UNWTO convened observatories from around the world to discuss advances in effectively monitoring sustainability in tourism at destination level. The 2017 Global International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) Meeting was held on the 13th and 14th of December at UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid,
The event started with an Observatory Mentoring Breakfast, in which INSTO Members shared experiences with interested destinations. It was followed by two days of experience sharing on regular monitoring of tourism impacts; opportunities deriving from geospatial analysis for tourism measurement; the importance of fostering catalytic areas; and the circular economy in tourism.
Further to these thematic blocks, participants shared information on different operational and technical structures of destination monitoring systems; geospatial analysis and opportunities deriving from location intelligence for more accurate and timely trend analysis; participatory approaches and local community satisfaction; efforts and links between local monitoring efforts and global development goals; as well as shared consumption and interconnected value chains and the role of circular business models for improving resource management in tourism.
"The UNWTO Network of Observatories is one of the contributions of the tourism community to express its commitment with the global cause of sustainable tourism that will guide the development of the sector in the years to come,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, closing the event.
The measurement of tourism impacts at the destination level has been a key area within the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
UNWTO has been promoting the measurement of tourism through sustainable tourism indicators since the early 1990s. In order to support destinations to jointly learn and further advance the monitoring of tourism impacts at the destination level, the UNWTO International Network of Tourism Observatories was created in 2004. As of December 2017, INSTO includes 21 Observatories worldwide committed to regular and timely measurement of tourism at the destination level.
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