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Timeline 2024.

24 JANUARY – 8 MAY

9 MAY – JULY

AUDIO-VISUAL GALLERY

UN Tourism is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability.

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Activity Start date ongoing:  Ongoing Activity End date ongoing:  Ongoing Activity:  UNWTO takes charge of the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. UNWTOpromotes the value of tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmentalsustainability, and offers leadership and support in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.Recognizing the UNWTO’s role in promoting the potential of tourism in fighting poverty and achieving the SDGs,the UN General Assembly declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development(IY2017) and as of July 2017, UNWTO features on the DAC/OECD’s list of development assistance organizations.Tourism is included in SDG 14: ‘Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources forsustainable development’ (besides the SDG 8: ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,full and productive employment and decent work for all and SDG 12: ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’).Nevertheless, given its cross-cutting nature, it can advance on all 17 SDGs.• In recent years, several capacity-building activities have been carried out by UNWTO and its member states(on a bilateral or regional level) and also with the support of some of the UNWTO Sustainable TourismObservatories in various coastal countries. An example of such a successful project could be the COASTproject (http://www.un.org/depts/los/nippon/documents/Non_recurrent_e_publication_Oceans_final.pdf).• UNWTO pays special attention also to the situation of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and to theirchallenges related to the development of a sustainable tourism.• Given the importance attached by UNWTO to the maritime, coastal and inland water tourism, upon theproposal of the Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness, the 22nd General Assembly adopted in China, inSeptember 2017 the definition of “Maritime, coastal and inland water tourism”. The adopted definitions areavailable on this page: http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/ctc_definitions_en_web.pdf. Objectives:  Promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism including maritime, coastal and inland water tourism Lead Organization/Partners :  United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Scope of Activity:  Global Websites:  http://www.un.org/depts/los/nippon/documents/Non_recurrent_e_publication_Oceans_final.pdf http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/ctc_definitions_en_web.pdf Activity Start date:  Ongoing Activity End date:  Ongoing Submitted By:  Relevant Stakeholder Relevant Stakeholder:  United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

• Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)
• Member States in Asia and the Pacific
• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OBSERVATORIES (INSTO)

Travel demand continued to show remarkable resilience and sustained recovery, amid economic and geopolitical challenges. An estimated 700 million tourists travelled internationally from January to July 2023, 43% higher than in 2022 although 16% less compared to 2019.

International tourism is experiencing a rapid recovery in Asia and the Pacific where arrivals climbed to 61% of pre-pandemic levels this period after the reopening of many destinations and source markets earlier this year. The reopening of China and other Asian markets is expected to continue boosting travel in the region and to other parts of the world.

According to the UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker , both international air capacity and passenger demand recovered about 84% of pre-pandemic levels through June 2023. However, the extreme weather-related events that occurred over recent months as well as the critical challenges of managing increasing tourism flows underline the need to build a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient sector.

Read more on the UNWTO Tourism Barometer (September 2023 excerpt) here .

About the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer

The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer is a publication of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that monitors short-term tourism trends regularly to provide global tourism stakeholders with up-to-date analysis of international tourism. The information is updated several times a year and includes an analysis of the latest data on tourism destinations (inbound tourism) and source markets (outbound tourism). The Barometer also includes three times a year Confidence Index based on the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts survey, which provides an evaluation of recent performance and short-term prospects for international tourism.

Source: UNWTO Press Release Barometer September 19th, 2023 (Madrid)

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Sustainable Tourism & Habitat Conservation: Responsible Travel Guide Released

Ever Wonder Adventure, an online resource on sustainability, has released a new guide with recommendations on eco-friendly tourism.

Singapore, Singapore - April 22, 2024 —

With overtourism becoming an increasingly pressing issue in many parts of the world, Ever Wonder Adventure aims to highlight the impacts it has on climate change and environmental degradation. The new guide also explores ways for readers to visit tourist attractions responsibly.

For more information, please visit https://www.everwonderadventure.com/sustainable-tourism

One article by National Geographic notes that overtourism can have a significant impact on ecosystems in regions that are popular travel destinations. For example, coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef and Maya Bay have been degrading at a startling pace due to excessive snorkeling, boating, and handling. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states that by 2030, transport-related carbon emissions from tourism are projected to increase by 25% compared to 2016 levels.

Ever Wonder Adventure says that overtourism can also have socio-economic implications, as locals are at risk of being displaced when tourism becomes the sole economic driver of a region. This can also result in exploitation, cultural appropriation, and the loss of tradition. Furthermore, tourist activities tend to generate large amounts of waste, leading to pollution in local communities.

However, sustainable tourism can play a vital role in preserving ecosystems, and many natural habitats are now protected due to their value as tourist destinations. To contribute to these efforts, Ever Wonder Adventure encourages readers to choose eco-certified operators, travel only to destinations accessible by sustainable travel options, and engage in low-impact activities. Additionally, they can support native communities by dining at and purchasing souvenirs from local businesses, minimizing waste, and respecting local customs.

Readers can also keep themselves informed with the UNWTO’s Sustainable Tourism Development Index (STDI) and Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI), which measure countries’ progress toward sustainable tourism. These indices cover eco-friendly infrastructure development, wealth equity, and visitor quotas, allowing travelers to determine which regions are committed to responsible practices and plan their trips accordingly.

About Ever Wonder Adventure

Ever Wonder Adventure was founded with the goal of bringing attention to the consequences of environmental degradation. Through their merchandise sales, the website supports efforts to protect fragile ecosystems and maintain biodiversity.

Interested parties can learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/Buy-Sustainable-Travel

Contact Info: Name: H C Yip Email: Send Email Organization: Ever Wonder Adventure Address: One Oxley Rise Singapore, Singapore, Singapore 238714, Singapore Website: https://www.everwonderadventure.com

Source: NewsNetwork

Release ID: 89127803

If you encounter any issues, discrepancies, or concerns regarding the content provided in this press release that require attention or if there is a need for a press release takedown, we kindly request that you notify us without delay at [email protected]. Our responsive team will be available round-the-clock to address your concerns within 8 hours and take necessary actions to rectify any identified issues or guide you through the removal process. Ensuring accurate and reliable information is fundamental to our mission.

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Global Report on Food Tourism - WTO

Related Papers

Chen Marquis

International Journal of Hospitality Management

Christian Kahl , Jean Pierre Poulain

The 5th Asia Euro Conference 2014 in Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy took place in Taylor’s University, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia from 19 to 21 May 2014 with the theme, “Creating Opportunities through Innovation: The Future of Tourism and Hospitality in Asia". The conference was also organised in conjunction with the Association Internationale Des Sociologues De Langue Française (International Association of French Speaking Sociologists, AISLF CR 17), the 4th Responsible Rural Tourism Symposium 2014 and the 7th Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) 2014 in Tourism and Hospitality. More than 150 pre-registered authors submitted their papers for consideration to present in this three days conference. The papers mainly came from 23 countries which include Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and United States of America. For the 5th Asia Euro Conference 2014 finally the review panel only accepted 47 papers to be published in this issue of the Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, with the remaining good papers accepted for oral presentation. The 5th Asia Euro Conference 2014 is a comprehensive conference that provides an open platform to bring together practitioners, academics and government officials worldwide to present research results and to stimulate discussions on new developments, innovations and opportunities in tourism, hospitality and gastronomy. All papers submitted for the conference are sub-themed into the following areas: Anthropology of tourism; Anthropology of food and gastronomy; Architecture and design in tourism, hotel and food services; Crisis management; Cultural studies; Customer experience; Development processes; Economic impacts; Education and training; Environmental resources and impacts; Food studies and food security; Finance; Hotel and foodservice engineering; Human resources; Innovation; Marketing; Mobility; New forms of tourism; New markets; New methodological approaches; Product development; Public sector; Real estate and investment; Recreation and sports; Regulations and management; Rural tourism; Safety and security; Service quality; Social entrepreneurship; Sociology of food; Sociology of tourism; Strategies, processes and benchmarking; Sustainable and responsible tourism practices; Technology; Tourism policies; Tourist behaviour; and Travel trends and flows.

Tourism programming is preliminary to development of successful tourism management. Disparate tourists destinations all over the world has proven that a proper programming could reduce negative effects and improve and preserve tourism market in that area or state. Thus, programming can be suggested as a sine qua non of tourism-oriented economy development success. The first step in the in all the stages of a tourist travel, a small number of programming is to identify the effective factors. One of the main implicit factors that tourists consider in choosing the destination is food. As Lacy andDouglass mentioned "every tourist is a voyeuring gourmand " .An international conference on cuisine and tourism was held in November 2000, in Cyprus. It was acknowledged, in a majority of articles, the local mealsthe local meals play a leading role in impressing tourists and increase the tourists. From snow-speckled peaks that crown the country to the lazy backwaters down south, from the earthiness of the east to the spunk of the west, India offers a variety of mind-stirring backdrops for foreign tourists. While the tourism industry is blossoming year after year, growing as the latest trend of 2014 are food tours.According the World Food Travel Association (WFTA), food tourism is "the pursuit and enjoyment of unique and memorable food and drink experiences, both far and near. "

Foodservice Research International

Pauline Sheldon

European Journal of Tourism Research

Susana Rachão

Using food as a differentiating asset of destinations and its potential in influencing tourists’ travel decisions is being much discussed in academia. Different countries use distinct terms to relate food to tourism. Concepts such as culinary tourism, food tourism and gastronomy tourism are used interchangeably. This paper aims to explore regional innovation strategies based on food and tourism and on how they can contribute to destination management. The study adopts a systematic literature review by focusing on two main databases, namely SCOPUS and ISI Web of Science. In total, 538 articles (from 1985 to 2017) published in English peer-reviewed academic journals were analysed. The systematic review revealed that food and tourism has been approached from varied perspectives, from interactions with traditional protection strategies under European food quality labels, such as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), to innovative actions,...

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Special report: The power of the GCC as a source market for global tourism

The size and monetary value of the outbound GCC tourism market were never in question – but what are its challenges, opportunities and key growth drivers in the foreseeable future?

That the GCC market comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, can prove to be an incredibly lucrative source market for global tourism is beyond doubt.

According to figures shared by the United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO), international tourism expenditure from the GCC climbed from $40bn in 2010 to $60bn in 2017, with per capita expenditure of individuals from the GCC 6.5 times higher than other regions worldwide. Tourism boards across the world are only too aware of the fact.

“All over the world, [visitors from the GCC] are known as travellers with high solvency: their average spending on foreign trips is $1,700-$3,000,” says Anastasia Popova, head of International Division, Moscow City Tourism Committee.

While outbound tourism from the GCC means tens of billions spent in the destination countries, it also presents an opportunity for entities within the originating country. These could imply revenue streams for tour operators, airlines and travel insurance providers, among others, which stand to gain when the country’s residents book their foreign trip. According to data shared by Research and Markets, the Saudi revenue from its outbound travel and tourism market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18.21 per cent from 2021-2028, reaching $27bn by 2028.

There are positive figures for almost all the other GCC markets. The UAE, which has the Arab world’s second-largest economy – and which has an approximately 90 per cent expat population – is expected to gather a revenue of $30.5bn by 2028 by way of outbound travel, Qatar will raise $13bn by then, and Kuwait will notch up $17bn in revenue from this avenue by 2028 (up from approximately $12bn in 2019.)

A pandemic-proof region  The pandemic has undoubtedly pushed global tourism off a cliff. The UNWTO said that in 2020 international arrivals plummeted by more than 70 per cent, to levels not seen in over three decades. It estimated that the decline resulted in a loss of about 1 billion arrivals and $1.1 trillion by way of international tourism receipts.

At the time, UNWTO projected a rebound in international tourism over the second half of 2021, though cautioned that a return to 2019 levels in terms of international arrivals could take between 2½-4 years. However, preliminary data released earlier this year by UNWTO showed that while there was a 4 per cent year-on-year increase in international tourists’ arrivals in 2021, overall, these figures were still 72 per cent below pre-pandemic levels of 2019, highlighting the need for a more sustained and uniform recovery.

There are tourism destinations that bucked the trend last year – especially when it comes to attracting visitors from the GCC. Switzerland is a prime example. According to figures shared by Switzerland Tourism as well as from the Swiss Department of Statistics, from July-November 2021, there was a 2,107 per cent growth in the number of arrivals from the UAE compared to the same period in 2020 – it isn’t unusual for tourism boards to report such large differences over 2020 when most of the world was under lockdown for several months and stringent travel restrictions remained in place.

However, Switzerland Tourism’s highlight is that the July-November 2021 arrivals of 201,670 people from the UAE was 19.5 per cent higher than the 168,701 individuals that travelled from the UAE over the same period in 2019 – which means that as far as visits from the UAE are concerned. Switzerland is beating its pre-pandemic figures. From the GCC alone, Swiss Tourism received 352,956 visitors, who in turn generated 15.7 million overnights in the Alpine country from July-November last year. Pre-pandemic figures shared by Switzerland suggested that Saudi and the UAE account for around 35 per cent of its arrivals from the GCC, while Kuwait and Qatar recorded 13 per cent, and Bahrain and Oman followed at between 2-3 per cent.

Another region that is bucking the trend is the UK.

“Flight bookings data from ForwardKeys has shown signs of recovery from the Middle East when it comes to arrivals into the UK in recent months. The most favourable week so far for the Middle East was in late November, when arrivals reached 78 per cent of pre-Covid levels, outperforming all other global regions,” says Jennifer Huntley, head of partnerships, APMEA region for VisitBritain.

“In our most recent year of full data, 2019, 1.2 million visitors came to the UK from the GCC, and those visitors spent GBP2.6bn during their stays. GCC visitors stayed on average 12 nights, and spent GBP2,151 per visit. On average, from 2017-2019, 45 per cent of visits from the GCC originated from the UAE, 19 per cent from Saudi Arabia, 16 per cent from Kuwait, 13 per cent from Qatar, 4 per cent from Oman, and 3 per cent from Bahrain,” explains Huntley.

Huntley’s assessment of the lion’s share of visits from the region coming from the UAE, is supported by data released by the World Travel & Tourism Council in 2019 which found that while Saudi Arabia was the leading international market for outbound departures from the UAE with a share of 30 per cent, it was followed next by the UK at 17 per cent. The collective tourism potential of the GCC is further underscored by other destinations including Moscow. “The growing interest in Moscow is confirmed by statistics such as in the first nine months of 2021, there were 107,000 visitors from the Middle East, including almost 19,000 visitors from the UAE, 9,840 visitors from Qatar, and 3,815 visitors from Saudi Arabia,” observes Moscow tourism committee’s Popova.

A burgeoning GCC source market is true for the Far East as well, is also reflected in statistics by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). “In 2019, Japan saw a record high number of visitors from the GCC countries with 28,222 visitors making the journey, a 28.4 per cent increase on the previous year and the figure doubling in the past five years,” says Tomoko Kikuchi, executive director of JNTO’s Dubai office. Apart from the often-visited European, Asian and American haunts for GCC travellers, there are new markets that are only just opening to them – namely Israel.

“Following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism held the first virtual joint tourism forum of the Emirates and Israel in December 2020. One of the main purposes of the forum was to create connections between Israel and UAE’s tourism industries and to initiate collaboration between the two markets in the tourism field,” says Ksenia Kobiakov, director of New Markets Development Department, at the Israel Ministry of Tourism.

“The UAE is a brand-new market for our ministry, specifically for our New Markets Development Department. We see great potential in incoming tourism from that destination. Therefore, we have put in action – and are already actively implementing – a detailed plan to promote tourism from UAE and Bahrain,” adds Kobiakov.

Local connections Realising the need to tailor their messaging for the region, global tourism boards are going the distance. JNTO, for example, opened its first Middle East office in Dubai last November.

By 2030, Japan intends to attract 60 million visitors with a projected annual consumption of JPY 15 trillion – and to get there, it’s going to need to make a big splash in the Middle East.

“According to a survey conducted by the JNTO in six GCC countries from May to June 2021, approximately 30 per cent of respondents answered that they would like to go to Japan in the future. Conversely, almost 40 per cent of the respondents answered: ‘I don’t know much about Japan’, presenting an opportunity for the JNTO Dubai office to broaden awareness and increase the number of visitors from the GCC,” says JNTO’s Dubai-based Kikuchi on the reason why it decided to open a representative office in Dubai in the midst of a pandemic.

Also last year, the UNWTO opened its first Middle East office in Riyadh in order to coordinate its initiatives and policies across 13 member states within the region.At times, attempts are being made at direct exchanges with local tourism boards from the region to learn best practices as well as to facilitate an exchange of knowledge.

“I am in touch with Dubai Tourism to develop collaborations,” says Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem and co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council. “Our tourism ministries are in contact and working on [ways] to bring value to each other. We are getting requests about trips to Israel from a cross-section of the public in the Gulf.”

Expo 2020 Dubai particularly has been a focal point in the efforts of countries to drive tourism from the region to their destinations. As Kobiakov from Israel’s ministry of tourism points out, Israel had its pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020 opened by Israel Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov.

VisitBritain, VisitScotland and Tourism Ireland meanwhile turned to the Expo to launch 10 new itineraries across the UK at the mega event. Some studies have also correlated a direct measurement of the impact that the Expo will have on driving out-bound tourism.

“Middle East tourism accounts for 1.3 per cent of the arrivals to Italy. It’s estimated that a 5 per cent increase of tourist flows to Italy following Expo Dubai would generate an economic value of EUR25.5m a year, accord-ing to the School of Management of Milan’s Politecnico,” says Paolo Glisenti, commissioner-general of Italy at Expo 2020 Dubai.The Expo has allowed international tourism boards operating in the UAE one more platform other than the traditional annual Arabian Travel Market held in Dubai every year.

“The Moscow City Tourism Committee will continue to forge links with travel influencers, major tour operators and MICE agencies in the region taking part in Arabian Travel Market and events dedicated to the business travel: Meetings Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress (MALT) and Qatar Business and Luxury Travel Congress (QBLT),” explains Popova.

Foreign tourism boards, as part of their local outreach initiatives, are also working closely with influencers from the region. Switzerland’s tourism board, for example, collaborated with Raha Moharrak, the youngest Arab and first Saudi woman to climb Mount Everest, as well as Sara Murad and Haya Yasmeen to participate in the Swiss “100% Women” initiative where 700 women from 20 countries scaled all of the 4,000-metre-plus peaks in Switzerland last year.

In another initiative, Swiss Tourism also partnered with the wildly popular Dubai-based Supercar Blondie who undertook a Grand Tour of Switzerland and produced content for her over seven million followers on YouTube and close to 10 million followers on Instagram.

Growth drivers There are going to be a handful of key drivers in growing the outbound GCC tourism market. These include intra-GCC travel whereby residents of countries are encouraged to visit other GCC markets, the role of airlines and finally, governmental policies that encourage travel.

According to data shared by the GCC Statistical Centre in Muscat, in 2019, the percentage of intra-tourism among GCC countries reached approximately 28.7 per cent of the total number of foreign tourists arriving within the GCC states. Reportedly, in Bahrain, 95.6 per cent of all the international tourists it received were from other GCC countries. The numbers varied for countries such as the UAE where 15.4 per cent of all its international tourists were from GCC countries, whereas in Saudi that figure stood at 26.5 per cent – indicating the potential of each GCC country to either further encourage travel from within the GCC, or as in the case of Bahrain, encourage it to open up further to tourists from beyond the GCC.

Playing a crucial role in stimulating an appetite to travel beyond national borders are airlines. Within months of the signing of the Abraham Accords, several carriers including flydubai, Etihad, Emirates and Gulf Air announced direct flights would begin operating to Israel. Also, budget airlines have recently ramped up operations to aid those who are travelling on modest budgets.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, for example, an ultra-low-cost carrier and a joint venture established between ADQ and Wizz Air Holdings, began operations out of the UAE capital in January 2021. “Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has successfully operated more than 1,000 flights since its launch in January 2021, with over 500 flights taking place in the fourth quarter of last year. Q4 results were particularly impressive after the easing of travel restrictions in September, with load factors at nearly 85 per cent in December,” says Michael Berlouis, managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

“Wizz Air Abu Dhabi offers 37 destinations from the UAE to 22 different countries. Further growth East will build on the success of the first year of operations and capitalise on pent-up demand for travel.”

Apart from the low-cost model, other airlines such as the full-service carrier Emirates, have entered into agreements directly with foreign tourism boards to encourage travel. Emirates recently signed an MoU with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Public Service of The Bahamas to roll out joint initiatives to promote tourism to the Caribbean country, including via its Emirates Holidays platform. Another avenue to grow outbound tourism will be governmental and administrative policies, including visa liberalisation measures.

A few months ago, a visa waiver agreement between Israel and the UAE for citizens of the two countries took effect, and the results are already being felt on the ground.

“Thanks to the elimination of the need for visas since October 10, and the re-opening of Israel borders, we are looking forward to seeing a major increase in the number of visitors from the GCC. According to our estimates, Israel expects to welcome around 100,000 visitors from the GCC annually as long as the tourism situation worldwide goes back to normal,” says Israel tourism ministry’s Kobiakov.

The sentiment is echoed by Moscow City tourism’s Popova who adds, “The introduction of electronic visas, suspended because of the pandemic, will be a great advantage and will contribute to increasing the number of tourists from GCC to Moscow.”

Healthy forecasts are shared by VistiBritain’s Huntley too, who notes, “The most recent forecasts from Oxford Economics/VisitBritain predict that visits from the GCC will more than double in 2022 compared to 2021, reaching 550,000 in total. Visits in 2023 are forecasted to be a further 50 per cent higher, reaching 828,000.”

The pandemic and its numerous curveballs notwithstanding, forecasts such as these show that the growth drivers are primed to support an exponential growth in GCC’s outbound tourism market.

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