The World Tourism Organization is organising the UNWTO High-level Regional Conference on Green Tourism in conjunction with the 24th Joint Commission Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for South Asia and the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific, in order to introduce the main findings of the recent UN research on tourism as a green economy sector and highlight the main challenges and opportunities facing the public and private sector.
The conference also aims to present national experiences on how sustainable development of tourism and green economy can go hand-in-hand with sustaining economic development in Asia and the Pacific.
Green Tourism, the theme of this year´s conference, reflects contemporary issues of global as well as regional interest.
In 2011, 980 million tourist arrivals were recorded worldwide, and as past experience and UNWTO statistics have shown, this steady growth is set to continue. In 2012, 1 billion tourists are expected to cross international borders. The rapid growth and development of both international and domestic travel and tourism sectors bring significant challenges: Energy intensive transportation is increasing the non-renewable energy dependence of tourism and is contributing 5 per cent of global greenhouse emissions. As well as this, water consumption, waste management, loss of biodiversity and effective management of cultural and natural heritage areas are significant sustainability-related issues for a green tourism industry (UNEP, ´Towards a Green Economy,´2011).
The UNWTO High-Level Regional Conference on Green Tourism invites experts in the field, academics, ministers and country representatives to discuss how a green economy can contribute to sustainability, what challenges exist, and how progress might be made together.