This report explores the contributions of the tourism sector to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before, during, and after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It provides concrete recommendations on how policymakers and industry stakeholders can leverage tourism to foster sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. This executive summary highlights key takeaways and recommendations from the report.

Chapter 1: Introduction 

Tourism has become a key driver of socioeconomic growth in Asia and the Pacific. It employs roughly 150 million people in the region and provides opportunities to strengthen communities and ecosystems. However, in the absence of robust governance and planning, tourism growth threatens to overburden communities and ecosystems, while overlooking opportunities to foster inclusive and sustainable development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted virtually all aspects of tourism, reducing international travel by 74% in 2020 and producing cascading effects on businesses, governments, and communities alike. Despite its many challenges, the pandemic presents a unique opportunity for tourism stakeholders to step back and evaluate the sector and how it can contribute more effectively to sustainable development. Tourism is often misunderstood, as it involves a complex web of stakeholders, economic sectors, destinations, and communities. It is therefore important, at the outset, to establish a shared framework for analyzing tourism and its linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable tourism is not a particular kind of travel—it is not only eco-tourism or tourism that is self-sustaining—rather, all types of tourism can also become sustainable if they help achieve the SDGs, revive the environment, or help communities thrive.