Sustainable Tourism

January 2024 – Sustainable Tourism, also called green tourism, refers to sustainable practices by the tourism industry to minimize its negative impact on the environment and culture, while contributing to the local economy and ecosystem. Sustainable tourism aims to safeguard natural environments, wildlife, and resources, preserve heritage and culture, and generate social and economic benefits for communities through employment and income generation. Sustainable tourism strategies include analyzing social, economic, and cultural needs, measuring growth drivers and challenges, using tourism for economic development, and encouraging local involvement in planning and decisions. In 2002, during the Johannesburg summit organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Sustainable Tourism – Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP) initiative was established to promote sustainable tourism, job creation, and poverty reduction around the world. 

In this slideshow, you will learn about the definition, goals, benefits, challenges, stakeholders, strategies, UN policy, and global statistics of sustainable tourism.