At G20, UNWTO Advances Role Of People & MSMEs As Agents Of Tourism Transformation

As leaders of the G20 economies meet in Bali, UNWTO has stressed the importance of empowering grassroots actors as well as MSMES in order to drive sustainable and inclusive transformation and build greater resilience.

Under the Indonesian Presidency of the G20, Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary-General urged leaders to seize the opportunity to rethink and transform tourism in order to deliver on its massive potential for sustainability and opportunity.

Mr. Pololikashvili said: “We are behind in progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, progress has actually been reversed in areas like gender equality. Tourism can help us get back on track. But we need to speed up. And we need to scale up. There is no time to lose.”

In a post-pandemic world, renewed governance, multilateralism and international cooperation are the only path to address a world in a poly-interconnected crisis, stressed the UNWTO Secretary-General. Since the G20 economies represent 80% of global GDP, 60% of the world population and 76% of the tourism GDP worldwide, they are in a position to lead by example, he added.