WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/COMTD/LDC/18 
S/C/W/328 21 December 2010 
 
 
(10-6843) 
Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries Council for Trade in Services Original:   French 
 
 
 
REPORT OF THE ROUND TABLE ON :  "SUSTAINABLE TOURISM,  
GREEN JOBS AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGES:   
POSSIBLE LINKAGES?" 
 
Geneva, 19 October 2010
 
 
Communication from Zambia on behalf of the LDC Group  
  
 The following communication, dated 9 De cember 2010, has been received from the 
delegation of Zambia on behalf of the LDC Group.  
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REPORT OF THE ROUND TABLE ON:  " SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, 
GREEN JOBS AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGES: 
POSSIBLE LINKAGES?"  
 
Geneva, 19 October 2010 
 
  
 On the 19 October 2010, at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the 
WTO's Least Developed Countries (LDCs) toge ther with the Centre for Socio-Economic 
Development (CSEND) and the International Asso ciation for Trade and Sustainable Development 
(COMDEV), organized a Round Table on:  "Sustainable Tourism, Green Jobs and Adaptation to 
Climate Changes:  Possible Linkages? ". 
 
 The Round Table brought together various stak eholders and multidisciplinary participants:  
representatives from developed countries, developi ng countries, LDCs, Geneva-based international 
organizations (WTO, ITC, ILO, UNEP and IATA), the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic and research centres, civil society, etc.  
 This was an analytical and prospecting even t on the contribution of tourism and sustainable 
tourism to the countries' economies, and possible f unctional balances between:  promoting sustainable 
tourism, creating innovating and green jobs, and pr otecting the environment, particularly in the 
context of climate change.  
 The Round Table underlined the importance of tourism in the development strategies of 
developing countries, particularly in the LDCs.   The introductory statement by H.E. Mr Darlington MWAPE, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Zambia to the WTO and LDC Group Coordinator, as well as the presentations made by various panellists, underscored th e positive trends of tourism in the world and its contribution to 
economic growth, job creation - specifically non-tr aditional jobs, from the perspective of the green 
economy - and the fight against poverty.   The constraints and challenges facing this sect or were also identified, particularly in 
connection with adaptation to climate changes. 
 
I. STATE OF PLAY AND TRENDS IN TOURISM SECTOR 
 In the different assessments made by the speakers, it emerged that: 
  - Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing industries and has emerged 
as the world's largest source of foreign exchange. 
 
 - In over 150 countries world-wide, tourism ranks fifth in export earnings.   - The sector has grown from a mere US$6.8 bi llion international tourist revenue in the 
1960s to US$922 billion by 2008, before  falling to US$852 billion in 2009. 
 
 - It currently represents about 6 per cent of worldwide exports of goods and services. 
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   - By 2011, travel and tourism will gr ow to reach US$7 trillion in revenue from 
economic activities and will account for 260 million jobs. 
  However, if we compare revenue from tourism exports, there are sharp differences when it 
comes to the economic share of tourism expressed as  a percentage of countri es' GDP.  For instance, 
while OECD countries in general show high percenta ges of GDP from tourism sector (France 9.9 per 
cent, USA 9.4 per cent, Spain 15.6 per cent Switzerla nd 13.8 per cent in 2009), the LDCs' comparable 
performances are much lower (Lesotho 2.5 per ce nt, Benin 5.3 per cent, Zambia 4.0 per cent, 
CAR 2.0 per cent).  (See annexes) 
 
 In light of the potential for tourism development in the LDCs, it is of great concern to see that data for the tourism industry are either una vailable or out of date.  For instance: 
  - The WTO's News of the DDA and WTO News websites make no mention of tourism. 
 
 - The Africa Progress Report  does not mention tourism. 
  - The last formal negotiating document specifically on tourism at the WTO dates back 
to 2004. 
 
 Tourism industry analysis statistics relating to  the situation of the LDCs were produced by 
Pro-Poor Tourism, and date back to 2000-2004.
1  Some of the key messages are: 
  - The LDCs' share in international touris m receipts was a mere 0.6 per cent in 1988, 
which improving slightly in 1998 to reach 0.8 per cent. 
 
 - Of the US$698 million earned world-wide from international travel, the LDCs 
accounted for only 0.7 per cent or US$5.1 million in 2000, in spite of the csonsiderable potential that these countries have in the tourism sector:  rich and 
varied tourism products (natural, historical, and cultural). 
 
 - It is also estimated that while developing countries receive about 30 per cent of global 
tourism expenditure, LDCs receive only about 0.5 per cent. 
  - Twenty-three (23) out of forty-nine (49) LDCs have designated tourism as an 
important sector for growth and development. 
 
 - Tourism is one of the sectors where many LDCs have made commitments in the 
context of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and many have included tourism as a priority sector under their poverty reduction strategy plans and 
programmes. 
 
 - The tourism sector still falls far below the growth curve, and much of its potential has 
remained under-exploited if exploited at all.  This gap is of special significance to the 
LDCs. 
  - The WTO's plurilateral negotiating gr oup on tourism has only seven government 
members, probably due at least partly to the fact that LDCs are not expected to make 
commitments in the current negotiations. 
                                                      
 
1 www.propoortourism.org.uk WT/COMTD/LDC/18 
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  II. MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
 To promote activities in sustainable tourism,  create jobs, combat poverty in developing 
countries, particularly in LDCs, the followi ng main recommendations have been drawn up: 
 
1. Build a stable macroeconomic tourism envir onment and develop political leadership that 
would drive the process of green job creation, adaptation and linkages; 
2. Elaborate national tourism policies and devel opment plans, according to a value chain 
approach; 
3. Develop appropriate infrastructure and equipmen ts in the tourism and sustainable tourism 
sector; 
4. Promote research and development of tec hnologies and technology transfer, including 
biotechnologies; 
5. Devote due attention to existing mechanisms, tools and legal frameworks aimed at reducing 
waste and/or fostering technology transfer to ensure sustainability in the tourism sector; 
6. Eliminate anti-competitive practices in the tourism sector at home and abroad; 
7. Provide policy space and flexibilities for LDCs in the WTO Agreements (GATS Articles IV 
and XIX) to ensure sound implementation of  the development objectives in the tourism 
sector; 
8. Small changes can make a big difference for sust ainable tourism and poverty alleviation.  For 
example, the installation of an ATM machine for tourists can greatly increase their local 
spending.  These innovative experiences need to be  listed and made available to LDCs faced 
with similar constraints; 
9. Make partial GATS commitments as a means for LDCs to attract more foreign direct 
investment (FDI) and domestic investment to  boost the development of both physical and 
social infrastructure, contributing to th e added value of sustainable tourism; 
10. Provide technical assistance and capacity building, inter alia , in the sustainable tourism 
standards and national tourism management policy areas, from the analysis stage to the follow-up stage.  In this regard, targeted t echnical assistance and ad equate funding will have 
to be provided under the regular budget and th rough voluntary contributions, both from the 
countries and from the relevant government al and non-governmental organizations; 
11. Ensure effective implementation of the initiatives adopted and the instruments and 
mechanisms set up for adaptation to climate change and promotion of the green economy 
such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);  the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);  
the WTO GATS and TRIPS Agreements;  the World Bank Strategic Climate Fund and its Clean Technology Fund;  the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund, etc; 
12. Ensure an inclusive approach and effective pa rticipation of local communities in the activities 
carried out in connection with sustainable tour ism, and ensure that the revenue and profits 
resulting from those activities are shared with the communities;  WT/COMTD/LDC/18 
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  13. Devote particular attention to the weakest a nd most vulnerable segments of the population, 
especially the rural communities and wo men, and foster their empowerment, inter alia , by 
facilitating access to finances and to knowledge , preserving the ecosystem, promoting access 
to tourism value chains, and guaranteeing them fair economic returns on the resources they 
are managing; 
14. Promote public-private partnership to create an environment favourable to pro-poor and 
sustainable tourism; 
15. Preserve and promote socio-cultural values with in the communities in which such activities 
are conducted; 
16. Devise ways and means to ensure the effective pa rticipation of LDCs in forums and relevant 
agencies dealing with tourism; 
17. Several LDCs which have liberalized most segm ents of their tourism and related sectors in 
their development strategies and plans should make specific commitments in the tourism 
sector in the Doha Round so as to ensure th e predictability of their efforts and obtain 
recognition and support from their trading partners; 
18. The participants in the Round Table also suggested  that tourism should be made an analytical 
criterion to be included in future DTIS/Matri x/EIF reviews;  Aid-For-Trade programmes;  
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs),  trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) 
programmes;  and bilateral aid programm es, for LDCs and low-income countries; 
19. The participants in the Round Table expressed the opinion that regular monitoring of tourism 
sector performances needed to be included in  the global Aid-for-Trade review process. 
20. Moreover, the participants recommended that the UN World Tourism Organization 
(UNWTO) also include, in the near future, LDCs in their analytical work, and suggested that 
bilateral partners and donor agencies provi de more targeted support to low-income 
developing countries, particularly to LDCs , in the field of tourism development; 
21. The organizers of the Round Table and the par ticipants thanked the representatives of the 
International Organizations atte nding this timely and well-appreciated event for their valuable 
contributions, and suggested that follow-up work  be done with the involvement of additional 
international organizations such as the UN WTO, the World Bank, the United Nations 
Conference on Trade and Development (U NCTAD), the United Nations Industrial 
Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development (OECD), as well as other r esearch NGOs and academic institutions; 
22. Finally, the participants called for an  effective and coordinated follow up of the 
implementation of the recommendations emana ting from this Round Table through periodic 
assessments, and suggested that the main rele vant bodies of these International Organizations 
be provided with a report on the progress made in the tourism sector in the LDCs. 
 
 In conclusion, it can be said that there is increasing recognition that, although tourism is not 
inherently pro-poor or environmentally sustainabl e, it can be.  To reduce poverty on a large scale, 
tourism needs to be seen from an economy-wide perspectiv e.  It is also important to look at tourism in 
connection with infrastructural services, agriculture  and other sectors so as to develop a value chain 
approach to sustainable tourism development. WT/COMTD/LDC/18 
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   Tourism in LDCs deserves much more attenti on.  It needs constructive commitments in the 
WTO, the UNWTO, UNCTAD, UNIDO, the OECD, as well as academic institutions and NGOs 
involved in poverty reduction, trade and development.  
 
  
   WT/COMTD/LDC/18
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 Page 7Annex 1:  Tourism Overview and Count ry Performance - Top of the Chart  
 
Country (Data for 2009) International tourist (overnight) 
arrivals (0000) Economic share of tourism 
industry (% in GDP)a Travel and Tourism Economy 
Employment (%)b 
France  70,694.0 9.9 11.6 
USA 53,972.1 9.4 10.0 
China  52,350.7 9.4 7.5 
Spain  51,447.6 15.6 18.0 
Italy  40,653.9 9.5 11.0 
Turkey  25,696.3 10.4 6.5 
Malaysia  24,005.7 14.1 12.7 
Macau, China 21,033.5 71.0 72.5 
Hong Kong, China 17,273.2 16.1 16.4 
Switzerland  8,258.4 13.8 17.7 
 
Source : World Tourism and Travel Council (March 2010). 
a Economic contribution of trav el and tourism sector including direct and indirect effects through the supply chain. 
b Coverage of the jobs generated by travel and tourism sector. 
  
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Annex 2: Tourism Overview and Co untry Performance - SSA Regions  
 
Country 
(Data for 2009) International tourist (overnight) 
arrivals (000) Economic share of tourism 
industry (% in GDP)a Travel & Tourism Economy 
Employment (%)b 
Zambia 840.6 4.0 3.9 
Lesotho 276.8 2.5 2.0 
Benin 142.9 5.3 4.3 
Gabon 68.9 7.0 6.1 
Niger 53.0 4.5 3.7 
Congo  38.0 6.0 5.0 
Democratic Republic of Congo 39.6 4.2 3.2 
Sierra Leone 38.1 4.8 3.8 
Chad 34.0 4.5 3.7 
Central African Republic  8.3 2.0 1.6 
 
Source : World Tourism and Travel Council (March 2010).   
a Economic contribution of trav el and tourism sector including direct and indirect effects through the supply chain. 
b Coverage of the jobs generated by travel and tourism. 
 
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