La COVID-19 et la reprise économique verte: quels rôles pour le tourisme durable?

Concept Note

Introduction

Tourism accounts for up to 40% and 70% of GDP in developing countries and small islands economies, respectively, and has strong linkages with other sectors that contribute to economic growth, including  agriculture, fishing, industry and services in general. In 2019, tourism accounted for 7% of global trade and represented the third largest export category. The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, including border closures and other restrictions on movement, has had a direct impact on the tourism sector, affecting the livelihoods of millions of people and public services on all continents.

The health and economic crises have given an opportunity to rethink how tourism can better interact with our natural resources and ecosystems, shifting towards a tourism sector that is more resilient, resource-efficient and carbon neutral. As part of the recovery from COVID-19, it is necessary to foster green investments for protected areas, renewable energy, “smart” and more ecological buildings, and the circular economy, allowing for the development of a more sustainable and inclusive tourism sector.

Today, more than ever, it is of vital importance to diversify the tourism sector and to align it closely to the Sustainable Development Goals, including interlinkages with environmental goals. Climate change is one of the many factors that affect tourism demand, especially for small island states (SIDs), which are vulnerable to rising sea levels. Hence, a global response boosted by appropriate domestic policies must be coordinated at the multilateral level, to support the millions of livelihoods that rely on tourism. This sector needs to build a new, more sustainable model to ensure a resilient and inclusive economic growth.

Given the importance of tourism in international trade, this event aims to contribute to the exchange of information between different stakeholders on how to use tourism as a recovery strategy from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to pave the way towards greater tourism sustainability.

Objectives

The main objective of the high-level panel discussion is the knowledge exchange on 'Building Back Better in Tourism'. With the objective of a responsible recovery of tourism, the panel of experts will exchange insights on how to improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the tourism sector through, in particular, responsible trade and investment. Achieving sustainable tourism requires constant monitoring of impacts moving away from traditional measures to new indicators that include the environmental and social dimension in addition to the economic measurement.

Agenda

Participation

The meeting is open to WTO Members, international organisations, including specialised agencies, intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organisations, academia and the private sector.

Format

The event will be limited to 1 hour and 40 minutes and will be hosted by on the Zoom platform. Mr. Hoe Lim will open the meeting, followed by a keynote address delivered by H.E. Mr. Chad Blackman of Barbados and H.E. Dr. Asim Ahmed of the Maldives. Mr. Dale Honeck will then introduce the panel. The four panelists will make their presentations: Ms. Zoritsa Urosevic, Ms. Constanza Olaya Cantor, Dr. Sue Snyman, and Mr. Anders Aeroe, followed by a commentary by Mr. Dale Honeck. Afterwards, four speakers will be given the opportunity to intervene from the audience – Mr. Peter Haxton, Ms. Kim Kampel, Mr. Boopen Seetanah and Dr. Sheereen Fauzel.

A maximum of 10 minutes will be allocated for questions and answers from the floor. Participants may request the floor during the meeting.

Background Publications

• Ms. Uruashi Narain, Lead Economist at the World Bank
  World Bank report
• Ms. Cristina Arbelaez Restrepo – Vice Ministry of tourism Colombia
  Executive summary of Colombia’s Sustainable Tourism Policy