Madrid,
Spain, 23 July 2018 - Promoting a greater engagement of the tourism
sector with sustainable development is the main objective of the Tourism
for SDGs Platform. The online tool is designed to advance the
achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through tourism, and
was developed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support
of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) constitute an ambitious global agenda for
people, planet, prosperity and peace through partnerships. The SDGs aim
to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and solve climate change
by 2030. The economic relevance of tourism, representing up to 10% of
the world’s GDP and employment, makes harnessing its full potential
essential for the advancement of the SDGs.
Tourism4SDGs.org
is a co-creation space that allows users to access a wide range of
resources, add their own initiatives, findings and projects, motivate
discussion and collaboration, and share content related to tourism and
sustainable development.
“Tourism plays a vital role in many, if not all, of the 17 Goals”,
said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. “Tourism has come of
age as a cross-cutting economic activity with deep social ramifications,
and the Tourism for SDGs Platform is providing the global tourism
community with a space to co-create and engage to realize the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development”, he added.
“Switzerland strongly
supports this platform as it will allow a focus on the three main
components of sustainable tourism: its economic, environmental and
social dimensions,” said Ambassador Raymund Furrer of SECO.
The platform’s three main features act as a call for action. Learn, Share and Act, the three levels of interaction at Tourism4SDGs.org, aim not only to educate but also to encourage conversation and collaboration towards a sustainable tourism sector.
The platform was launched
during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies’
(New York, 9-18 July) during an event co-hosted by UNWTO and the One
Planet network.
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