UNWTO tips

According to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) Report, the global economy will grow an estimated 3.0% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024. While this is higher than previous forecasts, it is nevertheless below the 3.5% rate of growth recorded in 2022, pointing to the continued impacts of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and from the cost-of-living crisis.

Ecuador’s Oyacachi has been recognised as one of the Best Tourism Villages of 2023, according to The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). This global initiative sees Ecuador’s villages leading the way in the preservation of cultures and traditions, celebration of diversity, creation of opportunities and protection of wildlife, through tourism as a positive force for transformation, rural development and the well-being of communities. This award follows Ecuador’s success in 2022, where Aguarico and Angochagua received the same accolade.

For its 17th edition, the 2023 UNWTO-PATA Forum (Guilin, China, 26-27 October) put the focus on maximizing the sector’s ability to drive growth, build economic resilience and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. The Forum is the consolidated leading platform for policymakers, business leaders and a range of tourism stakeholders in Asia and the Pacific.

Jamaica’s position as a leader in the global tourism industry has been further bolstered after the Caribbean nation secured the post of second vice chair of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Executive Council.

Details of the speaker lineup have been revealed for this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD), to be held in Riyadh from 27th – 28th September. With more than 500 government officials, industry leaders and experts from across 120 countries set to descend on Riyadh for the event, the level of attendance demonstrates the significance of WTD 2023 in charting the future of the global tourism sector’s growth.

The 25th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is scheduled for October 16-20 this year in Samarkand. For the first time in history, Uzbekistan will host this important biennial gathering of member states and affiliate members of UNWTO.

The World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism will return to Donostia-San Sebastian in Spain (5-7 October) to focus on how tourism can foster rural development, build economic resilience, and preserve cultural heritage.

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.

Travel fintech start-up SanKash has observed a surge in travel bookings from September 8 to 10 as the capital city of New Delhi prepares for a scheduled closure for the G20 Summit. 

The Middle East welcomed 15 percent more international tourists in the first three months of 2023 than it did for the same period in 2019, according to the UN World Tourism Organization’s latest data. 

The hotel development pipeline is expected to face disruptions in 2024 due to the significant construction volume in Saudi Arabia and a global logistics and supply industry that has yet to fully recover from the effects of Covid-19.