Wazzup Pilipinas!
We,
the representatives of tourism, economic, environmental and other related
administrations, statistical institutes, international and regional
organizations, the private sector, the academia and civil society, gathered at
the 6th UNWTO
International Conference on Tourism Statistics: Measuring Sustainable Tourism,
organized by the Government of the Philippines and the World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) on 21-24 June
2017 in Manila, the Philippines, and on the occasion of the International Year
of Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017:
1.
Acknowledge
that sustainable tourism contributes to the three dimensions of sustainable
development
–
economic, social and environmental – and to the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) of the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as
affirmed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly when announcing the
adoption of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, 20171.
2.
Draw attention to the fact that tourism has become one of the
fastest growing and most important economic sectors in the world, benefiting
destinations and communities worldwide. With over 1.2 billion international
overnight visitors and many more domestic visitors in 2016, the sector
represents approximately 10% of the world’s GDP and 1 in 10 jobs globally. This
growth comes with the need to uphold the foundations of prosperity for tourism
destinations: the rich natural resources of our planet and its diverse cultural
heritage.
3.
Recall that sustainable tourism is defined as “tourism that
takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental
impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and
host communities"2. Sustainable tourism should thus make optimal use of
environmental resources, respect host communities and ensure viable, long-term
economic operations so that benefits are equitably distributed among all
stakeholders.
4.
Recognize that sustainable tourism drives inclusive economic
growth and social development by promoting entrepreneurship, creating jobs and
fighting poverty, and can also encourage environmental protection, cultural
heritage preservation, and stronger peace and mutual understanding around the
world, whilst leaving no one behind.
5.
Recall that with the adoption of several UN General Assembly
resolutions on the importance of sustainable tourism as a tool for development3 the need to
better understand and track progress towards a sustainable global tourism
sector is more pressing now than ever.
6.
Are mobilized by the strong conviction that credible and
comprehensive data on sustainable tourism is key for effective evidence-based
policies and management in order to surmount current challenges and capitalize
on opportunities thereof.
7.
Appreciate the achievements made in tourism measurement over
the past decades, in particular the two official UN statistical standards for
measuring tourism adopted in 2008: the International
Recommendations for Tourism Statistics
20084 and the Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended
Methodological
Framework 20085. Together, these statistical frameworks enable countries to
produce data that is credible and
comparable –across countries, over time and in concert with other standards.
These frameworks help integrate and organize data for the purposes of deriving
indicators such as tourism GDP.
8.
Advocate for the development of a Statistical Framework for
Measuring Sustainable Tourism (MST Framework) that extends these frameworks
beyond their economic focus in order to incorporate environmental, social and
cultural dimensions, across spatial levels (global, national and sub-national)
and pay attention to temporal considerations.
9.
Strongly believe that developing and implementing a MST
Framework is the critical next step in understanding, analysing and supporting
universal, cross-sectoral, sustainable tourism policies and practices that work
from an integrated, coherent and robust information base.
10.
Underline
that the benefits of an MST Framework for decision makers and other
stakeholders include:
a.
The provision of a common language for discussing sustainable
tourism within the tourism sector and with other key policy areas such as
planning, industry, infrastructure, environment, social affairs, finance and
central banks;
b.
The capacity to compare the performance of the tourism sector
and the impacts of different policies on a consistent basis with other sectors
and in different destinations and countries;
c.
The provision of a basis for improving co-ordination in data
collection and compilation, as well as for improving institutional arrangements
for the governance and management of statistics on sustainable tourism;
d.
The provision of a single, coherent and comprehensive picture
of the state of sustainable tourism and its trends, in all its dimensions and
across all spatial scales.
11.
Welcome the preliminary draft of the MST Framework as a launch
pad with which to further the global discussion, and appreciate the significant
progress achieved to date through pilot studies and other relevant work at
international, national and subnational, including local levels, presented at
this Conference. This reaffirms our conviction that an MST Framework is not
only highly relevant but also feasible and most welcome.
12.
Emphasize that information from the Framework will improve our
ability to inform on vital and urgent policy questions on sustainable tourism;
including questions such as:
How can the use of energy, water and other resources be
optimized?
What
are the trends in land use (including water and coastal areas) for tourism
purposes? What is the waste water and solid waste resulting from tourism
activity and how is it dealt with? What is the impact of visitors on cultural
and heritage sites and how do they affect their preservation?
How
to plan infrastructure needs with regards to transport, water, energy,
treatment of waste and wastewater due to changing tourism patterns?
How is the tourism concentration in mature destinations evolving
over time? How do local communities benefit from tourism and how are they
impacted by it?
What
activities are being undertaken by tourism industries to maintain protected
areas and other natural features (national parks, beaches) in good condition?
How
does the environmental performance of the tourism sector compare to other
sectors?
13.
Acknowledge that designing and implementing an MST Framework is
a priority in the context of measuring progress towards achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in response to the needs of
governments and tourism stakeholders.
14. Recall that
the United Nations recognizes UNWTO as the appropriate organization to collect,
analyze, publish, standardize and improve the statistics of tourism globally,
and to promote the integration of these statistics within the sphere of the UN
system6.
15.
Appreciate the work of UNWTO as the leading UN Specialized
Agency for tourism in leading the development of an MST Framework through the
Working Group of Experts on Measuring Sustainable Tourism, under the auspices
of the UNWTO Committee on Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account, and in
close cooperation with relevant partners and experts.
16.
Welcome
the support from the UN Statistical Commission7, the highest decision-making body in statistics globally, in
developing a Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainable Tourism that
includes indicators for sustainable tourism, measurement at sub-national level
and pilot projects, as well as the development of a compilation guide for the
Tourism Satellite Account and a technical note linking the Tourism Satellite
Account and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting.
17.
Call upon all actors to facilitate the necessary means and
resources for the development and subsequent in-country implementation of the
MST Framework, note the opportunities to tap into the richness of data
currently available and identifying gaps for producing any additional data that
may be needed.
18.
Stress the need for building capacity towards measuring
sustainable tourism, taking into account the constraints and challenges of
implementing statistical systems in developing countries.
19.
Recognize that with regard to data collection all possible
sources should be taken into account, including census, survey-based,
administrative and big data.
20.
Encourage that the Statistical Framework for Measuring
Sustainable Tourism be presented to the United Nations Statistical Commission
for its consideration in the UN Statistical Commission’s fifty-first session,
to be held in 2020.
21.
Emphasize that, beyond being a technical exercise, the
development and implementation of an MST Framework is a strategic and ongoing
endeavour, requiring wide and consistent stakeholder engagement, collaboration,
inter-institutional coordination and political leadership.
22.
Welcome the establishment by UNWTO of a special funding
mechanism through voluntary contributions for the purpose of further
development and implementation of the Statistical Framework for Measuring
Sustainable Tourism8.
During
this 6th International Conference on Tourism Statistics: Measuring Sustainable Tourism in Manila, Philippines, we unite
political commitment and gather technical expertise to call for the development and implementation
of the Statistical Framework for Measuring Sustainable Tourism that
includes economic, environmental and
social dimensions across relevant spatial levels (global, national and
subnational). We call upon other governments and administrations at national
and sub-national levels, international organizations, academia, private sector
organizations and civil society to join our efforts.
We
extend our sincere gratitude to our host, the Government of the Philippines,
for its warm hospitality and excellent support and arrangements for the organization
of the Conference, as well as its significant contribution to advancing the
sustainable tourism agenda as a driver for sustainable development.
Manila, Philippines, 23 June 2017
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
