Tourism is a powerful driver of global economic activity, moving billions of people each year, creating hundreds of millions of jobs, and fueling trade across nations. However, the data used to measure its true impact has often lagged behind the rapid growth and transformation of this dynamic sector. To address this, the United Nations Tourism has made significant strides in enhancing the way tourism is measured within the global economic system.
At the 57th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission, the world’s top authority on official statistics, UN Tourism advanced its efforts to ensure that tourism’s economic contribution is better understood and supported by internationally comparable data. This move aims to help governments and businesses make more informed decisions grounded in clear and reliable statistics.
Shaikha Al Nuwais, the Secretary-General of UN Tourism, emphasized the importance of this initiative: “Tourism is one of the world’s most dynamic economic sectors, and it deserves data systems that reflect its true scale and impact. Strengthening global tourism statistics and linking them with business sustainability reporting helps ensure that decisions across the sector are grounded in reliable, comparable evidence.” https://www.untourism.int/
Key Outcomes: Strengthening Global Tourism Statistics and Trade Measurement
A pivotal moment in this effort was the endorsement of the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2026, to which UN Tourism contributed. This updated framework provides a more robust approach to measuring tourism as a globally traded service, allowing countries to capture tourism’s role within international trade flows and broader economic policy more accurately. By improving the measurement of tourism within global trade, countries will be able to better assess the economic importance of the sector and leverage it for growth.
Another significant development was the recognition of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST). A first of its kind, MST evaluates the economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism beyond traditional GDP indicators. This framework was acknowledged by the United Nations General Assembly, marking a crucial step in creating a more comprehensive picture of tourism’s long-term sustainability and its contributions to global economies.
Bridging Macro and Micro Data: Aligning Sustainability Reporting with National Statistics
On March 4, UN Tourism hosted a high-level side event titled “Bridging Macro and Micro Data in Sustainability: The Case of Tourism and the ESG Framework for Tourism Businesses.” The event explored how sustainability reporting by tourism businesses can align with internationally recognized statistical frameworks. By linking company-level Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data with national statistics, this approach helps harmonize the tourism economy, making data more consistent across the board.
The session also highlighted how this integration could support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often face challenges in navigating fragmented reporting requirements. The event, hosted at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was supported by Statistics Netherlands, and sponsored by easyJet Holidays and Booking.com.
This dialogue on integrating business sustainability and national tourism statistics aims to make tourism’s economic footprint clearer, ensuring that decisions within the industry are based on solid, comparable evidence, helping shape more effective policies and strategies for future growth.
The Future of Tourism Statistics and Sustainability Reporting
As the tourism sector continues to grow and evolve, strengthening how its economic and sustainability impacts are measured is essential. By adopting globally accepted frameworks and integrating sustainability metrics, UN Tourism is paving the way for more informed and cohesive decision-making. This is crucial not only for the future of global tourism but also for fostering a sustainable tourism economy that benefits all stakeholders, from governments and businesses to local communities. https://www.untourism.int/