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G20 Summits • 2018 Buenos Aires Summit

The Future of Work —
Tourism's Leading Role in Sustainable Development:
A Driver for Employment

Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 17, 2018
[PDF]

We, Ministers of Tourism of G20 member countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America), and invited States (Chile, Georgia, Jamaica, Netherlands, Senegal, Singapore and Spain) meeting under Argentina's G20 Presidency, alongside the representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 17, 2018,

Recalling that,

1. tourism accounts for as much as 10% of world's GDP, considering its direct, indirect and induced impacts;
2. tourism is the world's third largest export category after chemicals and fuels and that international tourism generated nearly 1,060 billion USD in exports in the G20 economies in 2016 representing 6.3% of all G20 exports;
3. tourism is included within the Sustainable Development Goals in three goals and namely in Goal 8, Target 8.9 – "by 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products";
4. tourism is a labour intensive service sector which is estimated to account for one in 10 jobs in the world (direct, indirect and induced impacts) with one job in the core tourism sector creating about one-and-a-half additional jobs in the tourism-related economy;
5. tourism creates jobs for people of all ages and skills levels, not only in the sector, but through its value chain in many other sectors such as cultural industries, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation, handicrafts, health, financial services or information and communication technologies;
6. tourism accounts for a higher share of women's employment and entrepreneurship as compared to the whole economy and can thus be an effective means to promote gender equality and women's empowerment;
7. tourism creates employment opportunities for young people, enables youth to enter the labour market and gain experience and move up in the value chain into higher, better paid jobs and thus significantly contributes to reducing youth unemployment;
8. tourism creates jobs in rural and remote areas and is often one of the few viable economic drivers for job creation in these areas being a driving force for social inclusion with a particular potential to advance employment and economically empower groups which are more vulnerable to social and economic risks, including, but not limited to, women, young people, migrants, tribal peoples, indigenous and rural communities;
9. tourism can contribute to the synergies, preservation and promotion of natural resources, cultural values and heritage;
10. tourism is a fast-evolving and competitive service sector requiring adaptability to market trends and demand, the technological revolution is changing the demand for skills and the characteristics of tourism jobs, and the emergence of new modalities and platform tourism services (for example the "sharing economy"), social media networks, big data or geo-localization are changing tourism jobs;
11. legislation and regulation, awareness, cooperation and communication among relevant stakeholders, technological savviness and funding are main issues that influence on the adaptation to the technological revolution, and that with the right policies in place technology opens immense opportunities to foster innovation and create new and better jobs in tourism;
12. social and demographic trends, climate change and natural disasters, as well as changing values in society and consumer perceptions and habits promote the development of new trends and products and require the development of adequate skills allowing the sector to adapt to changes;
13. the intense and sensible use of technology, innovation and creativity in tourism policies can contribute to favourable conditions for global tourism growth, increasing the quality and quantity of jobs and improving operational conditions – legal, regulatory and fiscal – of tourism enterprises, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs);
14. given tourism's potential to promote growth and employment, decent work challenges need to be addressed, including those related to non-standard forms of employment and informal working arrangements in the global supply chain.

Taking into consideration,

15. the overall aim of the G20 of promoting strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth;
16. that G20 economies need more and better jobs as a foundation for decent work, sustained growth and wellbeing of their societies;
17. the objectives set by the Argentinean G20 Presidency of creating "the conditions for more and better jobs", "provide tools and skills to those people looking for a job and those whose jobs are at risk of being replaced by automation" and "explore global initiatives that ensure that everyone has a chance to develop their full potential so as to benefit from the new technological era";
18. that in the G20 economies, tourism is a driver of economic growth, job creation and development;

Agree to

19. Consider encouraging sustainable and socially responsible policies that promote full and productive employment and facilitate the progress of innovation in tourism and foster the creation of decent jobs, sustainable enterprises and entrepreneurship, in particular among women and the youth;
20. Underline the importance and consider establishing favourable tourism framework conditions to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship and connect ecosystems linking start-ups, main companies, investors and governments along the tourism value chain;
21. Consider creating cooperation mechanisms, where necessary, between educational institutions at all levels, the private sector, governments and technology partners to inform and underpin the review of educational programmes and accompanying skills development policies that help create the adequate skill sets for future work opportunities, including soft and transferable skills;
22. Consider the importance of SMEs in the tourism, heritage and cultural sectors due to their contribution to job creation as well as their role in preserving and promoting cultural resources;
23. Consider promoting the use of digital technology to facilitate travel between countries as well as involving technology stakeholders in national tourism policy coordination structures and mechanisms in order to ensure holistic national tourism policies that foster innovation and create new decent jobs;
24. Request the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to prepare a report on the Future of Work and Skills Development in Tourism to be presented at the next Meeting of the Tourism Ministers of the G20 economies;
25. Encourage G20 Leaders to consider including tourism in the G20 Agenda for its capacity to deliver on the objectives of creating more and better jobs;

We express our gratitude to the Argentinean Presidency of the G20 and to the Minister of Tourism of the Argentine Republic, Mr. Gustavo Santos for his leadership in hosting the 8th Meeting of the Tourism Ministers of the G20 economies.

We also express our appreciation to the Government of Japan for its gracious invitation to host the 9th Meeting of the Tourism Ministers of the G20 economies in Kutchan Town, Hokkaido.

Buenos Aires, 17 April, 2018.

Source: International Labour Organization