Tourism is a major activity with characteristics that make it particularly valuable as an agent for development. Developing countries however face a particular fragility in their natural, economic, social and human environments which could jeopardize the sector’s dynamism and beneficiary qualities.
With such a significant potential for development, the need for a sustainable approach to tourism in developing countries to promote growth in the long term while maintaining a balanced use of resources is imperative…

The Guidebook “Sustainable Tourism for Development” has been carried out by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the financing of the European Commission Directorate-General Development and Cooperation, within the framework of the project “Enhancing capacities for Sustainable Tourism for Development in Developing Countries”.

The European Commission (Directorate General Development and Cooperation – DG DEVCO/ EuropeAid) requested UNWTO to prepare a Guidebook on Sustainable Tourism as an engine for development, trade in services, job creation and poverty reduction. The Guidebook seeks to enhance the understanding of tourism in all its dimensions and describe how the sector relates to the EU Agenda for Change. This enables EU services in Brussels and the EU Delegations in 180 countries, as well as other development institutions, to include sustainable tourism development in their programme cycles. The guidebook was tested in six developing countries (Botswana, India, Kenya, Vietnam, Senegal and Timor-Leste) and was publicly launched on the 27th of June 2013 in Brussels, Belgium.

The Guidebook takes a comprehensive approach to tourism, covering a wide range of topics relating to its planning, development, management and impact. By working through the whole document, users can identify priorities for intervention across a spectrum of issues.