UNWTO welcomes the decision of the Second T.20 Ministers’ Meeting, held in Bueyo, Republic of Korea (11-13 October), to convey to the President of the Republic of Korea in his capacity as Chair of the forthcoming G-20 Seoul Summit, the message that: “Tourism can make an important contribution to the initiatives that the G-20 is undertaking to achieve shared growth beyond crisis, particularly in terms of global job creation and the development agenda. The tourism sector stands ready to work towards the common objectives of strong, sustainable and balanced growth”.
“UNWTO is very happy to support this initiative and believes that the outcome of the second T.20 Ministers’ Meeting is a major step towards our common objective of mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda. Given its ability to create employment and generate development across the whole economy, tourism is well positioned to contribute to the current challenge of achieving sustained and fair growth,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
The T.20 initiative was created in close connection with the UNWTO Roadmap for Recovery approved during the last UNWTO General Assembly (Kazakhstan, October 2009) as the strategic response of the tourism sector to the challenge of the economic crisis. The Roadmap’s core message that tourism is a driver of job creation and economic growth is now being taken by the T.20 to high level fora such as the G-20.
In advancing its objectives, the T.20 further agreed to “continue to work together to share information and best practices as well as to strengthen the analytical base that underpins the economic and development case for tourism. In doing so, it will count on the full support of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and other international organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) or the International Trade Centre (ICT) ”.
The T.20 Ministers’ Meeting is a member-driven initiative, with the full support of UNWTO.
