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Mr Rifai

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on Tuesday lauded the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and said tourism could aid their successful implementation through job creation, sustainable consumption and the preservation of natural resources.

The SDGs, adopted at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly currently underway in New York, are a set of 17 Goals to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

The SDGs build on the eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015, dubbed the Millennium Development Goals.

The MDGs, adopted in 2000, were aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation.

UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai said tourism as one of the most dynamic economic sectors with significant global reach, could make an important contribution to the achievement of the SDGs.

“Issues such as climate change, effective resource management, poverty reduction and inclusive growth need to be at the centre of tourism development,” he said in a statement.

“Now that the Goals have been approved, it is time to step up our action, time to advance policies and business strategies that monitor and minimise the negative effects of tourism development and maximise its positive impacts, namely through the distribution of its benefits among host communities.”

Mr Rifai said tourism was included in the SDGs as a target in Goals 8, 12 and 14.

He said target 8,9 stated that there was need to devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products. Target 14,7 calls for an increase in the economic benefits of Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.

Tourism has emerged as one of the most important and fastest growing economic sectors globally. For many countries tourism is seen as a main instrument for regional development, as it stimulates new economic activities which also impact positively on employment, gross income and production. – New Ziana.