MADRID, 9 October 2020: Tourism Ministers of the G20 nations will step up efforts to place sustainability and inclusion at the heart of tourism recovery and future growth.
The implementation of the World Tourism Organization ‘AlUla’ Framework for Inclusive Community Development Through Tourism, presented at the ministerial meeting, was welcomed by the G20 Tourism Ministers as a tool for achieving a fairer and more inclusive sector.
The Framework provides specific recommendations and tools to support both governments as well as all other critical stakeholders in the tourism sector – including regional and local governments, the private sector, industry associations, civil society, communities and tourists – fostering a truly holistic and integrated approach to inclusive community development through tourism.
G20 nations can set the example
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “As we join forces to restart tourism, we must live up to our responsibility to ensure that tourism’s benefits are shared by all.”
The AlUla Framework – named after Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO world heritage site – demonstrates how the tourism sector can promote inclusive community development by highlighting practical examples and case studies that governments can emulate to protect local culture and the environment.
Among the G20 Guidelines for Inclusive Community Development through Tourism endorsed at the meeting, is the importance of placing tourism at the heart of development policies at the international, national and local level. The Guidelines further stress the importance of human capital development, inclusive labour markets, adequate social protection, and innovation and entrepreneurship as key contributors to travel and tourism.
The Framework was developed by UNWTO and the G20 Tourism Working Group in collaboration with the IE Center for the Governance of Change and the academic contribution of the University of Surrey. The Framework includes the contributions of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Bank Group and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
