UN Tourism calls on G20 to lead the sustainability revolution of the sector

At a meeting of the Ministers of Tourism of the G20 economies in Belem, Brazil, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili noted that the sector is on track to fully recover pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. Given this, the focus must now shift to the future, with an emphasis on empowering and including local communities, fighting climate change, and progressing nature net positive and circularity.

Secretary-General Pololikashvili said: “Tourism heavily depends on biodiversity, climate stability and natural resources. Accelerating climate action in tourism is critical for the resilience of the sector and host communities.” In this context, he applauded Brazil’s G20 Presidency focus on inclusion and sustainability.

Accelerating climate action in tourism is critical for the resilience of the sector and host communities

Closing the the meeting, Minister of Tourism of Brazil, Celso Sabino said “the Belém Declaration affirms the collective commitment to promote a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive tourism in the world”.

Climate change, e-skills development and inclusion key to tourism’s future

At the G20 meeting, UN Tourism stressed the critical importance of education and skills for the future of the sector and its transformation. “ILO data shows that around 880,000 tourism jobs annually will require specialized training until 2030 and that 25% of tourism stakeholders report significant shortages in skilled employees, particularly in customer service and managerial roles,” Mr Pololikashvili noted.

The Secretary General also recalled the role tourism can have in development and welcomed the G20’s tourism focus on financing for development.

“For many developing countries, including Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, tourism is a major source of employment, foreign exchange earnings and tax revenues. Yet, the sector continues to be overlooked as a tool for development, with the total Official Development Assistance disbursements for tourism remaining below 0.25% of total ODA.” he said.

Secretary-General thanked and commended the Belem Declaration adopted by the G20 Tourism Ministers which highlights the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST) as a tool to produce credible, comparable, and integrated data on tourism’s economic, social, and environmental impact as well as the G20 Tourism and SDGs Platform developed by the G20 Tourism in collaboration with UN Tourism.

G20 economies: Tourism powerhouses

The G20 economies represent over 70% of all international tourist arrivals and receipts generated worldwide and 82% of tourism’s global GDP. In 2023, the sector accounted directly for 3.1% of the GDP of the G20, 5% of all exports of the group and 23% of all its service exports.

International tourism recovered 97% of its pre pandemic levels in the G20 economies in the seven months 2024. G20 tourism direct GDP value recovered fully already in 2023 at US$ 2.8 trillion.