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STORY: UN / SUSTAINABILITY TOURISM
TRT: 02:19
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
16 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General, UN Tourism:
“In 2023, against all odds, we saw the remarkable recovery of the sector. This recovery must be as a catalyst for bold action and transformative change.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General, UN Tourism:
“For tourism, the difference between 2022 and now is significant. Our sector has bounced back from the biggest crisis in its history. Last year, international arrivals recovered almost 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. We now expect full recovery by the end of this year.”
6. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, United Nations:
“The sector employs one in every 10 people around the world. And with women holding 54 percent of those jobs – versus 39 percent in the broader economy – tourism provides an important vehicle for women’s empowerment. Its capacity to attract significant volumes of foreign direct investment and rapidly increase exports has made it an attractive and popular catalyst for development.”
8. Med shot, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, United Nations:
“But, with a country’s heavy dependence on tourism comes cost and huge potential risks. Despite the spectacular benefits reaped across its vast supply chains – tourism is also intrinsically susceptible to a host of disruptive forces – such as climate change, pandemics, acts of terrorism, and domestic political instability.”
10. Med shot, delegates
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, United Nations:
“Resilient infrastructure, sustainable transport, renewable energy, and relief from the unjust burden of exorbitant debt – are all essential to building sustainability and resilience in the global tourism sector.”
12. Med shot, delegates
Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of UN Tourism said, “In 2023, against all odds, we saw the remarkable recovery of the sector. This recovery must be as a catalyst for bold action and transformative change.”
At the High-level thematic event on tourism today (16 Apr), Pololikashvili said, “For tourism, the difference between 2022 and now is significant. Our sector has bounced back from the biggest crisis in its history. Last year, international arrivals recovered almost 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. We now expect full recovery by the end of this year.”
As one of the largest sectors in the world, tourism is a major driver of economic growth, and social and cultural development, as well as an important contributor to decent job creation and entrepreneurship for all.
It can be a great source of income for national economies and help eradicate poverty by creating employment opportunities, improving economic livelihoods in local communities, and facilitating socio-economic progress.
It can also advance the empowerment of women, and other disadvantaged groups including indigenous communities, as well as generate economic opportunities for youth and people living in remote areas, while preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly for the 78th Session noted, “The sector employs one in every 10 people around the world. And with women holding 54 percent of those jobs – versus 39 percent in the broader economy – tourism provides an important vehicle for women’s empowerment. Its capacity to attract significant volumes of foreign direct investment and rapidly increase exports has made it an attractive and popular catalyst for development.”
For many developing countries, the tourism sector is a major source of employment, foreign currency earnings, and tax revenues.
In small island developing states (SIDS), tourism accounts for nearly 35 percent of all exports, reaching in some cases as much as 80 percent of national exports.
Francis warned, “With a country’s heavy dependence on tourism comes cost and huge potential risks. Despite the spectacular benefits reaped across its vast supply chains – tourism is also intrinsically susceptible to a host of disruptive forces – such as climate change, pandemics, acts of terrorism, and domestic political instability.”
He concluded, “Resilient infrastructure, sustainable transport, renewable energy, and relief from the unjust burden of exorbitant debt – are all essential to building sustainability and resilience in the global tourism sector.”
