LINKED to the outcomes of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the tourism industry has pledged its commitment to promoting a harmonious relationship between economic and environmental objectives.
Speaking at the United Nation's Ocean Conference on the topic of 'Sustainable Coastal and Marine Tourism' held recently in Lisbon, Portugal, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett gave his support to the Ocen Panel's goal of achieving a sustainable tourism economy by 2030.
"As the tourism minister of a small island State that is geographically situated among a cluster of other small islands, I am well-positioned to acknowledge the unquantifiable benefits of healthy marine and coastal ecosystems to the economic vitality of entire populations," he said during his keynote address.
The minister noted that with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicting that marine and coastal tourism will become the largest sector of the global, ocean-based economy by 2030, generating US$777 billion in global revenue and employing 8.6 million people, the role of healthy marine and coastal systems in promoting sustainable tourism was especially worthy of recognition.
Please share your feedback below and help us improve our content.