Source: UN Tourism

At the Sustainable Social Tourism Summit (León, 30 August – 2 September), UNWTO welcomed new high-level signatories to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. The Secretariats of State for Tourism of Ciudad de Mexico, Queretaro, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Nuevo Leon, all signed up to the landmark declaration, designed to guide tourism to Net-Zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. They join the Secretariat of State of Tourism of Guanajuato which signed up at the COP27 United Nations climate change conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The Secretary of State of Tourism of Guanajuato, Mr. Juan José Álvarez Brunel, heads the Sustainability Coordination of the National Association of Secretaries of tourism of Mexico A.C. (ASETUR) and led the discussion of climate action in tourism at sub-national level since becoming a signatory.

I greatly appreciate the assistance of my counterparts working for national tourism and the commitment to undertake climate change actions through the Glasgow Declaration. We have the honor to have the support of the UNWTO in this important event. Mr. Juan José Álvarez Brunel

A Circular Economy of Plastics in Focus

During the Summit, a new round of private sector stakeholders were also welcomed as signatories of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI) – another lighthouse initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNWTO within the framework of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme. The signature reflects one of the outcomes of the Project Caribe Circular, led by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in collaboration with Sustentur. This joint effort brought the total of the GTPI signatories to 200 organizations.

New signatories span across Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Belize and include hotel chains (Las Brisas Huatulco, Grupo Lomas Travel, Karisma Hotels & Resorts, Grupo Presidente), independent hotels (Breathless Cancun Soul Resort and Spa, Boca Olas Resort & Villas/Dale Dale Café, Hotel Gran Costa Azul, Manzanillo Caribbean Resort, Pargos Restaurante y Hotel, Roca Sunzal, Sunbreeze Hotel, Hotel Hacienda Tijax, TreeCasa Hotel & Resort Nicaragua, Vega Inn and Garden, Victoriano), tour operators (Verde Sentir) and other tourism stakeholders (Asociación Nacional de Cadenas Hoteleras).

Collaborative Approach to Sustainable Consumption and Production

UNWTO is leading the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme and cooperates closely with UNEP and to accelerate the implementation of SDG 12, in line with the Global Strategy on Sustainable Consumption and Production 2030 which highlights the importance of collective approaches at national and sub-national level.

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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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