World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Position Paper on Tourism Policy and Strategic Planning

Final version (03.09.19)

1. Background and rationale

This Paper is part of the work of the UNWTO Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness
(CTC) in its mandate for the period 2015-2019.

During its mandate, the Committee after setting a list of quantitative and qualitative factors
that explain the competitiveness of a destination, decided to delve into these factors through
the development of Position Papers1.

The Papers aim to provide UNWTO Members and tourism stakeholders with a conceptual
framework for a clear understanding of the selected factors that explain competitiveness at
national and destination level, along with a list of recommendations to improve destination
competitiveness. Hence, the current Position Paper on ‘Tourism policy and Strategic
Planning’ aims to:

 Provide UNWTO Members with a comprehensive understanding on national tourism

policies and contribute to their successful formulation and implementation;
 Explore key areas which need to be addressed in tourism policy and strategic
planning in order to ensure the competitiveness and sustainable development of
tourism;
 Assess the key areas addressed by UNWTO Members in their tourism policies and
provide case studies to illustrate key elements of a sound tourism policy; and
 Serve as a practical tool for UNWTO Members and tourism policymakers by
including a set of recommendations.

The Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness (CTC), as a subsidiary organ of the

Executive Council, was established at the 95th session of the Executive Council (Belgrade,
Serbia, May 2013) (CE/DEC/7(XCV)).

The Committee aims to: (a) Support the Organization in fulfilling its normative role; (b)
Provide a dialogue mechanism between the public and private tourism stakeholders and
academia within a coherent framework to give guidance in building and strengthening
tourism competitiveness policies and strategies; (c) Build synergies and strategic alignments
in the harmonization of the related activities of the Secretariat as well as other collaborating
organizations/entities to ensure consistency and consensus in the delivery of the outputs
and reinforce the official position of the Organization.

1
The list of competitiveness factors identified by the CTC is available in document (a) Implementation of the
general programme of work for 2016-2017, Annex II: Consolidated reports of the Technical Committees
(A/22/10(I)(a) rev.1, page 18-19). The link is
http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/a22_10_i_a_implementation_of_the_general_programme_of_work_for_2
016-2017_rev.1._en_final.pdf.

1
Since its establishment in 2013 as a subsidiary organ of the Executive Council, the CTC has
focused its work mainly on the concept of tourism competitiveness and identifying its key
factors. This process has also included identifying, developing and harmonizing concepts,
models and operational definitions used in the tourism value chain.

As an outcome of the work of the CTC, the 22nd Session of the General Assembly held in
Chengdu, China (11–16 September 2017), adopted as Recommendations (A/RES/684
(XXII)) a set of operational definitions used in the tourism value chain, as well as a set of
operational definitions on selected tourism types. Along with the operational definitions the
CTC also focused on identifying the key quantitative and qualitative factors for tourism
competitiveness under two categories: 1) Governance, management and market dynamics;
and 2) Destination appeal, attractors, products and supply.

More information: UNWTO, http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/content/competitiveness-

commitee-ctc.

2. Introduction

Tourism policy has been a pivotal element in tourism development for a long time and has
been placed as a top priority in the global political agenda for decades. Back in 1980, the
Manila Declaration on World Tourism (1980) provided a framework for UNWTO Member’s
on tourism policies and set out a new vision for tourism that today continues to be a point of
reference at the international level.

“Tourism planning policy should be formulated at the local, regional or national level within
the context of national planning such policies should be subject to periodic assessment from
both the quantitative and the qualitative standpoint.”2

Ever since, several UNWTO Recommendations3 and Declarations4 have acknowledged the
importance of tourism policy as a factor for competitiveness and have urged governments to
take the necessary action to adopt tourism policies within a continued close cooperation and
partnership between the various public administrations and between these and the private
sector. Likewise, governments are recommended to draw up policies and regulations with
which national, centralized or decentralized institutions and regional and local authorities, the
private sector and communities should be associated, all with a view to achieve a
harmonious tourism development.

The interconnection of tourism with other sectors and the need for parliaments and
governments to give greater consideration to the complexity of tourism in all its aspects,
economic, social and cultural, has also been underscored; its multidisciplinary nature and its
vulnerability to external variables call for overall policies and inter-ministerial collaboration.
This consideration argues in favour of developing coordination procedures between
ministries with links to the national tourism administration.

This paper aims at providing an analysis on national tourism policies and recalls
governments and policy makers of the need to place tourism on top of their agendas to

2
Manila Declaration on World Tourism (1980).
3
World Tourism Organization (2016), Compilation of UNWTO Recommendations, 1975–2015, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284417797.
4
World Tourism Organization (January 2019), Compilation of UNWTO Declarations, 1980 – 2018, UNWTO,
Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284419326.

2
formulate and implement sound, coordinated and comprehensive tourism policies which
embrace the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a means to fully harness tourism’s
potential to deliver on economic growth, job creation and sustainable development.

3. Tourism, a driver of growth and development

Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors and an important driver of economic
growth and development with a significant impact on trade, job creation, investment,
infrastructure development, and the promotion of social inclusion. International tourist
arrivals increased from 697 in 2000 to 1.4 billion in 2018 and are expected to reach 1.8
billion in 2030.5

Tourism is a major player in international trade. As the world’s third largest export category
after chemicals and fuels, international tourism (international tourism receipts and passenger
transport) generated 1.7 trillion USD in 2018 representing 29% of the world’s services
exports and 7% of overall exports in goods and services.6

Tourism is a major source of employment because of its labour-intensive nature and the
significant multiplier effect on employment in related sectors. It is estimated that one job in
the core tourism sector creates about one and a half additional or indirect jobs in the tourism
related economy and overall it accounts for one in 10 jobs in the world7.Tourism’s
contribution to job creation is expressly recognized in the SDGs: “By 2030, devise and
implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local
culture and products” (SDG 8, target 8.9)8.

According to UNWTO and ILO9, tourism employment can be categorized into two separate
levels depending on the involvement in or contribution to the tourism supply-side: Hotels,
restaurants, travel agencies, tourism information offices, aircrafts, cruise lines, resorts or
shopping outlets provide direct employment because their employees are in contact with
tourists and cater for tourist demand. Tourism also supports indirect employment in activities
like restaurant suppliers, construction companies that build and maintain tourist facilities, as
well as necessary infrastructure, aircraft manufacturers, various handicrafts producers,
marketing agencies, accounting services, which are more or less dependent on the
companies providing direct employment for their revenues.

Tourism is one of the biggest job creators for women and youth. The tourism sector employs
more women and young people than most other sectors. The age profile of workers in the
tourism sector is young. Just under a half (47%) of people working in tourism in European
OECD countries are between 15 and 34 years of age, compared to a third (32%) in the
economy as a whole. The share of workers between the ages of 15-24 years is particularly
high at 21%, twice the share of the total economy in OECD countries. In OECD countries,
women account for 60% of employment in the tourism sector. This is higher than the share
of women employed in the services sector (47%) and in the economy as a whole (43%)10.
Furthermore, women play a leading role in tourism entrepreneurship. That “tourism

5
World Tourism Organization (2019), International Tourism Highlights, 2019 Edition, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284421152.
6
Idem.
7
ILO, www.ilo.org.
8
Sustainable Development Goals, Knowledge Platform – SDG 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, available at
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg8.(02-09-2019).
9
World Tourism Organization and International Labour Organization (2014), Measuring Employment in the
Tourism Industries – Guide with Best Practices, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284416158.
10
Stacey, J. (2015), "Supporting Quality Jobs in Tourism", OECD Tourism Papers, No. 2015/02, OECD
Publishing, Paris, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/5js4rv0g7szr-en.

3
industries provide entry points for women’s employment and opportunities for creating self-
employment in small- and medium-size income generating activities, thus creating paths
towards the elimination of poverty of women and local communities in developing countries”
was already noted by UNWTO and ILO in their joint report ‘Measuring Employment in the
Tourism Industries – Guide with Best Practices’11.

Tourism has proven to be a resilient economic activity. Over the last decades, international
tourism decreased only on three occasions – in 2001 following the 11 September attacks, in
2003 due to SARS and in 2009 as a consequence of the global economic crisis. In all
occasion, it has recovered strongly the subsequent years. Such resilience and growth have
translated into employment generation. According to OECD, job creation in ‘hotels and
restaurants’ in the OECD countries grew at a rate double than that of the whole of the
economy between 2009 and 2013.

Tourism’s contribution to sustainable development is increasingly recognized by national and

international policy makers showing the importance of aligning tourism with national and
global policies:

G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration, 29 June 2019, G20 Osaka Summit 201912

[…] Tourism 24. Tourism accounts for a significant share of the world’s GDP and is expected
to continue to be an important driver of global economic growth. We will work to maximize
the sector’s contribution to the creation of quality jobs and entrepreneurship, especially for
women and youth and in the creative industry; economic resilience and recovery; the
preservation of natural resources through sustainable tourism planning and management;
and the achievement of inclusive and sustainable development. […]

Tourism is included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a target in Goals 8, 12

and 14:
– Goal 8, target 8.9 “By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable
tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”;
– Goal 12, target 12.B “Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable
development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local
culture and products”; and
– Goal 14, target 14.7 “By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island
developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine
resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and
tourism”

The increasing recognition of tourism in sustainable development and in the achievement of

the 2030 Agenda brings a unique opportunity for governments to become actively involved in
national tourism planning for the SDGs and create sound and integrated tourism policies.

The inclusion of tourism in the SDGs and the targets of the 2030 Agenda is a testimony of
the positive contribution that tourism can make to sustainable development and should also
be an inspirational element in tourism policies. Governments and tourism policy makers are
called upon to take necessary action to accelerate the shift towards a more sustainable
tourism sector by aligning policies and investments with the SDGs.

11
World Tourism Organization and International Labour Organization (2014), Measuring Employment in the
Tourism Industries – Guide with Best Practices, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284416158.
12
G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration, available at:
www.g20.org/pdf/documents/FINAL_G20_Osaka_Leaders_Declaration.pdf
www.japan.go.jp/g20japan/ (02-09-2019)

4
4. Tourism Policy and Strategic Planning – key factors for the competitiveness and
sustainability of tourism

As one of the fastest growing sectors worldwide, tourism has consolidated its position as a
major player and one of the main sources of income for advanced and emerging economies
alike. This growth goes hand in hand with a significant impact on local social and cultural
tissues and natural resources. Ensuring tourism creates jobs and promotes development
while preserving nature, heritage and values, requires sound tourism policies, strategic
planning and governance models.

Public policies are instruments of governance and as such the importance of tourism policy
relies on the fact that they provide the framework conditions for the tourism sector to thrive
within a certain governance context. All public and private sector stakeholders (tourism
industries and suppliers in the tourism value chain, destination management/marketing
organizations –DMOs–, etc.) operate within a given regulatory framework and a business
environment which are valid not only for tourism stakeholders but common to all other actors
in the economy. The tourism policy thus needs to be fully integrated within the existing
regulatory framework in the country and be comprehensive of all the elements that build up a
planned tourism vision to ensure a sustainable and competitive sector in the short, medium
and long run.

Tourism planning and policy are inextricably linked concepts and they both serve a common
purpose: to build and enhance the governance of the tourism sector as a means to achieve
its ultimate goal – competitiveness and sustainability. Tourism planning, and its outcome
policy, should be the result of a comprehensive and integrated constant and flexible process
where all stakeholders collaborate. Some of the important benefits of a tourism policy
include:

– The definition of a clear overarching shared vision and future direction for all
stakeholders;
– Greater attention and focus on tourism within the country or destination ensuring its
inclusion in the overall policy objectives and a higher involvement of all stakeholders
and host communities in the tourism development;
– The setting of specific goals to be achieved within specific timeframes;
– The steps for implementation and measures for assessing the effectiveness of the
policy, and
– Leveraging synergies resulting from all stakeholders joining efforts and moving
towards the same goals under a common tourism policy vision.

Why are tourism policy and planning key factors for competitiveness?

UNWTO defines competitiveness of a tourism destination as “the ability of the destination to

use its natural, cultural, human, man-made and capital resources efficiently to develop and
deliver quality, innovative, ethical and attractive tourism products and services in order to
achieve a sustainable growth within its overall vision and strategic goals, increase the added
value of the tourism sector, improve and diversify its market components and optimize its
attractiveness and benefits both for visitors and the local community in a sustainable
perspective.”13 When considering the key factors of tourism competitiveness, unarguably
appropriate tourism policies and strategic planning are top of mind.

13
World Tourism Organization (2019), UNWTO Tourism Definitions, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420858.

5
Analyzing this definition becomes easy to answer the question above. Tourism policy and
planning provide the guidance to enable the tourism sector achieve its full potential and
make the most of existing resources by developing tourism within an overall vision and
strategic goals and optimize its attractiveness and benefits both for visitors and the local
community in a sustainable manner. At the same time, an appropriate tourism policy and
planning facilitates the necessary regulatory framework and the favorable conditions for all
relevant stakeholders (public, private, civil society and host communities) towards an
inclusive tourism growth that benefits the industry as a whole, the local businesses and the
communities/residents in the destination.

Tourism policy requires a holistic approach and should not be regarded in an isolated way.
As an example, international tourism is an integral part of a country balance of payments
and an important source of foreign currency income14 and, therefore there is an obvious and
critical intersection between tourism policies and export strategies within governments’
agendas. Fragmented policies result in inefficiencies and shortcomings, overregulation,
duplications, conflict between policies, and other unintended and undesired consequences.
On the contrary, an appropriate approach to tourism policy and strategic planning will allow
tourism to thrive and an integrated approach will enable better strategic alignment on the
policies and the institutional set-up necessary to unlock tourism’s potential and identify
linkages between tourism and other economic sectors.

For this reason, just as important as an integrated planning approach in the formulation of
tourism policies is the integration of tourism into the overall policies of a country or region.
This means ensuring that the tourism policy is fully aligned with national or regional
objectives and policies such as economic diplomacy, education and employment policies,
visa and immigration policy15 or fiscal policies (tax free and VAT refunds policy for example,
sometimes does not fall under the national competence but is subject to a supranational
regulation – such is the case of the EU tax free policy16).

Strategic planning

Strategic planning is defined by Pearce et al. (1987) as the “process of determining the
mission, major objectives, strategies, and policies that govern the acquisition and allocation
of resources to achieve organizational aims”17. The lack of proper planning in tourism can
lead to devastating consequences. The concern for tourism planning was first noted in the
1960’s in European countries. Since then, the concept has adopted a more strategic as well
as comprehensive and integrated approach.

14
World Tourism Organization (2019), UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, volume 17, issue 2, published May
2019, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.18111/wtobarometereng.2019.17.issue-2, and
World Tourism Organization (2019), International Tourism Highlights, 2019 Edition, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284421152, and
International Trade Centre (ITC) and World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2015), Tourism and Trade: A
Global Agenda for Sustainable Development, ITC, Geneva. Available at
www.intracen.org/uploadedFiles/intracenorg/Content/Publications/Tourism_and_Trade__low%20res_2014-2015-
335.pdf.
15
World Tourism Organization (2013), Tourism visa openness report: Visa facilitation as means to stimulate
tourism growth, UNWTO, Madrid. DOI: https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284415731.
16
Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax. https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2006/112/2019-01-16 (02-09-2019), and
European Commission, Taxation and customs union – Citizens - Guide to VAT refund for visitors to the EU.
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling/travellers-leaving-eu/guide-vat-refund-visitors-eu_en
(02-09-2019).
17
Pearce et al. (1987) ‘The Tenuous Link Between Formal Strategic Planning and Financial Performance’.
Academy of Management. The Academy of Management Review; Volume 12, number 4, published in October
1987.

6
Strategic planning helps organizations of any nature achieve their goals and objectives in
order to reach its stated vision through a specific plan of action, while policy is generally
considered as the guiding principle that helps the organization to take logical decisions,
strategic planning involves a comprehensive plan, made to accomplish the organizational
goals.

In this sense, governments are required to assume the leading role in formulating a tourism
policy to achieve an integrated approach as tourism affects and is affected by almost all
other policies as mentioned above, i.e. industry, energy, transport, infrastructure, labour,
education, immigration and visa facilitation, health and safety, etc.

CASE STUDY18
Visa facilitation and tourism development

Visa policies are among the most important governmental formalities influencing
international tourism. The development of policies and procedures for visas, as well as for
other important travel documents such as passports, is closely linked to the development of
tourism.

UNWTO surveys visa policies around the world since 2008. The ‘UNWTO Visa Openness’
reports19 focused on the entry requirements for tourism purposes monitor the evolution of
such important issue.20 According to the latest report, the percentage of world population
requiring a traditional visa has decreased from 75% in 1980 to 53% in 2018.

CASE STUDY21
Qatar among the 10 most open visa countries in the world

In 2014, Qatar commissioned UNWTO a visa facilitation study. As a result, Qatar’s actions to
improve visa facilitation included introducing an online platform for efficient and transparent
visa processing and e-visas, as well as a free 96-hour transit visa doubling the time stopover
passengers can remain in the country.

As a result of these measures, Qatar’s visa openness ranking leapt to 8th in the world from
177th back in 2014. Since the introduction of these changes, year-on-year arrivals from India
grew 18%, from China 43% and from Russia a staggering 366%. None of these markets
now needs a visa to visit Qatar.

Qatar’s travel facilitation improvements coincide with progress made in visa facilitation
worldwide in many other destinations. For example, Belarus recently made visa-free travel

18
World Tourism Organization, Sustainable Development for Tourism – Facilitation of Tourist Travel, available at
http://sdt.unwto.org/content/facilitation-tourist-travel (02-09-2019).
19
UNWTO Reports on Visa Facilitation are available at World Tourism Organization, Sustainable Development
for Tourism – Facilitation of Tourist Travel, http://sdt.unwto.org/content/facilitation-tourist-travel (02-09-2019).
20
World Tourism Organization (2018), UNWTO Presentation on Visa openness report 2018, UNWTO. Madrid,
available at http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/2018visaopennessreport.pdf.
21
World Tourism Organization - Press Release Number PR 18063, published on September 2018: UNWTO:
Qatar among 10 Most Open Visa Countries in the World, available at www2.unwto.org/press-release/2018-09-
03/unwto-qatar-among-10-most-open-visa-countries-world, and
World Tourism Organization (2018) UNWTO Visa Openness 2018, available at
http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/2018visaopennessreport.pdf, and
World Tourism Organization (2018), UNWTO Presentation on Visa openness report 2018, UNWTO, Madrid,
available at http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/2018visaopennessreport.pdf.

7
available for 30 days to citizens of 74 countries travelling through Minsk airport. In Japan, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has engaged in strategic relaxation of visa requirements.

5. Key elements of a tourism policy

A tourism policy can be analyzed from different angles – its guiding principles, phases in the
process of elaboration and key constitutive elements.
The following sections provide an overview of national tourism policies from these three
perspectives. None of them exclude the others, on the contrary, they complement each other
to result in a sound national tourism policy.

5.1. Guiding principles

For a tourism policy to be effective and contribute to enhance the competitiveness of the
country’s tourism sector, some key issues need to be addressed:

– Tourism’s role in national development: the main objectives of the tourism

policy, including economic (increase income and contribution to GDP, local
employment and its multiplier effects – direct, indirect and induced, foreign exchange
revenues, investments etc.), social (education and training, social inclusion, etc.),
environmental and cultural (heritage protection), should be aligned with global
national objectives;
– Governance: the roles of the government, public and private sector and the
civil society in developing and managing tourism at national and local levels should
be defined as well as the models of cooperation among the various players (public-
private sector partnership as well as the models of vertical cooperation i.e. between
national-regional-local levels);
– Contribution of tourism to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: the
contribution of tourism to achieve the SDGs, in particular in the SDGs where tourism
is specially included (Goal 8: decent work and economic growth; Goal 12:
sustainable production and consumption; and Goal 14: life below water), should be
one of the guiding principles of a tourism policy, and include the clear definition of
mechanism to measure and monitor progress;
– Social, environmental and cultural sustainability: the contribution of tourism to
alleviate poverty, address income disparities, create decent jobs and increase gender
equality and women empowerment; the role of tourism in the protection of natural
and cultural (tangible and intangible) resources and heritage as well as the
harmonious relationship between residents and visitor and community engagement
in tourism development should be guiding principles of any tourism policy.
– Implementation and monitoring mechanisms: one of the major challenges of the
in the development of s sustainable tourism policy is the low level of existing
implementation and reporting mechanisms. Countries around the world are
integrating sustainability in their tourism policies but the evidence on the results of
their implementation remains limited, research carried out for the first ‘Baseline

8
 Report on the Integration of Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns into
Tourism Policies’ has found.22

5.2. Formulation process and phases

The considerations above should govern the rationale for tourism policy and its formulation
process. Such process needs to engage all relevant stakeholders and the civil society
(NGOs, host communities, local residents, etc.) through a round of consultations or similar
dialogue platforms. Once these guiding principles have been set the tourism policy is
formulated, normally in several stages. The sequence of these phases and the roadmap to
conclude a national tourism policy varies from one country or destination to another but
generally includes some or most of the following stages:

– Surveys and consultation process with all key stakeholders;

– National workshops and working groups (i.e. by themes or geographic/tourism
areas);
– Steering committee;
– Draft policy document by the national tourism administration; and
– Validation by the private sector and the host communities.

5.3. Key elements

Some of the specific key elements commonly found in national tourism policies and master
plans are:

- Rationale and guiding principles: as mentioned the tourism policy should be

aligned with the overall development policy for the country or region to ensure an
integrated approach with the SDGs and encompass the three dimensions of
sustainable tourism (economic, environmental and social);
- Situation analysis: this can include an analysis of the current situation of the
tourism sector in the country, international benchmarking and major current and
future trends and challenges (often with a SWOT analysis);
- Vision: where the country/destination wants to be at the end of the
implementation of the policy;
- Objectives which often include:
o Become a top destination;
o Increase the number of international tourist arrivals;
o Boost domestic tourism;
o Increase expenditure and improve visitor yield;
o Build a strong and vibrant brand identity;
o Diversify markets;
o Product development and diversification;
o Reduce seasonality;
o Improve visitor satisfaction (e.g. by fostering quality standards and
certifications for the sector).
- Operational strategy: this includes key actions and programmes to achieve the
objectives laid down in the tourism policy;

22
World Tourism Organization and United Nations Environment Programme (2019), Baseline Report on the
Integration of Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns into Tourism Policies, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420605.

9
 - Governance and institutional framework: roles of the government/public and
private sector in developing and managing the tourism at national and local levels
(this will depend on the level of decentralization of the administration);
- Tourism zoning and land use planning;
- Investment and infrastructure development (e.g. upgrade facilities,
accommodation, transport, etc.);
- Legislation and regulation;
- Visa facilitation;
- Connectivity;
- Accessibility;
- Marketing and promotion;
- Tourism value chain (e.g. support to Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and
entrepreneurship);
- Education and capacity building;
- Innovation and digital transformation;
- Statistics and measurement;
- Monitoring and evaluation instruments; and
- Budget and calendar of implementation.

CASE STUDY 23
Objectives of Switzerland’s Tourism Policy

“Switzerland is a top tourist destination with an immense wealth of scenic and cultural
attractions in a highly compact area as well as excellent infrastructure and tourist companies
offering high-quality services”. Tourism is a major sector in the Swiss economy, particularly
in the Alps.

The Tourism Policy Section acts as a centre of expertise for the conceptual design and
implementation of Switzerland’s tourism policy. It develops knowledge bases, formulates
policy, represents the interests of tourism policy both nationally and internationally,
supervises Switzerland Tourism and the Swiss Society for Hotel Credit on behalf of the
Swiss government, and enforces the Federal Act on the Promotion of Innovation,
Cooperation and Knowledge Creation in Tourism (Innotour).

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), part of the Federal Department of
Economic Affairs, Education and Research, is responsible for implementing the Swiss
national tourism policy.

The tourism strategy, approved by the Federal Council on 15 November 2017, represents
the basis of the tourism policy for the Swiss Confederation.

In order to achieve the goals above, the Strategy includes the following main key elements:

– Situation analysis: current situation, international benchmarking and analysis on trends,

SWOT analysis and challenges;
– Vision and concept: the vision provides a general framework for the Confederation’s
tourism policy, and describes the intended state of Swiss tourism; it focuses on the
tourist industry, in other words the tourism businesses;
– Objectives, action areas and action items:

23
Tourism Strategy of the Swiss Confederation (2017), State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Promotion
Activities – Tourism Policy, published by Swiss Federal Council in Bern on 15 November 2017, available at
www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Standortfoerderung/Tourismuspolitik.html (02-09-2019).

10
o Objectives: based on the vision and derived from the challenges, strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and risks of the Swiss tourism industry, the tourism strategy specifies the
objectives of the Confederation’s tourism policy:
1. Improving framework conditions;
2. Promoting entrepreneurship;
3. Exploiting the opportunities offered by the digital economy;
4. Enhancing attractiveness of tourism offerings and market presence.
o Action areas: action areas are allocated to the objectives of the Confederation’s tourism
policy. They prioritise which issues should be dealt with in the coming years.
o Action items: one or two action items per action area are identified for the
implementation of the tourism policy.
– Sponsors, actors and funding instruments of the Swiss Tourism Policy: actions items are
implemented by SECO and with the help of tourism funding instruments
– Principles for action: Sustainability and subsidiarity are the two guiding principles for
action of the Confederation’s tourism policy.

A deeper analysis of national tourism policies suggests that some of the main elements
usually found are:

5.3.1 Setting a common vision

A vision depicts the sector’s desired future and is intended to motivate stakeholders to work
together. Visioning is most successful when it is participatory and creates an image that
integrates all the separate visions of different stakeholders. In order for a vision to mobilize
resources — ultimately the purpose of a vision — it must find common, higher ground in
which each stakeholder sees part of his future. A strong vision can motivate disparate
stakeholders to work together to achieve what otherwise might be unachievable. The vision
may also include elements of a shared strategy although the how, rather than the what, often
falls to the mission, objectives, and strategies elements of a process. Policy and decision
makers should ensure the broadest possible participation from a diverse set of community
representatives in setting the vision.

Recent changes in the framework of tourism development have prompted a new vision for
tourism policies. A vision oriented to ensure the positive impacts of tourism on communities
and the territory.

CASE STUDY 24
A new vision for tourism in the Flanders, Belgium

“Our starting point for formulating this vision for the future is our belief in the positive power
of tourism. We need to strengthen this power to bring balance so destinations in Flanders
can flourish”.

Flanders, Travel to Tomorrow, Recommendations for Tourism Policy 2019-2024.

24
VISITFLANDERS (2019), Travel to tomorrow. Recommendations for Tourism Policy 2019-2024. Memorandum
from VISITFLANDERS, Brussels, available at
www.toerismevlaanderen.be/sites/toerismevlaanderen.be/files/assets/publication/memorandum%20ENG.pdf.

11
5.3.2. Policy Objectives

Specific, measurable goals and objectives based on the tourism policy framework and
geared towards prospective tourism development should be identified. An analysis of
National Plans and Strategies allows us to identify the most common areas stated in tourism
policies as follows:

Demand - Tourist arrivals

- Average/total expenditure
- Seasonality
- Market diversification
- Geographical spread of tourists/share of regional tourism
- Loyalty/share of return visitors
- Average stay
- Occupancy rate
- Visitor satisfaction
- Domestic tourism
- Segment diversification

Supply - Accommodation/bed capacity

- Product diversification
- Development of infrastructures
- Community based development/local involvement
- Transport and communications
- Number of tour operators
- Quality standards/regulations and voluntary certifications
- High quality tourism professionals
- Hotels' quality

Investment and - Investment

finance - Public investment
- Private investment
- Foreign direct investment
- Finance mechanisms
- SMEs and entrepreneurship

Employment - Direct/total employment

- Human resources and skilled professionals

Sustainable - Alignment with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs

tourism - Biodiversity conservation and sustainable land-use
- Energy and water use efficiency
- GHG emissions and waste reduction

Inclusive growth - Engagement of local residents and communities

and local - Integration of local businesses in the tourism value chain
communities

Increase - Digitalization and new technologies

competitiveness - Smart destinations: an approach towards competitiveness,
sustainability and governance

12
Although the characteristics, priorities and level of development of tourism may vary from
one country to another, common objectives are to maximize visitor’s value and quality
perception while ensuring the competitiveness and sustainability of the destination, as well
as the preservation of its natural and cultural assets in the long run, and catalyze the
benefits for the local economy and the residents.

UNWTO / UN Environment Baseline Report on the Integration of Sustainable Consumption

and Production Patterns into Tourism Policies25

Countries around the world are integrating sustainability in their tourism policies but the
evidence on the results of their implementation remains limited, research carried out for the
first ‘Baseline Report on the Integration of Sustainable Consumption and Production
Patterns into Tourism Policies’ has found.

The Baseline Report, prepared by UNWTO in collaboration with United Nations Environment
(UN Environment) and with support from the Government of France, is the first global
assessment of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) factors within national
tourism policies. A total of 101 UNWTO Member States participated in this ground-breaking
exercise.

All the tourism policies analyzed refer to sustainability as part of their objectives or vision and
55% address sustainability as a cross cutting element. At the same time, 67% of tourism
policies include references to resource efficiency and 64% connect sustainability with the
competitiveness of the sector. Tourism policy makers are aware of the importance of SCP
but the references to policy instruments aiming at SCP implementation are limited and so is
the evidence available for other aspects beyond the economic performance of the sector.

CASE STUDY26
Colombia’s Tourism and Peace Programme

The national government, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, defined
the strategy of tourism and peace as a main axis to support tourism development in
territories affected by armed conflict, propitiating reconciliation with culture and nature, the
strengthening of the productive chains of tourism and the empowerment and rootedness of
the communities in their territories.

The objectives are aimed in three axis: 1) developing work plans with national and regional
government institutions, communities and local businesses; 2) provide technical assistance
in subject as marketing digital, strengthening of business practices, projects formulation and
development of tourist products and 3) promote projects in three lines: competitiveness,
infrastructure and tourism promotion.

25
World Tourism Organization and United Nations Environment Programme (2019), Baseline Report on the
Integration of Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns into Tourism Policies, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420605.
26
World Tourism Organization - 15th UNWTO Awards Winners and Finalists (finalists announced on 21
December 2018) - Tourism and Peace Programme, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Colombia,
available at http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/content/15th-unwto-awards (02-09-2019) and
Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Industria y Turismo de Colombia – Prensa, Noticias – Turismo, published on 21
December 2018, available at www.mincit.gov.co/prensa/noticias/turismo/programa-de-turismo-y-paz-de-
mincomercio-finalista (02-09-2019).

13
The Tourism and Peace Programme has contributed to the sustainable development of 132
municipalities in 27 departments affected by the armed conflict, making the tourism an
efficient tool to transform communities’ lives. In its four years of execution, the programme
has articulated all the actors involved in the society such as community, private sector, and
governance entities among others. This articulation have allowed for the creation of nine
management and governance models in nine municipalities, defining a development vision
and clear actions to generate sustainable and responsible tourism in these regions. This
programme is the pioneer in models of co-management, enabling local and national
management through the linking of people from the territories as responsible for stimulating
the ecosystem and guaranteeing the implementation of the actions defined in the
management models. Likewise, the programme has achieved the implementation of the
Tourism Reincorporation Route, benefiting more than 2,600 people, generating 424 new
formal companies and investing COP $ 63,344 million pesos with public, private institutions
and community.

Colombia is a finalist of the 15th UNWTO Awards under the category Public Policy and
Governance with the project Tourism and Peace Programme, Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Tourism, Colombia.

5.3.3. Implementation and monitoring: a crucial element for the success of a tourism
policy

Establishing how the policy will be implemented and monitored is a crucial element of the
planning process and the ultimate success of the policy. This may include the following
considerations:

– Plan adoption and allocation of responsibilities: once adopted by the government the
plan is politically binding and political commitment should be ensured. Also key in the
implementation is to decide on and assign roles and responsibilities to government,
private sector and public-private partnership structures and local residents and
communities, respectively and how they all should interact;
– Staging and programming development: this is usually indicated in the strategic plan.
Within the framework of the recommended staging, specific projects should be identified
for development and furthermore, organized into an integrated development programme.
Projects and actions are usually shown by year, usually for a three to five-year period.
General cost estimates for the implementation of projects should also be reflected, as
well as responsible parties for carrying out the projects and actions (i.e. NTA, NTO, etc.).
Also pre-development activities, such as feasibility studies, etc. should be considered;
and
– The indicators of success (Key Performance Indicators – KPIs) and how to measure
them (KPIs per project and activity27)

5.3.4. Finance and funding instruments

Along with the implementation and the monitoring of the tourism policy, the financing of
tourism is an essential consideration. This is also related to the investment and incentives
strategy formulated at country level. The funding needs and approach shall be identified for

27
World Tourism Organization and European Travel Commission (2017), Handbook on Key Performance
Indicators for Tourism Marketing Evaluation, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284418527.

14
each country, although there are certain basic considerations. Generally, there are four
types of funding needs:

- Funding for the preparation of the tourism plan: this usually falls under the government
responsibilities, although depending on the local situation more detailed plans can also
be partly financed by the private sector;
- Funding for the development of the infrastructure necessary for tourism: major
infrastructure is typically responsibility of the government, although some funds may
come from other sources (i.e. user fees). Private developers may also be required to
pay for some infrastructure costs, especially when they directly benefit their commercial
sites;
- Funding for the public management of tourism by the National Tourism Administration
and/or Organization (NTA/NTO): although the NTA/NTO budget is usually provided by
the government, other income (i.e. tourism taxes, private sector contribution) can be
allocated to the NTA/NTO budget); and
- Tourism investment strategy: as an integral part of the general investment strategy for
the country/region, and based on the tourism policy priorities, a sound tourism
investment strategy should be devised. Attracting tourism investment is a key factor for
competitiveness and the active attraction and promotion investment policies increase
the benefits of tourism (they contribute to generate added value, to support SMEs and
local development, enhance inclusive tourism growth, etc.). However, a sound tourism
investment strategy can only be formulated in full coordination with the overall
investment policy at national level, which includes issues such as incentives, ease of
doing business, taxes, labour market, etc.).

With increasingly tightened budgets, governments need to put in place appropriate and
innovative mechanisms and public finance instruments to leverage private investment
towards the tourism sector and other sectors such as infrastructure, energy, waste recycling,
etc. which are linked to tourism activities. Incentives and access to finance for sustainable
and inclusive tourism investment projects is a must nowadays.

CASE STUDY 28
Chile Invest Tourism Initiative

Invest Tourism is an initiative supported by Invest in Chile, the Chilean government agency
responsible for promoting the country globally as a destination for foreign direct investment,
serving as a bridge between the interests of overseas investors and the business
opportunities Chile offers and providing world-class services that are in line with the
country’s economic development policies.

Invest Tourism aims at fostering investment in sustainable tourism projects in the country
and provides investors with a map of opportunities for investment in sustainable tourism,
taking advantage of sites around the country that are the property of the state of Chile.
These opportunities seek to diversify nature tourism services through the development of
projects of different sizes and types in a framework of sustainable development in its three
dimensions: environmental, social and economic.

Each country and region needs are different and therefore, their tourism policies must be
developed and planned according to their own features, needs and priorities. There is no
28
Invierte Turismo Chile, Ministerio de Economía, Fomento y Turismo, available at www.invierteturismo.cl/en/
(02-09-2019).

15
one-fit-all solution. However, there are common principles and basic concepts which are
generally applicable and can inform policy and decision makers worldwide.

In parallel, tourism policies and policy measures affecting tourism should also be
coordinated at international and transnational levels (trade liberalization, i.e. air and rail
transport liberalization and visa facilitation ask for a coordinated response from the countries
in many integrated economic regions, such as APEC, ASEAN, Schengen Area, ECOWAS,
etc.).

5.3.5. Governance

Defining which are the most appropriate types of public and private organizational structures
for tourism management will largely depend on the needs, priorities, characteristics and level
of decentralization of its administration of the country. UNWTO advocates for a public-private
partnership structure and ultimately a public-private-community approach. In this model,
from the public side the following actors intervene, each one holding different
responsibilities.

Governments are typically responsible for tourism policy and strategic planning, areas which
normally fall under the scope of a ministerial structure (NTA) whether it is a Ministry of
Tourism or Secretariat of Tourism within a Ministry with a larger ministerial portfolio.

In many cases, a National Tourism Organization (NTO) exists (normally under or dependent
of the NTA) with the primary aim of promoting the country as a tourism destination and
implementing its marketing plan. Some countries, however, have opted for including
international tourism promotion along with other areas of the economy such as foreign
investment and exports. This is the case of Procolombia (Colombia), whose mission is “to
contribute to the economic growth of the country through the promotion of exports of goods
and services, international tourism, foreign investment in Colombia, supported on the
strategy of competitiveness denominated Country Image”.29

In recent years, the trend is for NTOs to enlarge their scope and embrace a full range of
activities which commonly used to fall under the realm of NTA. NTOs are increasingly
shifting to organizations with a broader mandate beyond the traditional boundaries of
marketing and promotion boards (i.e. implementation, monitoring compliance with
regulations, among others).

In line with this tendency, in some countries the National Tourism Organization (NTO) has a
broader scope, such is the case, for example, of Canada (Destination Canada), France
(Atout France) or Portugal, where Turismo de Portugal is responsible for the promotion,
development and sustainability of tourist activity, including in one single body all the
institutional areas related to the development of tourism, ranging from supply to demand.30

Regardless of the governance structure, mandate and range of functions of NTAs and NTOs
at public level, tourism private sector and its industries31 should be fully integrated in the
formulation and implementation process of a tourism policy. Public policies should build a

29
ProColombia – Government of Colombia, available at http://www.procolombia.co/en/procolombia/about-
procolombia.(02-09-2019).
30
Visit Portugal (2019), ‘About us’ (online), available at: https://www.visitportugal.com/en/sobre-nos (02-09-
2019).
31
World Tourism Organization (2008), Understanding Tourism: Basic Glossary –“Tourism sector and tourism
industries” as contemplated in the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) – UNWTO, Madrid, available at
http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/glossaryenrev.pdf.

16
more coherent dialogue among all stakeholders as tourism is a cross-cutting sector. Tourism
private sector should have an associative approach as private sector
organizations/associations serve several roles: provide a forum for discussing and resolving
common concerns; act as spokes-person before the NTA for making coordinated
recommendations for improvements in the tourism sector, etc. The private sector can be
organized in different ways: from separate hospitality, tour operators, travel agencies, and
other specialized associations of, a combination of these. Normally, private sector
associations are mainly funded by their members (membership fees).

Considering the fact that tourism development takes place in the territory it is also key that
the institutional framework of a country include regional or local Destination Management
Organizations (DMOs).

UNWTO definition of ‘Destination Management/Marketing Organization (DMO)’

A destination management/marketing organization (DMO) is the leading organizational

entity which may encompass the various authorities, stakeholders and professionals and
facilitates tourism sector partnerships towards a collective destination vision. The
governance structures of DMOs vary from a single public authority to a public/ private
partnership model with the key role of initiating, coordinating and managing certain
activities such as implementation of tourism policies, strategic planning, product
development, promotion and marketing and convention bureau activities. The functions
of the DMOs may vary from national to regional and local levels depending on the
current and potential needs as well as on the decentralization level of public
administration. Not every tourism destination has a DMO.

World Tourism Organization (2019), UNWTO Tourism Definitions, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420858.

Although it is not the purpose of this position paper to focus on the role of DMOs, it is
important to highlight that in recent years many destinations are creating or plan to create
these organizational entities to manage tourism at destination level32. DMOs emerge as
pivotal governance tools and their role and functions should also be taken into consideration
when designing a national tourism policy. Due to the cross-cutting and multi-sectoral nature
of tourism, it is essential that the NTA effectively liaises with other relevant government
agencies at local level.

An appropriate governance model needs to take into account the following considerations:

A whole government approach, public/public and international cooperation

Tourism cross cutting nature requires a whole government approach to tourism development
and a policy which is national in scope and includes the definition of responsibilities and
mechanisms of coordinated implementation.

In this regard, the creation of an Inter-Ministerial Commission or Taskforce led by the head
of government and including, along with the Ministry of Tourism, other Ministries (Finance,

32
World Tourism Organization (2019), UNWTO Guidelines for Institutional Strengthening of Destination
Management Organizations (DMOs) – Preparing DMOs for new challenges, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420841.

17
Economy, Foreign Affairs, Homeland, Trade, Communications and Transport, Industry,
Environment, Culture, Sports, Health, Education, Labour, etc.) is essential to ensure
transversal alignment of all policies affecting tourism and the effective implementation of the
tourism policy. Within the same principle, it is important to consider the creation of working
groups within this Commission/Taskforce as a means to provide a mechanism that nurtures
the strategic planning of tourism policies and its implementation.

CASE STUDY33
France’s Interministerial Council for Tourism

With 89 million international tourist arrivals in 201834, France is the world’s top tourism
destination in terms of arrivals and the third in terms of international tourism receipts. The
Government aims to consolidate this leading position and bring the number of international
tourist arrivals up to 100 million by 2020, along with an increase in the average length of stay
in the country in order to increase tourism revenues (50 billion euros in 2020). Achieving this
dual objective would enable the creation of 300,000 more jobs across France.

“France’s attractiveness is based on the diversity of its offer in all fields, its tangible and
intangible heritage and culture in particular, the vitality of its artistic creation and its cultural
and creative industries, its language and its art of living. The Government is determined to
reinforce such attractiveness by taking and supporting concrete measures in six priority
fields:
1. Quality of reception at and security of sites, essential factors in ensuring tourist
satisfaction and loyalty;
2. Structuring the tourist offer, so as to attract a growing numbers of international tourists;
3. State support for investments, a fundamental component of the Government’s strategy;
4. Training and employment, both key to ensuring the quality of the service offer;
5. Support for information sharing and digitisation in order to improve the sector’s
competitiveness; and
6. Access to holidays for as many people as possible.”

“In order to give fresh impetus to the measures planned for the tourism sector, the Prime
Minister has put together an Interministerial Council for Tourism (July 2017), including
Ministers concerned, elected officials and sector professionals, in order to present the
Government’s roadmap for tourism and the first concrete measures to be taken. Such
measures will be implemented in the context of a Tourism Steering Committee chaired by
the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in dialogue with advisory fora of tourism
professionals and local authorities, including those in Overseas France.”

The Interministerial Council for Tourism is chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of
several ministers and representatives from different regions (the Mayor of Paris, the Mayor
of Cannes, the Mayor of Deauville, the President of the ‘Association des régions de France’,
the President of the ‘Assemblée des départements de France’ and the President of the
‘Assemblée des communautés de France’) are also part of this Council. The private sector is
represented in the Council by professionals from airlines, hotel and accommodation, Atout
France, shopping centres, food and beverage industry, among others.
33
Interministerial Council for Tourism, Government of France (2017), Government’s roadmap for tourism,
published 26 July 2017 (online), available at: www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/dp_ci_toursime-
ang_v3_cle494463.pdf (02-09-2019), and
Government of France (2019), ‘The Ministry’s action to promote tourism’, published May 2019 (online), available
at: www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/tourism/the-action-of-maedi-in-promoting/ (02-09-2019).
34
World Tourism Organization (2019), International Tourism Highlights, 2019 Edition, UNWTO, Madrid.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284421152.

18
CASE STUDY35
Japan– From a tourism-oriented country to a tourism advanced country

In 2013, Japan approved a new tourism strategy to become a tourism-oriented country and
devised a plan to achieve the goal of 40 million international visitors to Japan in 2020. Now
the government is taking a step forward and steers to become a tourism advance country.
Their goal is to create “Sustainable Tourism Nation” with the theme “Creating a nation that is
good to live in, good to visit”.

At the 9th meeting of the "Ministerial Conference for the Promotion of Tourism" on June 12
2018, the Japanese government decided on the ‘Tourism Vision Realization Program 2018’
(Action Program for the Realization of Tourism Vision 2018) as follows36:

The Program 2018 is an action plan for the upcoming year to realize the tourism vision,
which aims to:
· Further publish and open up attractive public facilities and infrastructures;
· Enhance multilingual commentary on cultural properties, disseminate their charm by
utilizing virtual reality (VR);
· Further develop the branding of national parks;
· Pioneer new tourism resources such as enhanced night life and the utilization of beaches;
· Accelerate immigration procedures by utilizing state-of-the-art technology such as facial
recognition;
· Realize world-class tourism services such as the development of a free Wi-Fi environment
on the Shinkansen train;
· Promote global campaigns centered on Europe, the US and Australia; and
· Strengthen training of local DMOs ( which will take the steering role in tourism areas).

The "Ministerial Conference for the Promotion of Tourism" held its last meeting on June 14th
2019.

Besides the above, tourism impact and development in the territory means that it should not
be an exclusive competence of national governments, but rather encompass all levels of
government from the national to the subnational level, including the destination level, where
different mandates, roles and levels of decentralization and autonomy are found according to
the administrative structures in different countries.

As already mentioned, in recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of the
importance of DMOs to the development, management and promotion of destinations at
local level, a trend that reinforces the idea of a truly enhanced governance model which
takes into account the different levels of the administration. The level of decentralization may
vary from one country to another but in all cases, a tourism policy needs to take full account
of the regional and local structures in its formulation and implementation.

In parallel, tourism policies and measures should also be coordinated at international and
transnational levels. Issues such as air transport regulation, travel facilitation and visas,

35
Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country.
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/actions/201506/5article1.html (02-02-2019).
36
Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/kouhou/page01_000312.html (02-02-2019).

19
require a coordinated response from international cooperation either bilateral, regional or
global.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Developing tourism requires the involvement of governments to manage essential resources

such as public lands (i.e., beaches, mountains, national parks, and lakes) hold the
responsibility for activities such as infrastructure, regional economic development, planning,
security of borders, and social and environmental protection and set the regulatory
framework for tourism’s development. Yet, tourism development cannot exist without the
private sector.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) should bring together stakeholders with different

objectives, skills, and resources in a formal or informal voluntary partnership developing
PPPs as a collaborative form of governance recognises the interdependence of the various
parties in developing tourism. Partnerships can focus on the overall policy or on a particular
task and bring together those organizations with the skills and knowledge necessary for its
completion. Ideally PPPs should form part of the institutional framework of tourism
development.

PPPs are a collaborative form of governance which recognises the multifaceted nature of
tourism, the interdependence of the various parties in developing tourism and the synergies
which can be leveraged from a PPP model. Governments and tourism stakeholders (not only
businesses, but also NGOs) can work together in a variety of ways and on a number of
different types of activity and at different levels (national, regional or local). Examples include
the development of tourism strategies, the creation of policy networks or joint investment in
co-operative marketing campaigns37.

CASE STUDY 38
Italy’s Public-Private Partnerships

The Italian National Tourism Plan (Piano Strategico di Sviluppo del Turismo 2017-2022)
underlines in its introduction that it is the result of the collaboration of all stakeholders, public
and private.

It includes public-private partnerships and institutional cooperation among the lines of

intervention for several general and specific objectives.

As an example, the development of a public-private cooperation is established as a line for

intervention for the enhancement and enlargement of the range of tourism products (B.4.4
Sviluppo della cooperazione pubblico-privata per il miglioramento e l’ampliamento della
gamma di prodotti turistici). This line of intervention underlines that public-private
collaboration in the field of tourism aims at implementing, adapting and using tourism
resources in hands of public entities by private parties in order to enlarge, diversify and
improve the quality of tourism products and, therefore, develop a wide range of offer in a
destination.

In particular, this line of intervention aims at formulating, developing and identifying possible

37
World Tourism Organization (2015), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume eleven – Public-Private
Partnerships: Tourism Development, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284417438.
38
Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo - Comitato Permanente di Promozione del Turismo -
Piano Strategico di Sviluppo del Turismo 2017-2022, available at
www.beniculturali.it/mibac/multimedia/MiBAC/documents/1481892223634_PST_2017_IT.pdf.

20
initiatives for financing projects and allowing private entities manage tourism resources
whose ownership lies public and (i.e. museums, villas and palaces of historic and artistic
value, and other stata properties) and have access to specific financing instruments (i.e.
Fondo Investimenti per il Turismo).

Community Engagement and Participation – Public, Private and Community

Partnerships

Tourism if well planned, developed and managed is a catalyst for economic growth, inclusive
development and environmental sustainability. For that local communities must be engaged
and benefit from tourism. A truly community approach calls for the active participation of the
host population in the design and management of tourism through appropriate consultation
processes, which ultimately contribute to enhance the governance of the tourism sector.

Some actions that contribute to ensure that local communities benefit from tourism are:
- Increase the level of employment in tourism and strive to create decent jobs;
- Promote the positive impacts of tourism, create awareness and knowledge of the
sector amongst local communities;
- Conduct an analysis of supply-demand potential of the local communities and
promote their integration in the tourism value chain;
- Engage local communities in the development of new tourism products;
- Strengthen the linkages between tourism and other economic sectors by increasing
the locally produced food items in the tourism value chain, encourage the tourism
industry to incorporate local products or develop shopping amenities/opportunities
(i.e. local arts and crafts, apparel, etc.) in tourism points:
- Foster the local ownership of tourism facilities and services by creating a friendly
business environment (i.e. incentives, joint ventures of local and foreign companies
when possible and, if local capital is limited allow for foreign ownership but require
purchase by local owners when capital is available and require procurement
practices ensuring a degree of national/local supply, local tour operators handling
foreign tour groups, etc.);
- Improve the quality of infrastructure and services considering residents and visitors;
and
- Stimulate development of impoverished regions/destinations through tourism.

In order to achieve the goals above it is crucial to communicate with and engage local
stakeholders by:

- Ensuring that a tourism management group (including all stakeholders) is set up and
is regularly convened;
- Organizing professional development programmes for partners and communities;
- Organizing local discussion platforms for residents and regularly monitoring
residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism;
- Encouraging locals to share interesting content about their destination on social
media;
- Communicating with residents on a regular basis about tourism development and its
impacts and benefits; and
- Use tourism to connect disjointed communities and promote the inclusion.

The relationship between residents and visitors should be one of the critical issues of a
tourism policy. Thus, the actions listed above cannot be disconnected from an appropriate
communication plan to engage visitors. Some specific actions can include:

21
 - Create awareness of tourism impact amongst visitors;
- Educate visitors on local values, traditions and regulations; and
- Provide adequate information about traffic restrictions, parking facilities, fees, shuttle
bus services, etc.

CASE STUDY 39
Costa Rica’s Social Progress Index

The Social Progress Index (SPI) is a tool developed to measure the well-being of individuals
living in tourism destinations. Incorporating the use of a new methodology and
multidimensional indicators, this instrument successfully assesses the sustainability of
tourism destinations, paving the way for benchmarking between territories. Most importantly,
it serves as a guide for the development of new tourism policies and the launch of public-
private collaborations that have a positive impact on local communities and foster the role of
tourism as a catalyst for sustainable development.

The Social Progress Index in tourism destinations in Costa Rica by the Instituto
Costarricense de Turismo was a first runner up of the 13th UNWTO Awards for Innovation
in the category of Public Policies and Governance.

6. The world is changing - key issues for tourism to show leadership

6.1. Tourism and the SDGs – leaving no one behind

According to UNWTO research40, policymakers widely recognize tourism’s contribution to

the SDGs: 41 out of 64 Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs 2016)41 mention tourism. SDGs
8, 12 and 17, on ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’, ‘Responsible Consumption and
Production’ and ‘Partnerships for the Goals’, respectively, appear as having the strongest
link with tourism.

National governments, together with local authorities and other relevant stakeholders, should
keep a fluent dialogue and develop an integrated and holistic approach to tourism policy in
order to leverage the sector’s positive impact and multiplying effect on people, planet and
prosperity, thus capitalizing on its value as a key contributor to the achievement of the
SDGs.

39 th
World Tourism Organization - 13 UNWTO Awards Winners and Finalists (18 January 2017) - Social progress
index in tourism destinations in Costa Rica, Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, Costa Rica, available at
http://know.unwto.org/content/social-progress-index-tourism-destinations-costa-rica-instituto-costarricense-de-
turismo-cos (02-09-2019), and at http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/event/13th-unwto-awards (02-09-2019).
Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, www.ict.go.cr/es/documentos-institucionales/estad%C3%ADsticas/cifras-
tur%C3%ADsticas/ips/1005-ips-2019/file.html (02-09-2019).
40
World Tourism Organization and United Nations Development Programme (2017), Tourism and the
Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030, UNWTO, Madrid,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284419401.
41
Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) on the SDGs are presented by UN member states as a basis for the
regular reviews by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. They aim to facilitate the
exchange of experiences and lessons learned regarding progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at
the national and sub-national levels. The 64 VNRs of 2016 and 2017 are available at Sustainable Development –
Knowledge Platform, Voluntary National Reviews Database: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs/ (05-12-
2017).

22
Thus, the formulation of national tourism policies, strategies, action plans should be fully
aligned with national SDG planning. This should include assessments on tourism’s
contribution and commitment to the SDGs at both national and sub-national levels and
ensure the inclusion of tourism in inter-ministerial SDG commissions and/or working groups
and setting up of mechanisms that bring together national governments together with local
authorities and other relevant stakeholders.

According to the UNWTO/UN Environment Programme ‘Baseline Report on the Integration

of Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (SCP) into Tourism Policies’42, which
covered 101 countries, there is a growing level of integration of sustainability into tourism
policies.

Some reflections drawn from this report deserve special attention:

– Tourism policymakers appear to be fully aware of the need to sustainably develop

the tourism sector;
– There is a good awareness of the main environmental areas of concern for the
tourism sector or ‘SCP impact areas’ as these are frequently mentioned in national
tourism policies;
– The references to policy instruments with potential to transform commitments into
action are still not comprehensive enough and thus call for enhancing the
environmental components of national tourism policies;
– National governments which have proactively engaged in the implementation of
Agenda 2030 at the national level appear to regard tourism as a sector with the
potential to contribute to advancing the SDGs, but the direct connection between
tourism and SDG 12 is not yet widely acknowledged; and
– Although the findings suggest that there is a good level of awareness among tourism
policymakers of the need to ensure that policies on SCP are implemented, the
findings also suggest the existence of an implementation gap between the
formulation of national tourism policies and action on the ground.

6.2. Education, skills development and the future of work

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) global unemployment remains

elevated at more than 170 million in 2018.43

Despite its high capacity to create jobs tourism’s role in employment generation and
entrepreneurship is often underestimated and undervalued in policy formulation and
implementation.

Tourism is facing new challenges, including demographic transition, technological

developments, increased mobility, changing lifestyles, demand patterns and travel
behaviours, emergence of new markets, increased competition and pressure to deliver high
quality tourism experiences to visitors.44 As recognized by the G20 a major challenge is

42
World Tourism Organization and United Nations Environment Programme (2019), Baseline Report on the
Integration of Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns into Tourism Policies, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420605.
43
International Labour Organization (2019) ‘World Employment Social Outlook – Trends 2019’, ILO, Geneva,
available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---
publ/documents/publication/wcms_670542.pdf.
44
Stacey, J. (2015), "Supporting Quality Jobs in Tourism", OECD Tourism Papers, No. 2015/02, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5js4rv0g7szr-en.

23
simultaneously to enhance the responsiveness of education and training systems to these
changes in skill requirements and to improve access to training and skills development 45.

Well-structured manpower plan; improved capacities for human resources development;

strengthened education and training facilities; and the establishment of an accreditation and
quality standardization system should increasing take centre stage in tourism policies and
National Tourism Administrations can play a central role to achieve a more integrated
strategy to promote inclusive development and decent work in the tourism sector46.

CASE STUDY 47
Portugal’s Tourism Training Talent (TTT) Programme

The Tourism Training Talent (TTT) programme implemented by the Portuguese National
Tourism Organization represents an excellent example of a capacity building programme
developed to prepare the future generations of tourism workforce. The comprehensive
training programme is strategically built around the National Tourism Plan and takes into
consideration the future needs of the sector. This project contributes to the improvement of
the competitiveness of the sector and to the positioning of Portugal as a leading tourism
destination.

The Tourism Training Talent (TTT) developed by Turismo de Portugal won the UNWTO
Award 2018 in the category of Public Policy and Governance.

6.3. Entrepreneurship and support to SMEs

SMEs make a crucial contribution to job creation and income generation accounting for two-
thirds of all jobs worldwide. OECD/ILO research shows that SMEs are the major job creator
in tourism with around half of the tourism workforce working in enterprises fewer than 10
people, while around three quarters work in enterprises employing fewer than 50 people.

However, access to finance, business regulations and inadequate skills are major
constraints faced by all SMEs including the tourism ones48. Given the highly fragmented
nature of the tourism sector and its great heterogeneity, often with a very small group of
large companies coexisting with a large number of medium, small and micro business – in
many cases family-owned –, a comprehensive and inclusive tourism policy is needed to
remove or mitigate the market barriers that challenge SMEs performance and consolidation
(access to finance, lack of human resources, access to technology, etc.). In this regard,

45
International Labour Organization (2010), A Skilled Workforce for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth. A
G20 Training Strategy, published in November 2010, ILO, Geneva, available at
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_151966.pdf.
46
International Labour Organization and World Tourism Organization (2015) Policy Note “Tourism, SMEs and
Employment – Policies to Stimulate Job Creation and Inclusiveness”, 6th T.20 MEETING Antalya, Republic of
Turkey, 30 September 2015, available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---
sector/documents/genericdocument/wcms_538974.pdf.
47
World Tourism Organization - 14th UNWTO Awards Winners and Finalists (17 January 2018) - Tourism
training talent (TTT), Turismo de Portugal, Portugal, available at http://know.unwto.org/content/tourism-training-
talent-ttt-turismo-de-portugal-portugal (02-09-2019) and at http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/event/13th-unwto-
awards (02-09-2019).
48
International Labour Organization (2015), Report IV – Small and medium-sized enterprises and decent and
productive employment creation, ILO, Geneva, available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---
ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_358294.pdf.

24
policymakers must encourage and support the tourism private sector and it is essential that
tourism policies can create an enable business-friendly environment that improves economic
prospects for SMEs, includes sound investments and incentive policies, overcomes decent
work deficits for workers and ensures that economic activities are environmentally
sustainable49.

Tourism policies should establish favourable framework conditions for a conducive business
environment, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship and create networks by linking start-
ups, major companies, investors and governments along the tourism value chain.

Governments have the enormous task of fostering an enabling environment for

entrepreneurs and small and medium-size enterprises. Sound and efficient business
regulation is critical for entrepreneurship and a thriving private sector. Good rules create an
environment where new entrants with drive and innovative ideas can get started in business
and where productive firms can invest, expand and create new jobs. […] The role of
government policy in the daily operations of small and medium-size domestic firms is a
central. […]

World Bank Doing Business 2019. 16th Edition.

6.4. Regulatory framework for an increasing complex tourism sector – existing and
new business models

In an increasingly complex tourism sector undergoing several challenges and paradigm

changes – new actors breaking into the scene, rising competition among destinations, digital
transformation, emerging ‘disruptors’ and new business models, just to mention a few – the
need to enhance the competitiveness of tourism and to ensure sustainable tourism in its
three dimensions (economic, social and environmental), appropriate policy and regulatory
measures have become essential.

Governments and policy makers are called upon to better understand the challenges that will
shape tourism in the coming years. From the demand side, new middle-class fast emerging
in some countries, growing international tourist arrivals, rapidly changing consumer patterns
and trends, among others, urge to manage visitors’ growth and preserve the welfare of the
residents and local communities in order to ensure a harmonious interaction with the tourist
and visitor, etc. Among the challenges from the supply side, digital transformation and new
business models, emerging ‘disruptors’ such as new platform tourism services (for example
in the accommodation and transport sector), rising competition among destinations, etc.

A tourism policy should be accompanied with a supportive legal and regulatory framework
for the sustainable development and management of tourism, the protection and
conservation of natural and cultural resources; and the facilitation of the involvement of
private sector and local communities in tourism development. Such legal framework should
be adequately designed and integrated within the overall legal system in the country and be
consistent with supranational and international laws.

49
The conclusions reached at the 2007 International Labour Conference discussion on the promotion of
sustainable enterprises identified 17 pillars for an environment conducive to the promotion of sustainable
enterprises. International Labour Organization (2017), ‘Conclusions concerning the promotion of sustainable
enterprises, International Labour Conference’, published in June 2017, ILO, Geneva, available at
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_093970.pdf.

25
Tourism legislation covers a wide spectrum of regulations, among them outstanding, the
basic tourism law. This law typically sets forth the basic principles for the developing tourism
policy and establishes the functions, structure and sources of funding of the NTA. Specific
development regulations are necessary in order to further develop and elaborate on
particular aspects such as:

- Standards and hotel classification systems;

- Licensing requirements;
- Inspection procedures (for hotels, restaurants, tour and travel agencies, tour guides,
etc.);
- Zoning regulations to designate and design tourism zones (this also includes land
tenure and land uses);
- Environmental protection legislation (including environmental impact assessment
requirements);
- Legislation on protected areas (i.e. national parks); and
- Public health, sanitation, etc.

Today’s regulatory framework in tourism has gained an added complexity with the
emergence of new tourism products and services provided by online platforms.
Governments need to thus assess the need to adjust or adapt new regulation that promotes
innovation while addressing issues such as fair competition, consumer protection, safety and
security and sustainability.50

Building upon UNWTO’s 2017 report ‘New Platform Tourism Services (or the so-called
Sharing Economy) – Understand, Rethink and Adapt’51, the UNWTO report ‘New Business
Models in the Accommodation Industry - Benchmarking of Rules and Regulations in the
Short-term Rental Market’52 provides an analysis and examples from 21 case studies on the
rules and regulations applied to the short-term rental market focusing on three areas: 1) Fair
competition; 2) Consumer protection; and 3) Planning and sustainability. The analysis of the
case studies included in the report reveals that most of the measures implemented refer to
‘fair competition’ and ‘consumer protection’ while measures on the field of ‘planning and
sustainability’ are somewhat lagging behind. In terms of governance, the examples studied
show that there is a wide diversity with regulations existing at national, state, regional or
local level or a combination of these. One of the key challenges identified in the analysis is
the enforcement of these rules and regulations. Implementation is often hindered by lack of
capacity, clear division of responsibilities and cooperation between the different responsible
entities. To create a regulatory environment that allows communities to benefit from the
opportunities offered by digital platforms while tackling issues of fair competition, safety and
security, consumer and workers protection, as well as sustainable destination planning and
management it is clear that it is imperative for stakeholders to strengthen their cooperation.
Standardization and industry voluntary norms can also be part of the national tourism plan
agenda. Standards serve a two-fold purpose: on one hand, they serve the industry by
providing companies of any size with a strategic tool that can reduce costs, satisfy
consumers, open access to new markets, improve environmental performance, and gain a

50
World Tourism Organization (2019), New Business Models in the Accommodation Industry – Benchmarking of
Rules and Regulations in The Short-term Rental Market, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284421084.
51
World Tourism Organization (2017), New Platform Tourism Services (or the so-called Sharing Economy) –
Understand, Rethink and Adapt, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284419081.
52
World Tourism Organization (2019), New Business Models in the Accommodation Industry – Benchmarking of
Rules and Regulations in The Short-term Rental Market, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284421084.

26
competitive edge in the sector they operate; on the other, clients have more confidence in
booking a service that meets an international standard.

Although of a voluntary nature not seeking to establish, drive or motivate public policy,
regulations, or social or political agendas, standards can certainly provide valuable support
to the implementation of public policy. In many cases, legislation or regulation include
references to standards and they are even used to support public policy decisions or actions.

Tourism policy makers can play a key role as promoters and leaders for the creation and
implementation of standards and engage in dialogue and initiatives with their national
member bodies with the aim to drive the development of such standards.

6.5. Measurement – ensuring evidence-based decisions

National, local and regional tourism policies should include monitoring and measurement
systems to ensure evidence-based planning and management of tourism and responsible
destination management in terms of resources and the impacts of growing tourism demand
on environmental and sociocultural in the local carrying capacity.

Statistical frameworks enable countries to produce data that is credible and comparable
across countries, time periods and other standards. The introduction of Tourism Satellite
Accounting (TSA)53, an initiative in which UNWTO has played a major role, has increased
the quantity and quality of data available to model the tourism economy, and has been
pivotal in assessing the position of tourism in the national economies. This has enabled
governments to quantify the potential value of tourism. The use of a TSA has a number of
potential benefits in the measurement of the economic impact of tourism.

Measuring the economic but also the sustainability of tourism is a key element for tourism
development and management. UNWTO has launched the initiative Towards a Statistical
Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST).54 By integrating tourism
within economic, social and environmental measurement standards, the framework aims to
provide a common language and organizing structure for exploiting the richness of data
already available and for more effective data production, management and integration. Such
a standards-based framework can further support the credibility, comparability and outreach
of various measurement and monitoring programmes pertaining to sustainable tourism,
including the derivation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators and those of
UNWTO’s International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). Overall, the
statistical framework from the MST will provide an integrated information base to better
inform on sustainable tourism, to facilitate dialogue between different sectors and to
encourage integrated, locally relevant decision making.

Local destinations can also advance the measurement and monitoring of tourism in order to
ensure sustainable development in a relevant and timely manner. In this regard, they are
encouraged to join the UNWTO Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories providing a

53
United Nations, Commission of the European Communities (EUROSTAT), World Tourism Organization and
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008) ‘Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended
Methodological Framework 2008’, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, 2010, available at https://www.e-
unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789211615203.

54
World Tourism Organization (2016), Measuring Sustainable Tourism: Developing a statistical framework for
sustainable tourism, UNWTO, Madrid, available at
http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/mstoverviewrev1.pdf.

27
framework for the systematic, timely and regular monitoring of resource-use and a better
understanding of the impact of tourism in nine areas – 1) seasonality; 2) employment; 3)
economic benefits; 4) governance; 5) local satisfaction; 6) energy management; 7) water
management; 8) waste water (sewage) management; and 9) solid waste management.

The International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO), created in 2004,

aims to support the continuous improvement of sustainability and resilience in the tourism
sector through systematic, timely and regular monitoring of tourism performance and impact
and to connect dedicated destinations in order to better understand destination-wide
resource use and foster the responsible management of tourism.

Through the systematic application of monitoring, evaluation and information management

techniques, the initiative provides policy makers, planners, tourism managers and other
relevant stakeholders with key tools to strengthen institutional capacities to monitor the
economic, environmental and social impact of tourism at the destination level and support
the formulation and implementation of sustainable tourism policies, strategies, plans and
management processes. Since the establishment in 2004, a total of 27 observatories have
joined the UNWTO INSTO Network: nine in China, one in Greece, one in Mexico, one in
Brazil, five in Indonesia, one in Croatia, two in the United States, one in New Zealand, one in
Portugal, one in Italy, one in Panama, one in Spain, one in Guatemala and one in Argentina
(as of August 2019).

CASE STUDY55
The Guanajuato State Sustainable Tourism Observatory, Mexico

The Guanajuato State Tourism Observatory (OTEG) joined the INSTO Network in 2015
under the auspices of the Secretariat or Tourism of Guanajuato (Mexico). The monitoring
area consists of the 46 municipalities of the State. The Observatory is a space for technical,
inter-sectoral, and inter-disciplinary analysis in which groups of different entities monitor,
measure and verify the evolution of the tourism sector in Guanajuato. The main objective of
OTEG is to measure the performance of the tourism sector in Guanajuato, recording
essential factors impacting its evolution.

The OTEG is part of the Secretariat of Tourism (SECTUR) of Mexico and is monitoring a
variety of different impacts related to tourism development through many indicators.
Monitoring areas include:
– Governance
– Demand
– Infrastructure
– Offer of services
– Host community satisfaction
– Attractiveness

55
World Tourism Organization, International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) -
Guanajuato State Tourism Observatory (OTEG) (2015), available at
http://insto.unwto.org/observatories/guanajuato-mexico/ (02-09-2019), and
th
World Tourism Organization, 13 UNWTO Awards Winners and Finalists (18 January 2017) - Strategies for
development of sustainable tourism in Guanajuato, Guanajuato Ministry of Tourism, Mexico, available at
http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/content/strategies-development-sustainable-tourism-guanajuato-guanajuato-
ministry-tourism-mexico (02-09-2019) and http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/content/strategies-development-
sustainable-tourism-guanajuato-guanajuato-ministry-tourism-mexico (02-09-2019).

28
CASE STUDY56
Croatia’s eVisitor – the national tourist information system

Established in 2016 by the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), eVisitor is an online
information system platform for tourism data management, a comprehensive database that
provides insights into tourism traffic and accommodation capacities (commercial and non-
commercial) in Croatia. It generates statistical reports and marketing indicators in real time
(i.e. length of stay, location, gender, age, country of residence, type of facility, destination,
etc.), which enables a more efficient monitoring of tourist traffic and revenues, allowing
better control over the collection of accommodation fees creating a synergistic effect of all
Croatian tourism stakeholders and contributes to ensuring their competitiveness.

The programme won the 3rd Prize of the 14th UNWTO Awards for Innovation in Tourism
under the category Research and Technology.

6.6. Tourism and women empowerment

Due to the significant horizontal and vertical segregation of occupations the gender gap is
often large in the tourism sector. Women are often over-represented in non-standard forms
of employment and low-skilled and unskilled women often find themselves in the most
vulnerable jobs, where they are more likely to experience poor working conditions, inequality
of opportunity and treatment, violence, exploitation, stress and sexual harassment. They
also suffer segregation in terms of access to education and training and are on average paid
20-25% less than male workers for comparable skills.57 The sector poses additional
challenges to reconcile work and family responsibilities for both women and men due to
organizational and structural characteristics. These include a highly variable demand cycle
with irregular working hours and unpredictable shifts.58 Yet, this flexibility may also constitute
an opportunity for those wanting to conciliate a job in tourism with another occupation.

Temporary and part time employment are some of the challenges facing tourism
employment. These are particularly prevalent among women, young people, and the less-
skilled. Aside from seasonal fluctuations, the main reasons are cost advantages, flexibility
and technological change. Yet, these forms of employment can also be beneficial to both
employers and employees if they can accommodate the needs of enterprises for flexibility,
while at the same time providing decent employment that enables workers to balance work
and personal responsibilities. But they can also lead to decent work deficits including
inadequate social security coverage, low wages and income inequality and poor working
conditions.59

Tourism policies are increasingly addressing gender-equality and in the public sphere,
policy-makers are waking up to the importance of gender equality in tourism putting
measures in place to ensure women fairly share the benefits that tourism can bring. Several
examples worldwide confirm this tendency and they are compiled in the second edition of
the ‘UNWTO Global Report on Women in Tourism’ in collaboration with UN Women,

56
World Tourism Organization, 14th UNWTO Awards Winners and Finalists (17 January 2018) - eVisitor -
Croatian national tourist information system, Croatian National Tourism Board, Croatia, available at
http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/content/14th-unwto-awards-winners-and-finalists (02-09-2019) and
http://marketintelligence.unwto.org/content/evisitor-croatian-national-tourist-information-system-croatian-national-
tourism-board-croati (02-09-2019)
57
Baum, T. (2013), International perspectives on women and work in hotels, catering and tourism, International
Labour Organization, Geneva.
58
Idem
59
International Labour Organization (2015) Non-standard forms of employment Report for discussion at the
Meeting of Experts on Non-Standard Forms of Employment, ILO, Geneva.

29
German Development Agency (GIZ), the World Bank Group and Amadeus, which will be
published in the Autumn of 2019 and will present the main findings on the contribution of
tourism to UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 – the empowerment of women and girls.

CASE STUDY60
South Africa’s targets to increase female participation in senior and managerial
positions in tourism

The Department of Tourism has set ambitious targets for female participation at senior and
management level employment within the sector as part of the Tourism Broad-Based Black
Economic Empowerment Code. In addition, the Department runs several established
women’s empowerment programmes across the country and Statistics South Africa collects
sex-disaggregated tourism data which facilitates wider gender-equality efforts in the country.

6.7. Tourism and regional development: making tourism work to fight regional
unbalances and depopulation

Tourism creates jobs in rural and remote areas, in which often it is one of the few viable
economic sectors, creating jobs directly but also through the restoration of traditional
activities in decay. As regional imbalances and depopulation are an increasing area of
concern, the development of rural tourism, gastronomy and wine tourism as well nature-
based tourism (mountain tourism, adventure tourism) can help to fixate population, create
new opportunities and revive local economies.

6.8. Tourism as a catalyst for inclusive growth

Integrated and inclusive policies and strategies are needed to expand local production in the
tourism supply chain, reinforce local capacities and remove barriers to trade. The
contribution of tourism to other economic sectors is to a great extent explained by its cross-
cutting and multifaceted nature, which places tourism in a unique position to catalyze its
effects among other sectors (food and agriculture, handicrafts, textiles and cosmetics, etc.
as well as many related service providers).

Tourism policies have a decisive role in the development of stronger linkages between
tourism and other economic sectors and into the local economies, (agribusiness, handicrafts,
textiles suppliers, etc.) maximizing local production in the supply chain, removing barriers to
trade, helping more suppliers of services and goods enter the tourism value chain and
expand opportunities for micro/small-scale entrepreneurs to start and operate tourism
business.

CASE STUDY 61
Slovenia’s Green Supply Chains

As Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana, prepared to assume the title of European Green Capital
2016, a study among local hoteliers and restaurants revealed that two main obstacles

60
World Tourism Organization and UN Women (2019, forthcoming), ‘Global Report on Women in Tourism,
Second Edition’, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420384.
61
Slovenia’s Green Supply Chains - Tourism for SDGs, a platform developed by UNWTO with the support of the
Swiss Confederation – Learn « Initiatives », available at http://tourism4sdgs.org/initiatives/green-supply-chains/
(02-09-2019).

30
prevented them from purchasing locally produced goods: price and complexity. In order to
resolve these issues, the Green Supply Chains project was launched in 2015. It aims to
increase the percentage of locally produced food and drinks available in hotels and
restaurants in and around Ljubljana by offering these stakeholders the possibility of
purchasing 100% locally produced foods and drinks via a uniquely managed, centralized and
easy-to-use online system. By 2017, the initiative had spread to the entire region of central
Slovenia, linking Ljubljana and 25 other municipalities.

The project enables tourism sector stakeholders, specifically hotels and restaurants, to
easily access local farmers, and vice versa, via a Rural Development Cooperative which
acts as a linkage between suppliers and buyers. Farmers, hotels and restaurants who wish
to participate in the project sign a formal contract with the Cooperative, obliging them to
either deliver or purchase locally produced goods. Seasonal offers are available online at
prices negotiated by the Cooperative on behalf of its members. This site enables members
to submit their daily/weekly orders. Goods are then delivered to their doorsteps.

The Green Supply Chains project was initiated by Ljubljana Tourism, hand in hand with the
Institute Factory of Sustainable Tourism, the NGO GoodPlace, the municipal Department of
Rural Development and the Jarina Rural Development Cooperative.

CASE STUDY 62
Programa ‘Al Turista, lo Nuestro’, Peru

The Peruvian initiative ‘al Turista, lo Nuestro’ seeks to boost a tourism supply which
incorporates regional quality products and services into the sustainable tourism value chain.
For this purpose, supply-demand research is conducted with the aim of identifying local
producers who can locally supply the market and sell their products to the tourism industries.

The programme encourages tourism service providers located in tourism destinations

prioritized by Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo (MINCETUR) to purchase products
directly from local farmers, agri-businesses, fish farms and craftsmen.

6.9. Tourism at the local level: destination management and smart destinations

Destination management consists of the coordinated management of all the elements that
make up a tourism destination. Destination management takes a strategic approach to link-
up these sometimes very separate elements for the better management of the destination.
Joined up management can help to avoid overlapping functions and duplication of effort with
regards to promotion, visitor services, training, business support and identify any
management gaps that are not being addressed.

As it has been already noted, tourism development takes place in a physical territory – the
tourism destination - and therefore, it is key that the institutional framework for tourism
adopts a vertical integration and national tourism policy makers include regional and/or local
Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) in their planning and managing process.

UNWTO definition of ‘Tourism destination’

62
Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo de Perú – Turismo, Líneas de Intervención, Turismo Inclusivo,
available at www.mincetur.gob.pe/programa-al-turista-lo-nuestro/ (02-09-2019)

31
A tourism destination is a physical space with or without administrative and/or analytical
boundaries in which a visitor can spend an overnight. It is the cluster (co-location) of
products and services, and of activities and experiences along the tourism value chain and a
basic unit of analysis of tourism. A destination incorporates various stakeholders and can
network to form larger destinations. It is also intangible with its image and identity which may
influence its market competitiveness.63

Destination management calls for a coalition of many organizations and interests working
towards a common goal, ultimately being the assurance of the competitiveness and
sustainability of the tourism destination. The DMO role should be to lead and coordinate
activities under a coherent strategy in pursuit of this common goal.

Though DMOs have typically undertaken marketing activities, their remit is becoming far
broader, to become a strategic leader in destination development. This is a vital ingredient
for success in every tourism destination and many destinations now have DMOs to lead the
way. From a traditionally marketing and promotion focus the trend is to become leading
organizations with a broader mandate which includes strategic planning, coordination and
management of activities within an adequate governance structure with the integration of
different stakeholders operating in the destination under a common goal. Destinations where
such an organization is not still in place are increasingly creating or plan to create a DMO as
the organizational entity to lead the way.

These developments stem from the urge to achieve an optimal management of the
destination which ensures that the various authorities, all relevant stakeholders and
professionals are coordinated by a leading entity under a coherent strategy and a collective
vision pursuing a common goal: the competitiveness and sustainability of the destination.
This approach should also engage the residents and the local community in the tourism
policy and decision-making process and its implementation in a truly Public (P) – Private (P)
– Community (C) approach.

DMOs are increasingly formulating and implementing strategies aimed at increasing the
competitiveness of their destinations through an enhanced and responsible use of their
natural and cultural attractions which ensures its sustainability in the long-term, the creation
of additional innovative resources and solutions, and improvements in the efficiency of their
production and distribution processes. The ultimate goal is to stimulate sustainable
consumption and production and facilitate visitors’ interaction with the destination and its
residents.

A step further in destination management is the concept of the smart destination, which is
founded on five pillars:
1. Governance;
2. Innovation;
3. Technology;
4. Accessibility; and
5. Sustainability.

The five pillars and the interaction among them are the cornerstone for the transformation of
a destination into a smart destination, and the DMO is at the centre of this transformation.

63
World Tourism Organization (2019), UNWTO Tourism Definitions, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420858.

32
Against this backdrop, and regardless of the level of decentralization of the administration,
national tourism policy makers increasingly need to be aware of the role of DMOs, not only
as responsible for marketing and promotion but as the leading organizational entity which
may encompass the various authorities, stakeholders and professionals and facilitates
partnerships towards a collective destination vision. Thus, the DMO emerges as a key player
in the development and management of tourism at destination level, although its mandate
and scope of action will be determined by its context, maturity of the destination, level of
decentralization, priorities in the destination, resources and other factors.

CASE STUDY64
Spain – UNE’s standards on Smart Tourism Destinations

The concept of a ‘Smart Territory’ is consolidated as one of the basic elements of innovation
strategies in territories, and is one of the priorities of the European Union's Horizon 2020
strategies65. The Spanish government is committed to position the country as a pioneer in
terms of innovation regarding smart territories, thanks to frameworks of reference to develop
the management of smart territories, structured around a set of standards created in the
Spanish Association for Standardization (UNE)66’s technical committee CTN 178 on Smart
Cities67.

With this in mind, the Spanish Secretariat of Tourism firmly promoted the definition of a
conceptual framework which would allow transform tourism destinations into the concept
‘Smart Destinations’ in alignment with the concept of ‘Smart Cities’ as set out in the National
Tourism Plan (Plan Nacional Integral de Turismo, PNIT) and the National Plan for Smart
Cities.

The Council of Ministers of Spain entrusted this task to SEGITTUR68, which in 2013
promoted the creation of the subcommittee 5 on Smart Destinations69 within UNE’s technical
committee CTN 178 on Smart Cities. This subcommittee is formed by 180 members from all
levels of public administration, institutions, universities and research centres, companies and
independent experts.

As a result of the work of this subcommittee chaired by SEGITTUR, UNE approved the
standards UNE178501 and UNE 178502 which establish the attributes and requirements for
a city to be considered as a Smart City and governs the Management System for Smart
Tourism Destinations. The evaluation of conformity for Smart Tourist Destinations, in
accordance with standards UNE 178501 and UNE 178502, focuses on innovation driving
mechanisms in tourism destinations, so that they can create differential and highly
competitive services, whilst guaranteeing the sustainable development of the tourist
destination, whereby it is accessible to all.

64
Sociedad Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas (SEGITTUR), Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain – Secretary of State of Tourism, available at
https://www.segittur.es/en/inicio/index.html (02-09-2019)
65
European Commission, European Union regional and urban development - Cities and urban development -
Smart cities: https://ec.europa.eu/info/eu-regional-and-urban-development/topics/cities-and-urban-
development/city-initiatives/smart-cities_en (02-09-2019)
66
The Spanish Association for Standardization, https://www.en.une.org/la-asociacion/historia (02-09-2019)
67
The Spanish Association for Standardization, Technical Standardisation Committees – Committee CTN
178/SC 5 – Touristic Smart Destinations, available at https://www.en.une.org/encuentra-tu-norma/comites-
tecnicos-de-normalizacion/comite/?c=CTN%20178/SC%205 (02-09-2019)
68
Sociedad Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas (SEGITTUR), Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain – Secretary of State of Tourism, available at
https://www.segittur.es/en/inicio/index.html (02-09-2019)
69
Asociación Española de Normalización (UNE) https://www.en.une.org/encuentra-tu-norma/comites-tecnicos-
de-normalizacion/comite/?c=CTN%20178/SC%205

33
The Sociedad Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas, S.A.
(SEGITTUR), attached to the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism of Spain and
reporting to the National Department of Tourism, is responsible for promoting innovation
(R+D+i) in the Spanish tourism industry, in both the public (new models and channels for the
promotion, management and creation of smart destinations and so on) and private sector
(support for entrepreneurs, new, sustainable and more competitive business models, export
of Spanish technology). SEGITTUR is leading the Smart Destinations project promoted by
the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, as part of the National Integrated
Tourism Plan (PNIT) 2012-2015. This project aims to improve the positioning of Spain as a
world tourism destination, seeking new mechanisms to boost innovation in the destinations
through the deployment and development of information and communication technologies in
order to create different and highly competitive services.

7. Recommendations

The contribution of tourism to socio-economic progress and the competitiveness of the

global economy is nowadays generally acknowledged. Nevertheless, the full potential of
tourism is not yet realized in all countries to the same degree and governments need to act
to help make this a reality by embracing tourism in their national policy agenda.
This is the main reason why tourism policies and planning are key factors for the
competitiveness of tourism and, at the same time, for turning tourism into a catalyst for
innovation, inclusivity and sustainable development and a driver of the competitiveness and
social progress of a country in benefit of all.

Below is a summary of recommendations for tourism policy and strategic planning:

Governance

 Create an adequate governance structure with the integration and cooperation of

different stakeholders under common goals. This approach should also engage the
private sector and the host communities in the tourism policy and decision-making
process and its implementation in a truly Public (P) – Private (P) – Community (C)
approach;

 Adopt a whole-government approach that promotes public/public cooperation and

establish interministerial mechanisms of cooperation to better coordinate policies and
foster the linkages between tourism and other policy areas (economy, trade,
transport, etc.);

 Promote public/public cooperation between national and local governments and

strengthen regional and local structures and understand the role and benefits of
having destination management organizations (DMOs) at local level.

Tourism and SDGs

34
  Align tourism policies and actions with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the SDGs to maximize tourism’s contribution to all the 17 Goals,
and in particular to the SDGs where tourism is specially included:

– Goal 8: decent work and economic growth;

– Goal 12: sustainable production and consumption; and
– Goal 14: life below water.

 Ensure that policies on Sustainable Consumption and Promotion (SCP) are

implemented and address the implementation gap between the formulation of
national tourism policies and action on the ground;

 Align tourism policies with the UNWTO Recommendations and the UNWTO Global
Code of Ethics for Tourism by translating its principles into national legislation and
regulation.

A changing world – tourism to lead the way

 Enhance the use of new technologies to better understand and manage the
increasing complexity of the sector, its challenges and trends, both from the demand
and the supply side, in order to plan and act accordingly;

 Evolve from marketing and promotion-geared targets to an integrated vision of

tourism development and management;

 Enhance education and training systems in order to build up highly qualified and well-
trained human resources in the public and private sectors and align tourism
education policies with current and future needs of the sector;

 Devise policies to promote and attract investments into the tourism sector and
notably to sustainable tourism development and develop finance instruments for
sustainable tourism investment projects and MSME and entrepreneurship support;

 Build capacity and create incentives for private sector research and development
(R&D) in sustainable technologies and innovation as well as their application in
business models of tourism companies;

 Create an appropriate and supportive legal and regulatory framework for the
sustainable development and management of tourism, the protection and
conservation of natural and cultural resources, the facilitation of the involvement of
private sector and local communities in tourism development and the creation of a
fair competitive business environment;

 Base tourism policies on data-driven decisions: measurement tools and the resulting
data are crucial for the formulation of sound and planned tourism policies;

 Design and implement a National Tourism Export Strategy (NTES) to reinforce

capacities and strengthen tourism value chains for enhanced local economic impact;

 Position tourism a leading sector for inclusive growth, women empowerment and
host communities integration, leaving no-one behind;

 Advocate for the compliance of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism;

35
  Increase awareness of the role of DMOs at regional and local levels.

The above measures will allow to develop a Tourism Policy that:

1. fosters the competitiveness and sustainability of the tourism sector and that of
tourism destinations;

2. is in line with the new changes shaping the sector;

3. places sustainability at its core and defines the necessary KPIs, measurement and
implementation mechanisms;

4. is holistic, national in scope and has a whole government approach;

5. defines clear governance models that include public-private sector partnerships,

public-public cooperation and community engagement;

6. that takes full account of the unique position of tourism as a catalyst for inclusive
growth and youth and women empowerment;

7. that embraces and advocates for the compliance of the principles of the Global Code
of Ethics for Tourism; and

8. is fully aligned and integrates the national strategies for the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.

METHODOLOGICAL NOTE: this position paper has been prepared by Ms. Patricia
Carmona, under the supervision of Ms. Sandra Carvao, from the UNWTO Department of
Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness (TMIC). It is based on desk research and
review of recent publications (mainly by UNWTO and other relevant bibliography by other
organizations) as well as data and national tourism master and marketing plans and policy
publicly available.

Disclaimer: This work has been prepared by the UNWTO Secretariat. The opinions
expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of
UNWTO member countries. This document, as well as any data and map included herein,
are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of
international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

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development-sustainable-tourism-guanajuato-guanajuato-ministry-tourism-mexico (02-09-
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World Tourism Organization and European Travel Commission (2017), Handbook on Key
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Employment in the Tourism Industries – Guide with Best Practices, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI:
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the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) (2011), Global Report on Women in Tourism
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Useful web sources:

Asociación Española de Normalización https://www.en.une.org/encuentra-tu-

Committee: CTN 178/SC 5 - norma/comites-tecnicos-de-
TOURISTIC SMART DESTINATIONS normalizacion/comite/?c=CTN%20178/SC%205
International Labour Organization www.ilo.org
Organization for Economic Co- www.oecd.org
operation and Development
Sustainable Development Goals – https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org
Knowledge Platform

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Tourism for SDGs, a platform http://tourism4sdgs.org/initiatives/green-supply-
developed by UNWTO with the support chains
of the Swiss Confederation
World Bank www.worldbank.org
World Tourism Organization www.unwto.org
World Travel and Tourism Council www.wttc.org

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