G20 Information Centre provided by the G20 Research Group
	@g20rg G20 Summits |  G20 Ministerials |  G20 Analysis |  Search |  About the G20 Research Group [English]  [Français]  [Deutsch]  [Italiano]  [Portuguesa]  [Japanese]  [Chinese]  [Korean]  [Indonesian]

G20 Summits • 2021 Rome Summit | Road to the 2021 Rome Summit
G20 Tourism Ministers

2021 G20 Tourism Ministers Meeting:
Supporting the Recovery of Travel and Tourism

May 4, 2021
[PDF]

Annex A: G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism: OECD Report to the G20 Tourism Working Group [PDF]
Annex B: Recommendations for the Transition to a Green Travel and Tourism Economy [PDF]

We, the G20 Tourism Ministers, met under Italy's G20 Presidency to discuss and build consensus around policy priorities and concrete guidelines to support the sustainable and resilient recovery of travel and tourism and its contribution to global growth.

We stress that tourism continues to be one of the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with international tourist arrivals declining by 73% globally in 2020 and unprecedented impacts on vulnerable groups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. With nearly 62 million travel and tourism jobs lost globally according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, representing a drop of 18.5%, the outlook remains highly uncertain.

We recognize that governments have taken impressive action to date to address the impacts of the crisis on the tourism sector, support tourism businesses and destinations, minimise job losses and support the recovery in 2021 and beyond. We reaffirm our commitment to the actions agreed upon during Saudi Arabia's 2020 Presidency and acknowledge the need for further efforts.

We emphasize that the resumption of travel and tourism is crucial for global economic recovery because of the direct and indirect economic impact this sector has on others. Travel and tourism are key drivers for sustainable and balanced growth and development and they represent a valuable contribution to the G20 agenda.

We acknowledge that the crisis presents an opportunity to rethink tourism for the future, that the measures put in place today can shape a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism sector and that such measures should seek to i) restore confidence in travel and tourism and enable economic recovery; ii) learn from the experience of the pandemic; and iii) prioritise a sustainable development agenda in guiding future tourism.

In this context, we endorse the G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism, developed consistently with the priorities of Italy's G20 Presidency – People, Planet and Prosperity – and with the support of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD (Annex A), and commit to take action in seven key interrelated policy areas:

1. Safe mobility: developing confidence in safe international mobility, enabling us to support, complement and coordinate with safe international mobility initatives
2. Crisis management: minimising the impact of future crises affecting tourism
3. Resilience: securing a robust and stable tourism sector in uncertain times
4. Inclusiveness: widening community engagement and benefits from tourism
5. Green transformation: managing tourism to sustain global and local environments
6. Digital transition: enabling all tourism stakeholders to benefit fully from digital opportunities
7. Investment and infrastructure: focusing resources on a sustainable future for tourism.

Additionally, we welcome the Recommendations for the transition to a green travel and tourism economy submitted by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (Annex B) as a contribution to the policy area "Green Transformation", and we call for action to embrace sustainability in tourism, by supporting and promoting sustainable destinations as strategic assets to balance the needs of people, the planet and prosperity, and to secure a resilient and inclusive post-COVID tourism economy.

We underline the importance of cultural tourism as a means for affirming the value of culture as a resource for dialogue and mutual understanding among people, for the preservation and appreciation of cultural diversity and the conservation of cultural heritage.

We, the G20 Tourism Ministers, remain committed to designing policies for a sustainable, inclusive and resilient tourism sector and promoting international as well as public-private cooperation. We ask the G20 Tourism Working Group to assess future progress in implementing the G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism by exchanging national and international policies and measures, with the support of the OECD, the UNWTO and other relevant international organisations.

We express our thanks to the Italian G20 Presidency for its leadership and agree to continue our cooperation to ensure further progress under Indonesia's G20 Presidency in 2022.

[back to top]

Source: Official website of the Italian G20 Presidency