The ‘Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism’ was launched today at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. Some of tourism’s biggest businesses have joined governments and destinations in committing to cut emissions in half by 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2050 at the latest.

The Glasgow Declaration recognizes the urgent need for a globally consistent plan for climate action in tourism. Signatories commit to measure, decarbonize, regenerate and unlock finance. Additionally, each signatory commits to deliver a concrete climate action plan, or updated plan, within 12 months of signing.

Speaking at COP26, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed that “while many private businesses have led the way in advancing climate action, a more ambitious sector-wide approach is needed to ensure tourism accelerates climate action in a meaningful way”. He added that “the Glasgow Declaration is a tool to help bridge the gap between good intentions and meaningful climate action”.

Already, more than 300 tourism stakeholders have signed up to the Declaration, including leading industry players to destinations, countries and other tourism stakeholders ranging from large to small. The Glasgow Declaration was developed through the collaboration of UNWTO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Visit Scotland, the Travel Foundation and Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, within the framework of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme committed to accelerate sustainable consumption and production patterns.

“WTTC is delighted to be a supporter and launch partner to the Glasgow Declaration and thereby add our voice, the voice of the global private sector, to this important collective call for heightened ambition in the travel and tourism sector. The Glasgow Declaration is a real opportunity for travel and tourism to unite and show true leadership as we strive towards Net Zero”, said Julia Simpson, President and CEO, WTTC.

“Through the Glasgow Declaration, the One Planet Network‘s Sustainable Tourism Programme offers a common platform to catalyze climate action in tourism. This Initiative is fundamental to create the right momentum to accelerate climate action in tourism through sustainable consumption and production”, said Mr Jorge Laguna-Celis, Head of the One Planet Network Secretariat, Economy Division, UNEP.

“As UN High-Level Climate Action Champions, we warmly welcome the Glasgow Declaration and recognise the efforts of the over 300 Launch Partners. This is a pivotal step, aligning the tourism sector on our Race to Zero campaign’s goal of halving emissions by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2050 at the latest”, said Gonzalo Muñoz, High-Level Climate Champion.

The launch event at COP26 featured a panel discussion underscoring the importance of increased climate action and ambition in the tourism sector, with contributions from David W. Panuelo, President of the Federated States of Micronesia alongside Iván Eskildsen, Minister of Tourism for Panama; Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Trade and Industry for Norway; Patrick Child, Deputy Director General for the Environment at the European Commission; Julia Simpson, CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council; Catherine Dolton, Trustee and Treasurer of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance; Darrell Wade, Co-founder and Chairman, Intrepid Group; and Jeremy Smith, Co-founder of Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency.

The more than 300 signatories include businesses, countries, tourism stakeholders and destinations, among them:

  • Accor
  • AITO – The Specialist Travel Association
  • ANVR – Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators
  • Asian Ecotourism Network
  • Panama
  • Barbados
  • Bilbao Convention Bureau
  • Bucuti & Tara
  • Cairngorns National Park Authority
  • Dallas Fort Worth Airport
  • ETOA - European Tourism Association
  • Forum Anders Reisen
  • Future of Tourism Coalition
  • GSTC – Global Sustainable Tourism Council
  • Iberostar Group
  • Innovation Norway
  • Intrepid Travel
  • Legacy Vacation Resorts
  • Much Better Adventures
  • Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions
  • NECSTouR - Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism
  • Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
  • Pacific Tourism Organization
  • Federated States of Micronesia
  • Skyscanner
  • Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
  • The Long Run
  • Tourism Authority of Kiribati
  • Travalyst Limited
  • VisitScotland
  • World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

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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.

UN Tourism Communications Department
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UN Tourism

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