10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme Annual Magazine 2016/2017 – Advancing towards a Clear North
Content submitted by UNWTO – Grace
Submited Date : 06/07/2018
Annual Magazine cover - "Advancing towards a clear North"

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are guiding our common action towards a better world. The key role of sustainable tourism is explicitly mentioned in three of the 17 goals, yet the contribution of the tourism sector to the 2030 Agenda is much wider. This year of 2017, declared by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, recognizes the potential for sustainable tourism to advance all 17 Goals, from gender equality to the fight against climate change or the end of poverty. With international tourist arrivals forecast to reach 1.8 billion in 2030, the greatest challenge for the tourism sector is to shape this growth so it contributes to environmental conservation, resource efficiency and cultural preservation while creating inclusive economic opportunities. In response to this challenge, the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production was created in 2014 to blend the expertise, technical capacity and reach of governments, NGOs, international organizations, business, academia and consumer organizations. The programme’s principal aim of accelerating the shift to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns represents a new North for the tourism sector, enhancing its contribution to the SDGs on water, energy, climate change, oceans and land as well as its direct contribution to SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production.