Page 11 - Smart tourism: A path to more secure and resilient destinations

1 Digital transformation, a vital partner for safe and resilient tourism

Globalization continues to deliver important benefits to citizens, public administrations and
companies; however, it is also bringing in new threats that require innovative and efficient solutions
at the local, national and international levels, to provide a collective response from society for
dealing with current risks and anticipating future crises.

From geopolitical and economic tensions to health and environmental threats, the risk environment
is constantly evolving with new uncertainties that are continually transforming the global ecosystem.
Despite this scenario, physical and digital connectivity, paired with a growing middle class and
improved access to travel, have been a tremendous boost to tourism. In addition, one of the major
drivers of tourism growth has also been the decreasing cost of travel particularly air travel.

This sector has provided enormous economic and social benefits to destinations throughout this
period, creating millions of jobs, protecting natural and cultural treasures, increasing prosperity,
reducing poverty, and improving education and health.

Tourism is a major driver of economic growth and development, providing direct and indirect
livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, tourism contributed
directly to 4 per cent of world GDP, representing USD 3.5 trillion (United Nations, 2022). For many
developing countries, including Least Developed Countries (LDC), Small Island Developing States
(SIDS) and countries in Africa, tourism is a major source of employment, foreign currency earnings
and tax revenues. In SIDS, tourism represents more than 30 per cent of exports, and in some,
reaches as much as 80 per cent of their exports.

Given the multifaceted nature of tourism and related consumption, the sector has strong backward
linkages and corollary economic impact on many other sectors, making it a powerful engine of
economic growth, poverty eradication, reducing inequalities through inclusive job creation, and
community and rural development. In many countries, micro, small, medium, enterprises (MSMEs)
are a significant component of the sector, where women and young people tend to concentrate.

Prior to the pandemic, 1.5 billion international tourists travelled the world and more than 8 billion
travelled within their own countries. Over recent years, tourism has been affected by several crises
such as 9/11, the 2009 global economic crisis or SARS. To varying degrees these crises have
affected global or regional tourism. And yet, over the last few decades, no other crisis has impacted
the sector as has COVID-19. In 2020, international tourist arrivals declined by 73 per cent, falling
to the levels of 30 years earlier. The second-worst setback for tourism happened in 2009, when
tourism flows declined by 4 per cent (United Nations, 2022).

In addition, emerging risks such as cyberattacks, resource scarcity and the destruction of biodiversity
will have an increasing impact on the sector in the coming years. Key variables include the ability
to overcome crises in terms of recovery time, as well as the reduction of lost visitors and the
regeneration of revenue streams (UNWTO, 2019). While this certainly sounds promising, tourism as
a sector needs to be better prepared in times of crisis in order to protect people and destinations.

Smart tourism: A path to more secure and resilient destinations 1