tourism's contribution to sustainable...

Expert Meeting on

TOURISM'S CONTRIBUTION

TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

14-15 March 2013

Sustainable tourism:

Contribution to economic growth and sustainable development

by

Taffere Tesfachew

Director, Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries

and Special Programmes, UNCTAD

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNCTAD

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Contribution to economic growth and sustainable development

Sustainable tourism

Taffere Tesfachew Director, Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes, UNCTAD 14 -15 March 2013 Geneva, Switzerland

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Given its size, the sector bears considerable potential for economic growth, diversification and structural transformation

Magnitude and relative importance

In 2011, the industry generated an estimated

!  5% of global GDP !  6 to 7% of the overall number of jobs worldwide

One billion tourists travelled internationally (2012)

The global perspective

!  tourism exports*, reached a record of $1,030 billion !  tourism sector ranked 4th in global exports: accounting for 30% of the world’s exports of commercial services, or 6% of total exports

of tourism industry

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Inbound tourism 1990 – 2011

400

600

800

1’000

1’200

200

1990 2000 1994 2004 2008 2010

International tourist arrivals (millions)

International tourism receipts (billion USD)

USD

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

International tourist arrivals (million)

International tourism receipts (billion dollars)

400

600

800

1’000

1’200

200

1990 2000 1994 2004 2008 2010



USD

UNWTO forecasts international tourist arrivals to increase by 3% to 4% in 2013.

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Magnitude and relative importance of tourism industry

400

600

800

1’000

1’200

200

1990 2000 1994 2004 2008 2010



USD

Women make up between 60-70% of the labour force, and half of the workers are aged 25 or younger

1 job in the core tourism industry creates about 1.5 additional or indirect jobs in tourism-related economic activities

Majority of tourism-related businesses in developing countries are micro or SMEs operating in the informal economy

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- Heterogeneities

- Sector grew considerably faster in developing countries than in developed economies

- Growing trend in intraregional travel (" increasing disposable income & travel being now relatively less expensive & easier)

- Top 10 countries with the highest growth rates in travel & tourism were all developing countries (WTTC, 2011)

- In some small island developing States, tourism accounts for over 25 % of GDP

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4.4

#0.3

#4.5

5.2 5.2

3.6

9.3

5.1

#3.1

8.2

4.9 4.6

#6

#4

#2

0

2

4

6

8

10

07/06 08/07 09/08 10/09 11/10 12/11.Year.to.date

Advanced.economies Emerging.economies

International tourist arrivals, 2006 –2012, by type of economy (Change, in %)

Source: UNWTO

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Potential role of tourism in economic growth and poverty reduction

Key sectors

- Agriculture - Manufacturing, construction, transport, utilities (including ICTs) - Infrastructure - Knowledge and technology transfer (TNCs/FDI)

Linkages

Backward and forward linkages

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Tourism Value Chain

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Potential role of tourism in economic growth and poverty reduction

Poverty reduction " Pro-poor impact of tourism development is not predominantly a

matter of size (i.e. tourist arrivals and tourism growth rate),

" but depends on how the poor are integrated in, or can become part of, the tourism value chain.

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Concerns and risks associated with tourism

Leakages Weak linkages means greater financial leakages

Sociocultural concerns

Environmental damage

Possibly the most pressing negative impact of tourism

Tourism is energy- and water-consuming, produces large amounts of waste and affects cultural heritage by attracting large crowds of people to cultural heritage sites

Damage to cultural heritage

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Towards sustainable tourism

Some elements for consideration:

(a) Clustering (b) Linkages with local suppliers of goods and services (c) Skills and human resources development (d) Access to finance and investment (e) Promotion and marketing (f)  Protection and conservation of cultural heritage (g)  Institutional framework & mainstreaming of tourism in national policies

Need for: " A Strategy that takes into account: Economic, Environmental, Social and Cultural Factors

" A Policy Agenda at national and ntenational Levels

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Key questions

What are the specific features of tourism that lend themselves to domestic capacity-building and economic development, and are particularly relevant to poverty reduction? What are the negative aspects of tourism that require policymakers to pay extra attention in formulating policies and strategies for tourism development?

How can governments attract adequate levels of investment to build supply capacities, develop effective linkages between tourism and various other sectors, and, at the same time, address economic leakage and anticompetitive practices in the tourism industry?

Given that tourism-related activities rely on the development of infrastructure, preservation of the environment and cultural heritage sites, supply of energy and water, and other factors, how can tourism as an economic activity be made sustainable?

What are the policies and strategies that governments need to pursue to promote sustainable tourism and to ensure that tourism contributes to sustainable development?

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