‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’ is the theme for World Tourism Day 2021.
“To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tourism is a big source of income for the Indian economy as India has a rich diversity, golden history, cultural beauty, and many wonderful sights to show to the world. World Tourism Day is celebrated on 27 th September every year. Whereas in India celebrates 25th January of each year as the National Tourism Day to spread awareness about the role played by tourism in the growth of our economy.
UNWTO which stands for United Nations World Tourism Organizations. UN specialized and leading organization in the area of Travel and Tourism. UNWTO is formed in 1975, and its headquarter is in Madrid, Spain. This agency is responsible for the "promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. At present it has 159 member states and five hundred affiliate members around the globe.
History of UNWTO
The history of UNWTO dates back to the year 1920 when the “International Congress of Official Tourist Traffic Associations (ICOTT)” was established at The Hague, the Netherlands. The origin can also be linked to “International Union of Official Tourist Publicity Organizations (IUOTPO)”, although the UNWTO states that “the ICOTT became the International Union of Officials Tourist Publicity Organizations first in 1934”. After the brief discontinuity during the Second World War an International Conference was held in London that gave birth to The International Union of Official Travel Organization (IUOTO) in the year 1947 and IUOTO was finally transformed into an Intergovernmental organization called World Tourism Organization on January 2 1975. The headquarters was established in Madrid, Spain in January 1976. The resolution for setting up the headquarters was already taken in the first General Assembly of the WTO. The UN General Assembly decided to add UN before the World Tourism Organization in order to differentiate between World Trade Organization and World Tourism Organization. Finally, the organization was renamed as UNWTO on December 1 2005.
Promoting tourism as the driver for economic growth is the main work of this agency. While it offers leadership and support to the tourism sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide, it promotes sustainable development and environmental sustainability. The UNWTO is an apex body in the field of tourism and it works with different governments on matters relating to tourism policy issues on a global basis. It provides a practical source of tourism knowledge and statistics for planners, researchers and academics alike. The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism were enforced by UNWTO to promote the sustainability in tourism operations. UNWTO aims to maximize the benefits of tourism to the society and economy of nations while minimizing the negative impacts of it.
Aims and Objectives of UNWTO
Following are the aims and objectives of UNWTO:
- Promotion and development of sustainable tourism that can contribute to the economy of countries
- International understanding to bring peace and prosperity
- Development of universal respect for tourism
- Working towards protection of basic freedom and human rights of citizens without any discrimination based on region, religion, language, race, or sex.
Functions of UNWTO
To accomplish the objectives, the UNWTO functions in the following six main areas:
1. Improving competitiveness in tourism industry
2. Promoting sustainable development
3. Promoting tourism for poverty reduction and development
4. Bringing up knowledge, education and capacity building
5. Creating partnership and mainstreaming
6. Achieving tourism which should be responsible, sustainable and universally accessible.
Activities of UNWTO
The UNWTO plays a vital role in development and promotion of tourism worldwide. It, therefore, undertakes a number of projects and activities for promoting and developing tourism, such as:
To conduct research related to the tourism market, industry, physical and financial planning and development, promotion and marketing, economic analysis and techniques.
To disseminate the data, research and study findings on various fields of tourism to its members.
To conduct studies about tourism trends, changes in the world economic and social conditions and their effects on tourism.
To conduct studies about the fluctuations in the market and preparing and maintaining standards within tourism sector.
To conduct courses and vocational training programmes aiming at human resource development especially in the developing countries.
To prepare drafts of international agreements on tourism.
To carryout systematic collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics and other data on various aspects of tourism.
To function like a data source to disseminate available information related to international, regional and domestic tourism; including statistics, legislation and policies, facilities.
To build a consortium of legislation, regulations and documents on all aspects of travel of various countries.
To work with different governments and competent specialized bodies in simplification of formalities for international travel and to remove barriers for the free movement between countries.
To organize international conferences, conventions, seminars, workshops, symposiums and meetings on contemporary aspects of tourism.
Structure of UNWTO
The UNWTO works through its various subsidiaries, having well defined responsibilities fixed for such subsidiaries.
1. General Assembly: It is a composition of full members and associate members. It is a congregation of members to meet on a periodic basis of every two years to approve the amendments in policies, finalization budget and programme for the entire period. Contemporary and relevant issues are debated and discussed in it. The Affiliate Members and representatives of other International Organizations attend the General Assembly as observers. General Assembly elects a general secretary in every four years. Subsidiary organ of the general assembly is the “world committee on tourism ethics”.
2. Executive Council: This works as governing board for the UNWTO. This Council consists of full members elected by the General Assembly at a ratio of one member for every five. Representatives such as ‘One’ of Associate Members and ‘One’ of Affiliate Members represent the issues of their group. The Council ensures that the organization carries out its work and adheres to its budget. Spain as the host of UNWTO has a permanent seat in the Executive Council. The Council works in consultation with the Secretary General and it works towards the implementation of the resolutions in the General Assembly. The Council meets at least twice a year. There are some subsidiary organs created by Executive Council which meet on a regular basis to discuss the matters which fall within their jurisdictions and they report to the Council of the same. “The subsidiary organs are :
Technical Committee for
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
COMMITTEES
SECRETARIAT
Programme and Coordination (TCPC), Committee on Budget and Finance(CBF), Facilitation Committee, Environment Committee, Sub-Committee for the review of applications for affiliate membership, Sub Committee on Statistics and Joint WTOIATA Working Party”
3. Committees. There are some specialized Committees of UNWTO members and the task of these committees is to advise the Executive Council on management and policies. The specialized committees are: The Programme Committee, The Committee on Budget and Finance, the Committee on Statistics and The Tourism Satellite Account, The Committee on Market and Competitiveness, the Sustainable Development of Tourism Committee, the World Committee on Tourism Ethics, The Committee on Poverty Reduction and the Committee for the Review of Applications for Affiliate Members.
4. Secretariat: The Secretariat of the organization is consisted of the Secretary General and the Staff Members. It is responsible for implementing the UNWTO’s programme of work and serving the needs of members. The responsibility of Secretary General is to carry out the general policy and work programme of the organization as directed by the General Assembly and the Executive Council. The Secretary General’s duty is to ensure the legal representation of the organization. The group is led by the Secretary General who supervises about 110 full-time staff at UNWTO’s Madrid headquarters. A full-time Executive Director supports and assists the Affiliate Members. The Secretariat has a Regional Support Office for Asia-Pacific in Osaka, Japan which is financed by the Japanese Government.
Members of UNWTO.
1. Affiliate Members: Public and private organizations working in the field of tourism can become Affiliate Members of UNWTO. These organizations contribute to the UNWTO in promotion and development of responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism. The members of the board meet at least twice a year. The organizational structure of affiliate members include mainly two organs such as: The Plenary: In this the Affiliate Members are represented and it consists of all the membership with each having voice and vote & The Board of the Affiliate Members: It is an advisory organ to the UNWTO Secretary General. It is responsible for the alignment of its members to the overall goals, mission and general programme. It also helps in the design and implementation of the policies of the Affiliate Members programme.
2. State Members: There are 156 State Members of UNWTO worldwide. It has 6 Associate Members and 2 Observers.
Regions of UNWTO.
There are six regions of UNWTO namely Africa, the Americas, East Asia, the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. There are different regional programmes for different regions which are held considering mission and objectives of these regions.
1. Regional Programme for Africa.
The mission of Regional Programme for Africa is to support and assist UNWTO African members. It also helps the stakeholders to develop the tourism industry in all spheres of sustainable development be it economic or social development. It ensures the members get full benefit from the services provided by the organization. There are objectives of the programme which are meant for the particular region. The objectives for Africa region are as follows:
To ensure the implementation of the programme within African region.
To work as a link between the Member States and The Secretariat through which all local, regional and national tourism needs and concerns are communicated.
To make the African countries more competitive, it strengthens the institutional capacity in various domains such as HRD, ICT, MARKETING AND PROMOTION, statistics and sustainable development of tourism.
To contribute to poverty reduction through the UNWTO ST-EP (Sustainable tourism- Eliminating Poverty) initiative.
To strengthen the presence of UNWTO in the region by increasing full and affiliate membership in the continent.
2. Regional Programme for the Americas.
The mission of “The Programme for The Americas” of UNWTO is to ensure that its members get full benefits from the transfer of technology generated by the activities done in the region and to enhance the quality and efficiency of development. It focuses on the needs of the local authorities and enterprises and National Tourism Administrations in the region. Topics and courses related to the tourism industry are also discussed in seminars and conferences.
There are two main objectives of Regional Programme for America the first one is Technical Cooperation Programme which helps the governments in the formulation of tourism policies and strategies, development of new product, marketing and HRD. Based on the policy of sustainability the programme concentrates on master planning at all levels such as founding tourism institutes, preparing marketing programmes, building national capacity for project management, strengthening the role of parliament in forming tourism policies and the economic measurement of the tourism. Thedevelopment of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) helps in managing all such planning. The second one is the Sectoral Support Mission which is for shorter duration and works on the specific request of member countries in identifying, evaluating and describing specific technical assistance needs and provides policy advice in formation of project proposals. Funds for such mission are released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) or some other bilateral or multilateral financing agencies.
3. Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific
This programme is restricted to the geographic region of Asia and the Pacific. The Regional Programme for Asia and The Pacific is the operational arm of world tourism organization. Its task is to implement general programme of work of UNWTO within the region. It is a direct link of UNWTO through which Member States are communicated to the Secretariat on the local, regional, and national needs and concerns for tourism development. It has got some objectives to perform within the region:
To bring up partnerships between private sector, government agencies and educational institutions by organizing seminars, conferences and workshops on contemporary tourism issues.
To support and assist Member States for promotion, management and development of the tourism industries so that Asia and the Pacific Region could maintain its endeavor in growth of tourism.
To increase full and affiliate membership of countries and private sectors in the region.
To promote the UNWTO ST-EP (Sustainable tourism- Eliminating Poverty) initiatives and make endeavors towards the UN Millennium Development Goals for the benefit of countries within Asia and the Pacific Region.
To supply with information and news and activities of UNWTO in the region and to its members.
To make different plans such as tailor- made contingency plan, crisis management plan in order to establish tourism – oriented warning system network which could be tapped by Member States when needed.
To establish networks of academicians, industry representatives and government officials in the region for the production of periodical Asia-Pacific market trends report.
4. Regional Programme for Europe
The mission of the Regional Programme for Europe is to achieve greater standards of performance in tourism governance and policy by framing sufficient contents in the UNWTO programme of work and publications. There are two important objectives.
To increase the participation of member states of UNWTO European region and maximize the benefits too within the region.
To work towards the synergy between the UNWTO and external institutions and businesses, by making policies and strategies for governance.
Activities of European Region include the development of strategies in the context of turbulent markets to help Member States use instruments which addresses the issues of quality and CRM. The preparation and implementation of the programmes relates to value addition such as novelty and innovation in the area of technology, HRD, capacity building etc.
5. Regional Programme for Middle –East
The mission of Regional Programme for Middle-East is the regional representation for the Middle East and the objectives are as follows:
To work towards fulfillment of unique and specific needs of the tourism organizations and enterprises.
To organize workshops, seminars, meetings and conferences on relevant issues concerning tourism industry.
UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics
The history UNWTO’s global code of ethics in tourism is a recent phenomenon. It was first proposed in International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism Congress in the year 1992 held in Paris. It proposed the conception of a commission to deal with ethical problems in tourism. The Rio Earth Summit (Agenda 21) in 1992 called upon institutions to adopt codes of ethics in their organisational practices. Adherence to ethics is required to establish good relations and equation between hosts and guests.
The ethics of tourism are tied to human rights, environmental justice, equity, and virtue ethics. It encourages greater transparency in work that pays close attention to the ethical issues in gathering data and conducting research. The ethics builds an attitude of tolerance and respect towards the moral beliefs and philosophical issues. It builds cooperation between diversity of people in their religious belief.
It is the foundations of responsible and sustainable tourism as viewed by UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. In the year 2001, UNWTO has established Global Code of Ethics that focuses on universal standards of addressing different aspects and traits such as cross-cultural tolerance, promotion of human rights, environmental and developmental sustainability, accessibility, economic growth, reduction of poverty, and self-education. However, ethical standards are purely voluntary.
Though it is not a legally binding document, there is a provision for voluntary implementation of ‘Global Code of Ethics for Tourism’. The different stakeholders’ institution and organisation may refer on a voluntary basis to the matter concerning the application and implementation of the code of ethics.
The role of the ‘World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE)’ stands pre-eminent in the formulations and implementation of legal framework of tourism internationally. The WCTE is subsidiary organ that reports directly to the General Assembly of UNWTO. It has been assigned with tasks such as “promotion and dissemination of code of ethics and evaluation and monitoring the implementation of the ethics”.
The “Global Code of Ethics for Tourism” was adopted on October 1, 1999 in the meeting of General Assembly of United Nations World Tourism Organization in Santiago, Chile. This contains set of principles for the key players of the tourism industry including the governments, the travel industry, communities and tourist alike. It aims at “minimizing the negative impacts on environment, society and culture and maximizing economic benefits across the world”.
At the meeting, the UNWTO General Assembly recommended:
“States Members or non-members of WTO, without being obliged to do so, to accept expressly the principles embodied in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and to use them as a basis when establishing their national laws and regulations and to inform accordingly the World Committee on Tourism Ethics”.
‘Global Code of Ethics for Tourism’ is a guide book of principles for all stakeholders, entrepreneurs, workers, local communities etc. worldwide. The idea of this Global code was conceived in 1997 when a committee was formed during the UNWTO General Assembly meeting in Istanbul.
The process of preparation involved wide ranges of discussion and consultation with all stakeholders of tourism industry for the benefit and development of tourism industry worldwide. More than 70 Members states and other entities sent their written comments on the concept of code.
The UNWTO meeting held in Santiago, Chile in October 1999 and finalised 10 principals of Global Code of Conduct for Tourism that was subsequently approved by UNWTO General Assembly in UNWTO resolution A/RES/406(XIII). Then in the year 2001 a draft resolution on ‘Global Code of Ethics for Tourism’ was adopted by the ‘United Nations Economic and Social Council’.
This ‘Global Code of Ethics for Tourism’ got final official recognition by United Nations General Assembly on 21st of December 2001 through UN RESOLUTION A/RES/56/212. As per the directions of United Nations, the World Tourism organization has since then been promoting these code of ethics for implementation by member countries worldwide.
Not a legally binding document, it is purely voluntary which stakeholders may chose to implement for the long-term benefit of the industry. In the process of implementation of this global code of ethics, the World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE) has gained its prominence as an Autonomous and Impartial Body of UNWTO.
1. Aims.
The basic objectives of the ‘Global Code of Ethics for Tourism’ are to:
• Establish a synthesis of the documents, codes and declarations out of the available records or by comparing the aspirations of stakeholders published over the years.
• Complement the codes, documents and declarations with new considerations which would reflect the growth and development of the society.
• Serve as a term of reference for the stakeholders in the tourism industry.
2. World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE)
Established in the year 2004, ‘World Committee on Tourism Ethics’ is an independent and impartial body of UNWTO. It directly reports to the General Assembly of UNWTO as a subsidiary organ. The members of this world Committee on tourism ethics are selected on their personal capacities rather than as officials or representatives of governments of member countries.
The Committee is responsible for interpreting, applying and evaluating the provisions of ‘The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism’ in promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism. The mandate of this Committee rests with tasks of ‘promotion and dissemination of code of ethics, evaluation and monitoring the implementation of the ethics.’
3. Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET)
Global Code of Ethics for Tourism contains 10 Articles in which there are nine principles and the tenth article is a summary of all of others focused on the implementation part. These articles are further divided into sub-sections with laws, regulations and recommendations mentioned for various stakeholders of tourism. The Ten Articles are mentioned below.
• Contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies
• Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfillment
• Factor of sustainable development
• A user of the cultural heritage of mankind and a contributor to its enhancement
• Beneficial activity for host countries and communities
• Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development
• Right to tourism
• Liberty of tourist movements
• Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry
• Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism”.
