10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme 2.87

Tourism’s expansion and growth does not come without increased impact and responsibility. The challenge remains to decouple environmental degradation from economic growth, and thus increase the net contribution of economic activities to poverty eradication and inclusive social development.

The 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP) adopted at the Rio+20 Conference (A/CONF.216/5) aims to assist the implementation of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda by developing, replicating and scaling up sustainable production and consumption patterns and resource efficiency initiatives at national and regional levels.

The 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme (10YFP STP) is one of the initial 10YFP programmes and its being led by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the Governments of France, Morocco and Korea as co-leads. It was launched in London on 5 November 2014 on the occasion of the World Responsible Tourism Day and is set to harness the power of the one billion tourists who travel the world every year as a force for good. In February 2015, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism officially transitioned into the 10YFP STP.

The 10YFP STP promotes and enables transformation for sustainability, through evidence-based decision making; innovation; collaboration among stakeholders; monitoring and the adoption of a life cycle approach for continuous improvement; and the development and implementation of activities, projects and good practices in resource efficient and low-carbon tourism planning, reducing the loss of biodiversity, conserving ecosystems, preserving cultural heritage, alleviating poverty, improving sustainable livelihoods and adapting to the reality of a changing climate.