Tourism is now one of the largest and fastest growing economic industries in the world, accounting for 29% of the world’s service exports and representing around one in ten jobs worldwide. 1.8 billion people are forecast to travel internationally in 2030 and much of this growth is being fuelled by the increasing desire and interest in discovering new and different cultures. Cultural heritage — both tangible and intangible — and creativity are expressions that need to be promoted and safeguarded.
UNWTO and UNESCO join efforts to build dialogue and construct long-lasting partnerships between the tourism and culture sectors. In this task, the exchange of experiences and lessons learned from policymakers, tourism and cultural stakeholders, host communities and the high-tech sector aim at providing innovative solutions to traditional and emerging problems in cultural tourism.