief on Measuring Tourism GHG Emissions, as well as opportunities for collaboration within the framework of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme where UNWTO works closely with UNEP and the governments of France and Spain as co-leads. .

Glasgow Declaration welcomes more signatories

The latest signatories to the Glasgow Declaration include the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia, the Tourism Authority of Monaco and the Secretariat of State for Tourism of Honduras. National Tourism Authorities from Panama, Kiribati, Micronesia, Portugal are also among our signatories. Committing to the Declaration are also large actors in the sector such as Accor, Iberostar, Booking.com, Expedia, The Travel Corporation, as well as Radisson Hotel Group, together tour operators and accommodation businesses from 130 countries. UNEP called on stakeholders to continue adhering to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism which is implemented within the framework of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme.

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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.