WTTC launches tourism best practices toolkit to inform governments

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched its Global Best Practices Recognition Initiative, to equip Tourism Ministers, sector leaders, and policymakers worldwide with the insights to develop and implement proven policies in the sector.

Tourism is one of the most dynamic economic sectors in the world, representing 10.4% of global GDP, one in 10 jobs on the planet (319 million) and 6.5% of global exports in 2018. Given its forecasted growth and its ability to drive job creation, reduce poverty, foster regional integration and connect people across the world, the WTTC sees that the industry is a unique position to make a difference, providing opportunities for developing and emerging nations to move up the value chain.

Yet, despite the sector’s ability to be a force for good, best practices across tourism are not readily available for both the public and private sector, often compelling governments to unnecessarily ‘reinvent the wheel’, researching solutions to problems that have already been successfully innovated on elsewhere in the world.

In this context, WTTC’s Global Best Practices Recognition Initiative seeks to compile quantifiable best practice across tourism to provide the sector with a wealth of insights that will enable both the public and private sectors to learn from the successful experiences of other countries as they develop, review and implement tourism related policies.

This will be an ongoing Initiative, continually updated by integrating the most recent quantifiable success stories into a new online repository to ensure that the most innovative policies are shared among tourism networks.

Launched at WTTC’s annual World Tourism Congress in Spain last week, the Initiative offers ‘Quick Win’ policies and ‘Game Changers’ in the areas of securing and facilitating tourism, prioritising the sector, and planning for sustainable and inclusive growth. This will extend to policies related to infrastructure, workforce, technology, regulation, innovations, entrepreneurship, resilience and crisis planning in the future.

Among the policies identified in this initial phase are the USA’s Global Entry program, which provides expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travellers upon arrival; Colombia’s significant investments and rebranding that have rebuilt the country as a safe and desirable destination; and Palau’s ‘Pledge’, which permits entry to the island upon the visitor signing a pledge asking them to respect the island’s ecology and support local business.

Introducing the Initiative, WTTC President and Chief Executive, Gloria Guevara stated “when I was the Minister of Tourism for Mexico, I would have greatly appreciated such a toolkit, and I am confident that policymakers across the globe will find the Global Best Practices Recognition Initiative invaluable to their efforts to enhance Travel & Tourism competitiveness.”

Tiffany Misrahi, WTTC Director of Policy added “as we launch the initial phase of our grand efforts in cross-pollinating government and private sector networks with best practice case studies, we call upon those same leaders to share with us the results of their own excellent work so that we may continue to amplify our online repository with the very best initiatives from across the globe.”

All of the best practices can be found at www.wttc.org/agenda/best-practices.