Madrid, Spain, 23 July 2018 - Promoting a greater engagement of the tourism sector with sustainable development is the main objective of the Tourism for SDGs Platform. The online tool is designed to advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through tourism, and was developed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute an ambitious global agenda for people, planet, prosperity and peace through partnerships. The SDGs aim to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and solve climate change by 2030. The economic relevance of tourism, representing up to 10% of the world’s GDP and employment, makes harnessing its full potential essential for the advancement of the SDGs.

Tourism4SDGs.org is a co-creation space that allows users to access a wide range of resources, add their own initiatives, findings and projects, motivate discussion and collaboration, and share content related to tourism and sustainable development.

“Tourism plays a vital role in many, if not all, of the 17 Goals”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. “Tourism has come of age as a cross-cutting economic activity with deep social ramifications, and the Tourism for SDGs Platform is providing the global tourism community with a space to co-create and engage to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, he added.

“Switzerland strongly supports this platform as it will allow a focus on the three main components of sustainable tourism: its economic, environmental and social dimensions,” said Ambassador Raymund Furrer of SECO.

The platform’s three main features act as a call for action. Learn, Share and Act, the three levels of interaction at Tourism4SDGs.org, aim not only to educate but also to encourage conversation and collaboration towards a sustainable tourism sector. 

The platform was launched during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies’ (New York, 9-18 July) during an event co-hosted by UNWTO and the One Planet network.