Tourism can contribute to the three pillars of sustainability
Participants at the side event, “Tourism for a Sustainable
Future,” held at Rio+20, agreed that tourism can make a
significant contribution to the three pillars of sustainable
development – economic, social, and environmental. “Tourism is
interlinked with the seven key themes being discussed here at
Rio+20 – jobs, energy, cities, food, water, oceans, and
disasters – and can be a factor of development for developing
and developed countries alike,” said Gastão Vieira, Minister of
Tourism of Brazil, opening the event. “We are here today at Rio,
twenty years after the first Earth Summit, to renew our
commitments, define shared goals, and agree on a roadmap for a
better future,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai,
highlighting that “amid growing economic concerns, it is now,
more than ever, that we need to call for the right policies, the
adequate investment, and the proper business practices that can
advance us towards fairer, more people-center