29 January 2009
UNWTO Tourism Resilience Committee Stresses Need for “Smart Tourism”
28 January 2009: At the first Meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Tourism Resilience Committee, which convened on 28 January 2009, in Madrid, Spain, participants discussed the need for the sector’s short-term response to the economic down-turn to be aligned with long-term commitments to sustainable development, poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation.
Speaking at the meeting, UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General Geoffrey Lipman called on member States and the sector to strive for “smart tourism,” which he defined as clean, green, ethical and quality at all levels of the service chain. He underlined that the green economy approach is well suited to the tourism sector, noting that many green tourism jobs could be created. [UNWTO Press Release]
