This report is an expanded version of the Tourism chapter of the Green Economy Report which makes an economic case for investing in the greening of tourism and provides guidance on how to mobilise such investments. The objective is to motivate policy makers to support increased investment in greening the sector.
Tourism has significant potential as a driver for growth of the world economy. The sheer size and reach of the sector makes it critically important from a global resource perspective. Even small changes toward greening can have important impacts. Further, the sector’s connection to numerous sectors at destination and international levels means that changes in practices can stimulate changes in many different public and private actors beyond the direct and immediate impact of tourism activity.
The report contains case studies from Europe, United States, South America, Asia and Africa.
WTO has been promoting the use of sustainable tourism indicators since the early 1990s, as essential instruments for policy-making, planning and management processes at destinations.
This paper presents a framework for a green economy transition in tourism destinations. While the literature has suggested many models to guide sustainable tourism, very few studies have investigated the green economy in a tourism context.
This publication presents an overview of the status of tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), while providing evidence of the key importance it has for the sustainable development of many islands and for the achievement of the MDGs.