UNWTO

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Codes of Ethics for Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development.

The Code’s 10 principles amply cover the economic, social, cultural and environmental components of travel and tourism:

Articles 1: Tourism's contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies

Articles 2: Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment

Articles 3: Tourism, a factor of sustainable development

Articles 4: Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and contributor to its enhancement

Articles 5: Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities

Articles 6: Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development

Articles 7: Right to tourism

Articles 8: Liberty of tourist movements

Articles 9: Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry

Articles 10: Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

UNWTO generates market knowledge, promotes competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, fosters tourism education and training, and works to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in over 100 countries around the world.

UNWTO’s membership includes 156 countries, 6 Associate Members and over 400 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

UNWTO works in six main areas - competitiveness, sustainability, poverty reduction, capacity building, partnerships and mainstreaming - to achieve responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening ‎diversification to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world. ‎Modern tourism is closely linked to development and encompasses a growing number ‎of new destinations. These dynamics have turned tourism into a key driver for socio-‎economic progress.‎

Today, the business volume of tourism equals or even surpasses that of oil exports, ‎food products or automobiles. Tourism has become one of the major players in ‎international commerce, and represents at the same time one of the main income ‎sources for many developing countries. This growth goes hand in hand with an ‎increasing diversification and competition among destinations.‎

This global spread of tourism in industrialised and developed states has produced ‎economic and employment benefits in many related sectors - from construction to ‎agriculture or telecommunications.‎

The contribution of tourism to economic well-being depends on the quality and the ‎revenues of the tourism offer. UNWTO assists destinations in their sustainable ‎positioning in ever more complex national and international markets. As the UN agency ‎dedicated to tourism, UNWTO points out that particularly developing countries stand to ‎benefit from sustainable tourism and acts to help make this a reality.‎

World Tourism Day is celebrated annually on 27 September. Its purpose is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The event seeks to address the global challenges outlined in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and highlight the tourism sector´s contribution in reaching these goals.

In support of United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation, World Tourism Day (WTD) 2013 is being held under the theme Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future.

This year’s theme highlights tourism’s role in water access and shines a spotlight on the actions currently being taken by the sector in order to contribute to a more sustainable water future, as well as the challenges ahead.

The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) is a travel trade

show which rotates annually among the member countries of ASEAN.This year's ASEAN Tourism Forum (2013) took place in Vientiane, Laos.

ATF is a cooperative regional effort to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as one tourist destination where Asian hospitality and cultural diversity are at its best. This annual event involves all the tourism industry sectors of the 10 member nations of ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.