Tourism must lead the way in adapting and becoming more sustainable: Barcelona Summit

The Future of Tourism World Summit concluded its two-day working in Barcelona on October 27 with the release of the Barcelona Call to Action, which stressed that tourism must lead the way in adapting, becoming more sustainable, and transitioning towards net-zero growth.

Delegates at the Future of Tourism World Summit (Photo: UNWTO)
Delegates at the Future of Tourism World Summit (Photo: UNWTO)

The Vietnamese delegation, led by Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh, joined the event virtually.

Tourism must lead the way

The Future of Tourism World Summit, jointly held by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Advanced Leadership Foundation and the Incyde Foundation of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, represents the first time the sector has been brought together to look ahead held since the start of the pandemic.

The event attracted the participation of UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili were Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Juan Carlos Salazar, ministers of tourism from 12 countries as well as representatives of tourism organisations and businesses from around the world.

In his opening speech, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said that the Summit made clear the importance of collaboration, as well as the vital role funding tourism and harnessing the power of innovation will play a part in building more resilient and sustainable tourism.

At the summit, tourism leaders gave their opinions on the future of the tourism industry, including on the topics of: Sustainability, Connectivity, Opportunity, Innovation and Diversity.

The ten-point Barcelona Call to Action was announced at the close of the summit. It includes a commitment to more fully integrating tourism into national and local action plans, ensuring the sector is engaged in issues such as housing, the use of public space and the use of infrastructure.

It also highlights the need to ensure that the sector’s restart and future growth adhere to the principles of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and are aligned with the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Digitisation as a future trend of global tourism

Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh speaking at the summit (Photo: VNAT)

Speaking virtually at the event on October 26, VNAT Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh noted with pleasure that Vietnam has been emerging as an attractive destination in the Asia-Pacific region over the past decade, with tourism having become a key economic sector in the country.

The country has achieved a growth rate of international tourists among the top in the world along with the impressive growth of domestic tourism, he stressed.

He also informed the participants that to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism sector, the Vietnamese Government has implemented many solutions to provide financial support and social security packages for those working in the field while coordinating with partners to resume human resource training programmes.

The Vietnamese Government has agreed to a pilot plan to reopen international tourism by the end of 2021, he reported, adding that Vietnamese tourism hopes to receive closer cooperation from UNWTO and its partners through activities and projects on tourism recovery.

While briefly talking about the future of global tourism “in one word”, the Vietnamese official assumed that digitalisation will be a future trend of global tourism due to the increasing demand for digital travel services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, it requires tourist businesses and management board of tourist attractions to apply advanced technologies to develop digital tourism products and services which can provide visitors with more interesting and exciting experiences, he stated.