AlUla Framework for Inclusive Community Development through Tourism

The framework addresses the national governments in G20 countries and beyond, and provides a set of concrete programmes, initiatives and recommendations to support governments and other key stakeholders in the tourism sector at all levels based around four pillars of action – empowerment, safeguarding, prosperity and collaboration – through a model of tourism development based on Public-Private-Community (PPC) partnerships.

The key aim is to foster a holistic approach to inclusive community development through tourism, in line with the G20 Presidency’s objectives of:

• Empowering People: creating conditions in which all people, especially women and youth, can live, work and thrive
• Protecting the Planet: fostering collective efforts to protect our commons
• Shaping New Frontiers: adopt long-term and bold strategies to utilise and share the benefits of innovation.

The report highlights that tourism is one of the fastest-growing and most resilient socioeconomic sectors of our times, with tourism accounting for seven per cent of global trade in 2019. The sector generates millions of jobs both directly and indirectly, including jobs for women, youth and those living in rural communities. Furthermore, it promotes territorial cohesion and socioeconomic inclusion for the most vulnerable, while maintaining natural and cultural heritage, supporting conservation, safeguarding endangered species, and ensuring long-standing traditions can survive.

The report also addresses the impact Covid-19 has had on the tourism sector, which is among the hardest hit, stressing that the pandemic also provides an opportunity to rethink the tourism sector and its contribution to people, as well as the impact it has on the planet.

As a result of the UNWTO framework, Tourism Ministers of the G20 nations have committed to stepping up their efforts to place sustainability and inclusion at the heart of tourism recovery and future growth.