The United Nations has named 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, building on references to tourism in three of the Sustainable Development Goals, and recognizing its contribution across all the SDGs. The designation presents an opportunity both to understand the existing impact of tourism on development, and to explore partnerships that might ensure that tourism — and the vast sums of money spent on it each year, such as $1.2 trillion in tourist spending in 2015 — benefits developing countries.
Less than 1 percent of official development assistance is allocated to tourism globally, but the development community is uniquely positioned to move the sector toward inclusive growth, and to mobilize private sector investment in tourism that promotes the SDGs
This is an excerpt from an article first published on Devex. Read the original here.
