UNWTO and India’s G20 Presidency have joined forces to launch a new tool to advance the contribution of tourism policies and initiatives towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ahead of G20 Leaders’ Summit on September 9-10.
UNWTO, a specialised agency of the UN that promotes the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, has worked with the Presidency through India’s Ministry of Tourism on the G20 Tourism and SDGs Dashboard.
This tool will help to promote the sector’s contribution to accelerating progress towards achieving the 17 SDGs.
The G20 Tourism and SDGs Dashboard is a concrete outcome of G20 Tourism Working Group. The dashboard showcases the pillars of the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving the SDGs around the five priority areas set for the working group: 1. Green Tourism; 2. Digitalisation; 3. Skills; 4. Tourism MSMEs and 5. Destination Management.
The UNWTO-G20 Dashboard includes over 20 case studies under these five areas and will be updated on a regular basis during 2023 and in the coming years providing a unique reference for tourism policies and initiatives in their contribution to the SDGs.
The initiative assumes significance with the G20 welcoming 74% of international tourists and 73% of tourism exports worldwide.
Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “G20 countries represent over 70% of tourism worldwide. Their leadership in the transformation of the sector is decisive. The G20 Tourism and SDGs Dashboard is a concrete outcome of G20 Tourism Working Group and a reference tool for all. UNWTO is very happy to have joined hands with the Ministry of Tourism of India to make this possible.”
G Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India, said: “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has consistently championed the transformative power of digitalisation across all sectors, including tourism. The G20 Tourism and SDGs Dashboard offers a wealth of knowledge and showcases best practices, all aimed at steering the tourism industry towards greater sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity.”
