tourism is one of the world's most important economic sectors it employs one in every 10 people on earth and provides lively woods to hundreds of millions more it boosts economies and enables countries to thrive it allows people to experience some of the world's cultural and natural riches and brings people closer to each other highlighting our common humanity indeed one might say that tourism is itself one of the wonders of the world that is why it has been so painful to see how tourism has been devastated by the covet-19 pandemic in the first five months of
this year international tourist arrivals decreased by more than half and some 320 billion us dollars in exports from tourism were lost overall some 120 million direct jobs in tourism are at risk many are in the informal economy or in micro small and medium-sized enterprises which employ a high proportion of women and young people the crisis is a major shock for developed economies but for developing countries it is an emergency particularly for many small island developing states and african countries for women rural communities indigenous peoples and many other historically marginalized populations tourism has been a vehicle
for integration empowerment and generating income tourism is also a key pillar for the conservation of natural and cultural heritage the following revenues has led to increased poaching and habitat destruction in and around protected areas and the closure of many world-religious sites has deprived communities of vital livelihoods it is imperative that we rebuild the tourism sector but it must be in a way that is safe equitable and climate friendly transport related greenhouse gas emissions could rebound sharply if recovery is not aligned with climate goals supporting the millions of livelihoods that depend on tourism means building a
sustainable and responsible travel experience that is safe for most communities workers and travelers aid recovery i have identified five priority areas first mitigate the socio-economic impact of the crisis second build resilience across the entire tourism value chain third maximize the use of technology in the tourism sector force promotes sustainability and green growth and fifth foster partnerships to enable tourism to further support the sustainable development goals let us ensure that tourism regains its position as a provider of decent jobs stable incomes and the protection of our cultural and natural heritage thank you you
