The UN General Assembly has proclaimed February 17 as Global Tourism Resilience Day, calling on Member States to develop strategies for rehabilitation after disruptions to the industry, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual celebration aims to “emphasise the need to foster resilient tourism development to deal with shocks, taking into account the vulnerability of the tourism sector to emergencies”. The UN has said that private-public cooperation and the diversification of activities and products needed to be a key part of national strategies to bolster resilience.
The resolution adopted by the UN was drafted by the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council (GTTRC), in collaboration with the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre.
More than 25 private sector associations including Iata, the World Travel and Tourism Council, Travalyst, the Business Travel Association, the Latin American Travel Association, the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers have endorsed the proposal.
“The day will remind countries and businesses in travel and tourism to focus on how you respond to crises, how you recover quickly, and how you will grow. That is what resilience is all about,” said GTTRC co-chair and Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.
The GTTRC will run annual events and campaigns leading up to February 17, to remind the public and private sectors to focus on preparedness, sustainability, recovery and resilience.
The UN has recognised the importance of sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, as a “cross-cutting activity that can contribute to the three dimensions of sustainable development by fostering economic growth, alleviating poverty, creating full and productive employment and decent work for all.”
