Source: UN Tourism
Source: UN Tourism
Source: UN Tourism
Source: UN Tourism

Cambodia, the Maldives and Indonesia have become the newest signatories to UNWTO's International Code for the Protection of Tourists. At the same time, UNWTO's Member States across the Asia and Pacific region have adopted the Phnom Penh Declaration on the Code, promoting its dissemination and implementation across the region as a fundamental tool to ensure clear, transparent and efficient frameworks to protect tourists as consumers to foster confidence in travel.

A landmark for tourists' protection

The International Code for the Protection of Tourists is the first ever legal instrument designed to create internationally recognized standards for the protection of tourists at the international level.

  • The Code was created by UNWTO with the active participation of more than 100 countries, international organizations, tourism experts and private sector stakeholders.
  • It was formally adopted at the 24th UNWTO General Assembly (December 2021). Member States were invited to apply it at the national level.
  • The Code provides greater legal clarity to States through a common and harmonized framework on how to assist tourists in emergency situations and help them develop laws, regulations and policies for the protection of tourists as consumers.

New Signatories

Member States of both UNWTO and the United Nations are encouraged to adhere to the Code:

  • Cambodia, the Maldives and Indonesia are the latest national-level signatories. They join Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Moldova, Myanmar, Paraguay, Portugal and Uruguay.
People want to feel safe and protected when they travel and UNWTO has led the way in creating the first legal tool that will help restore trust in travel. The number of countries joining this initiative to incorporate it into national legislations keeps growing and we are proud to welcome Cambodia, the Maldives and Indonesia as the newest signatories. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili

Sharing Best Practices

Within the framework of the 35th Joint Meeting of the Regional Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia (Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 15-17 June), a conference on the International Code provided a platform for regional tourism leaders to share insights, best practices and lessons learnt on how this legal tool supports tourism recovery and trust after the severe crisis caused by the pandemic. The Conference

  • Counted on unprecedented high-level participation of delegations from Asia and the Pacific countries, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, Ministers of Tourism from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives and the Philippines and Vice Ministers of Tourism of China and Iran
  • Benefitted from the participation of Uruguay as "Champion of the Code" and a leader in the assistance to tourists in emergency situations.
  • Offered expert insights on how the Code closes existing gaps in legal frameworks and contributes to greater international harmonization.
  • Underscored the need to promote closer public-private links to better coordinate responsibilities when assisting tourists and protecting consumer rights.

Phnom Penh Declaration

The "Phnom Penh Declaration on the International Code for the Protection of Tourists" was adopted by the Member States of the Asia and the Pacific region before the conference and officially launched under the high patronage of the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia. The Declaration:

  • Reaffirms the commitment of the Asia and the Pacific region to strengthen cooperation to improve the assistance available to international tourists in emergency situations.
  • Underlines the need to promote closer linkages between governments, tourism service providers and other tourism stakeholders for a better protection of tourists as consumers.

The Declaration reflects Cambodia's commitment to assist tourists in emergency situations, as shown in February 2020 when rescuing more than 1,000 passengers stranded at sea on the MS Westerdam cruise ship.

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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.

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