A meeting held with the support of the Territorial Planning Department of the Basque Government under the motto “Advancing Sustainable Urban Tourism: developing tools to promote good practices in cities”, brought together experts from UN agencies, international organizations, representatives from national, regional and local governments, academia and the private sector. The Expert Group explored how the sector can contribute to the creation of more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities, as well as address the challenges around urban tourism.
Representatives from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bilbao, Genoa, Medellín, Porto, Valencia, Venice and the Basque Country shared their policies and practices encouraging knowledge exchange and opportunities for mutual collaboration. From the intersection of United Nations Tourism and UN-Habitat mandates, different perspectives on the role of tourism as a contributor to the social, economic, environmental and cultural sustainability of cities were brought to the debate.
Representatives from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), UNEP (United Nations Environment Program and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also participated in the meeting. who shared their vision and experiences on a topic that brings together cities, tourism, territories, economy, environment, culture and heritage.
The expert meeting focused on:
Identify current challenges for sustainable urban tourism.
Understand the role of tourism in the Urban Agenda.
Analyze the latest trends and ongoing initiatives, policies and plans on urban tourism.
Explore how innovative approaches could contribute to promoting sustainable tourism in urban contexts and territories.
Explore ways to integrate a sustainable urban tourism approach into policies and plans in urban and territorial environments.
Next steps in the global urban agenda
The conclusions of the expert group meeting will deepen the work of both UN agencies to promote sustainable and resilient cities and territories and will serve to guide regional and local governments and other stakeholders in the identification of the key challenges that urban tourism faces to move towards sustainability in its contexts. , providing them with tools and proposals to address them.
The conclusions of the meeting will also serve to prepare for debates and events on sustainable urban tourism at the 12th World Urban Forum (WUF 12) in November 2024 in Cairo, Egypt and the Mayors' Forum for Sustainable Urban Tourism, led by Tourism from the ONU.
According to UN Tourism, urban tourism is “a type of tourist activity that takes place in an urban space with its inherent attributes characterized by a non-agricultural economy based on administration, manufacturing, commerce and services and by constituting transport nodes. . "Urban destinations offer a broad and heterogeneous spectrum of cultural, architectural, technological, social and natural experiences and products for leisure and business."
According to the United Nations, in 2015, 54% of the world's population lived in cities and, by 2030, the share is estimated to reach 60%. Along with other key pillars, tourism constitutes a central component of the economy, social life and geography of many cities around the world and is therefore a key element of urban development policies.
Urban tourism can represent a driving force for the development of many cities and countries and contribute to the progress of the New Urban Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 11: Make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Tourism is intrinsically linked to the way a city develops and offers more and better living conditions to its residents and visitors.
Unlocking the potential of tourism as a tool for sustainable development and inclusive growth for cities requires a multi-level, multi-agent approach, based on close cooperation between tourism and other administrations at different levels, the private sector, communities locals and tourists themselves. Likewise, the sustainable development and management of tourism in cities must be integrated into the general urban agenda.
Source: UN Tourism.