UN Tourism Joins G20 Presidency to Discuss the Future of Tourism

UN Tourism has brought together Ministers from the G20 economies to advance tourism policies and transform governance across the sector. On the eve of the official meeting of the G20 Ministers of Tourism, the side event called for a new approach to tourism policy and governance that places a focus on people and planet. With the event held under the Brazilian Presidency of the G20, high-level representatives of Azerbaijan, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the USA as well as the InterAmerican Development Bank, recalled the positive importance and impact of tourism in the economy and society and its potential to contribute to the SDGs and to reduce inequalities within and among countries.

For Better Tourism

Opening the event secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili applauded Brazil’s G20 Presidency focus on inclusion and sustainability and said, “The challenges ahead of us are immense. As so are the opportunities offered by a sector that creates jobs and brings people together like no other. Yet, to really transform our sector, we need new policies and new governance models. We need to place communities and the environment at the centre of our polices and we need stronger coordination of all government agencies as well as among national and local stakeholders.”

Minister of Tourism of Brazil, Celso Sabino said “UN Tourism is bringing to Belem, an essential debate for the tourism sector but also for the world. Sustainability is a priority for the government of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and tourism when developed in a responsible manner, protecting the environment, culture and history, is the most prosperous way for the development of nations. And Brazil is leading this so much needed and urgent debate. We are very happy to host the G20 Tourism here at the heart of the Amazon, the capital of Pará.”

At a time of multiple challenges facing the world, participants agreed that with the growth of the sector there are increasing multidimensional externalities which require rethinking tourism planning and management. Key takeaways included the urgent need for:

• A new governance build upon regular consultation and inclusion of residents, stronger coordination among all agencies in government and among national and local authorities as well as with the private sector.
• Targeted polices on gender, social inclusion, decent jobs, climate change, circularity, nature net positive and regional development across all areas of tourism.
• Improving the measurement of the impact of tourism in its three dimensions at national and local levels – economic, social and environmental. Participants welcomed the recent approval by the United Nations of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism.

The G20 economies represent over 70% of all international tourist arrivals and receipts generated worldwide and 82% of tourism’s global GDP. In 2023, the sector accounted directly for 3.1% of the GDP of the G20 (USD 2.8 trillion), 5% of all exports of the group and 23% of all its service exports (USD 1.3 trillion). In 2023, the G20 economies received 900 million international tourist arrivals. In the first seven months of 2024, international tourist arrivals to the G20 reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels with countries such as Saudi Arabia (+73%), Türkiye (+15%), Spain (+11%), Japan (+7%) and Brazil (+1%) leading growth and already surpassing 2019 levels.

Speaking at the UN Tourism side event were Kanan Gasimov, head of Administration, State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan, HE Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism of Canada, HE Verónica Pardo, Undersecretary of Tourism of Chile, HE Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Tourism of India, HE Martini M. Paham, Deputy Minister for Human Resources and Institutions, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, HE Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica, HE Sultan AlMusallam, Vice Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, HE Jordi Hereu Boher, Minister of Industry and Tourism of Spain, HE Alex Lasry, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel & Tourism in the USA and Pedro Martel, division chief, Environment, Rural Development, and Disaster Risk Management at Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).