Mr. Chairman, we are indeed thankful for this opportunity to address this forum and we congratulate you on your appointment. We are also encouraged by the work that the CSD has done and continues to do.

Mr. Chairman,
Tourism is a development issue, requiring appropriate structures to be developed that promote sustainability. Tourism has contributed to the economic development of some states, while at the same time degrading the physical, social, cultural and political environments. Therefore the feasibility of the current tourism development models must be urgently and omprehensively addressed.  The tourism industry is said to be one of the fastest growing industries, but while a small section of the industry is profiting, many people’s right to self determination and dignity is being threatened, and in some cases, lost. Sustainable tourism needs to meet acceptable and viable social, cultural, environmental and economic criteria. Legally binding guarantees for the traditional resource rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities must be honoured by governments and all takeholders involved in tourism.

The stakeholders that must be involved in ALL aspects of tourism development and management are Government, Civil Society and the Private sector. The participation and cooperation of all stakeholders in the partnership is imperative. Civil Society actors include NGOs, CBOs, Trade Unions, Service organisation, Indigenous Peoples and several other entities from within Civil society at the local level.

We must ensure that tourism development and environmental management are mutually supportive. To ensure sustainable tourism development we must integrate the planning and policy processes of all development sectors that impact on tourism. Key issues such as local community participation, maximum economic benefits for local economies, and human rights must be dealt with in a proactive manner with a consensus outcome.  Particular attention must also be paid to land tenure and land use, coastal zone management and waste management regulations and policies. The negative impacts of consumer behaviour and corporate action must be replaced with actions that promote social justice and equity. All environmental initiatives, must include a health component that takes into account the environmental-health precautionary approach.

We have a comprehensive list of recommendations in our background paper but would like to highlight some of the very urgent ones:

1. All Stakeholders should adopt, implement and promote a global code of ethics for tourism and be accountable for their actions.
2. A set of indicators must be developed and applied universally which incorporates economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts, which allows for objective evaluation and also a more accurate development picture of tourism. The current economic indicator is not adequate, nor appropriate.
3. National Councils or advisory boards comprised of representatives of Government, Civil Society and the private sector should be put in place. These councils would advise the decision making machinery (ministries, cabinet or otherwise) on the development model frameworks and tourism strategies that should be adopted as the National Strategic Plan.
4. Supportive instruments and mechanism to enable full democratic participation  of all stakeholders in the decision making processes must be articulated and implemented, especially in the area of information flow and finance.
5. Local Agenda 21 processes should be initiated and established which enables local communities to identify priorities before and after adequate environmental, social, cultural and economic  pre-feasibility and feasibility impacts studies. The process should also explore mechanisms for investments and reinvestment of some of the revenues from tourism into those priorities.
6. Tourism developments’ strategies need to articulate ways and means to minimise the leakages of revenues at all levels and establish closer linkage with the local communities.
7. All countries should at least have a policy on outbound tourism that sensitize tourists to the concepts, principles and practice of sustainable tourism, and ideally, should adopt a framework that reflects a single ministerial portfolio and responsibility for the tourism industry.