G20 leaders urged to prioritise tourism

The World Tourism Organization joined the tourism ministers of the G20 economies meeting in Buenos Aires this week in calling upon the G20 leaders to consider including tourism in their agenda for its capacity to create more and better jobs.

In his meeting with the president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, and current G20 Chair, UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, stressed the capacity of tourism to create jobs and the need to advance the adaptation of the sector to the digital transformation.

The 8th Meeting of the tourism ministers of the G20 economies was held in Buenos Aires on April 17 under Argentina’s presidency of the G20 with a focus on tourism’s leading role in sustainable development: a driver for employment.

The meeting focused on how tourism can embrace innovation and technology, foster new skills development to create new decent jobs.

“We need to promote the role that tourism has in shaping the future of our world as the sector that will create more jobs in the coming decade” said Argentine Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos.

Ambassador Daniel Raimondi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, stressed the future of work as one of Argentina’s G20 priorities and its link to tourism, a sector which is key to create jobs, develop infrastructure and exports.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, in his opening remarks to the meeting, said, “Let us embrace the technological revolution and unleash its potential to create more and better jobs in our sector, making tourism a true pillar of the G20 objectives of inclusive and sustained growth.”

The ministers agreed on considering the following:

– Encouraging policies that promote full and productive employment and facilitate the progress of innovation in tourism and foster the creation of decent jobs, sustainable enterprises and entrepreneurship, in particular among women and the youth;

– Establishing favorable frameworks to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship and connect ecosystems linking start-ups, main companies, investors and governments along the tourism value chain;

– Creating cooperation mechanisms between educational institutions at all levels, the private sector, governments and technology partners to review educational programmes and skills development policies;

– Considering the importance of SMEs in the tourism, heritage and cultural sectors due to their contribution to job creation as well as their role in preserving and promoting cultural resources; and

– Promoting the use of digital technology to facilitate travel as well as involving technology stakeholders in national tourism policies.

In 2016, G20 countries received 904 million international tourist arrivals, which generated over $1 trillion or 6.3% of all G20 exports.

The government of Japan will host the 9th Meeting of the Tourism Ministers of the G20 economies in Kutchan, Hokkaido, in 2019.

© Asia Travel Tips