As the sector continues to recover, the United Nations agency for tourism has highlighted the importance of investment in building a more sustainable and resilient sector. The new cooperation agreement was announced at FITUR, the international tourism fair in Madrid.
At the same time, CAF and UNWTO will work together in the Develop frameworks to attract, encourage and retain foreign direct investment towards sustainable tourism initiatives, accelerating economic recovery and promoting sustainability across the tourism sector.
Tourism as a regional growth engine
CAF Executive President Sergio Díaz-Granados confirms: “We are implementing an agenda to become the Green Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, which will also include the development of sustainable and regenerative tourism. The proof of our commitment is that we are the first multilateral institution to sign it Glasgow Declaration on Climate Protection in Tourism. Partnering with UNWTO will strengthen our approach to the tourism sector and help us achieve our goals.”
“We are implementing an agenda to become the Green Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, which will also include the development of sustainable and regenerative tourism.”
For UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili: “Tourism is a recognized driver of sustainable development, growth and opportunity across the Latin American and Caribbean region. With this new partnership agreement, UNWTO and CAF will work together to boost investment in the sector and direct it to projects and initiatives that make the biggest difference.”
CAF is an accredited entity of the Green Climate Fund and in partnership with the UNWTO, its member countries will have access to innovative financing models that reduce investment risk, support climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and reduce the energy of the dependent sector. The work will complement progress made by the Glasgow Declaration: A decade of action for climate and tourismlaunched at the 2022 UN climate summit with the aim of moving the sector towards net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
This new partnership with CAF builds on UNWTO’s work to encourage investment in tourism, particularly through its Doing Business guidelines, publications focused on specific countries in all regions of the world.