I am very pleased that the Republic of Indonesia has become the first signatory of the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics (2 October 2020).

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

UNWTO’s membership includes 159 Member States, 6 Associate Members and over 500 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

This landmark instrument was created to ensure global tourism is fair, inclusive, more transparent, and works for everyone.

Member States are looking to UNWTO for firm leadership.

The Convention was hailed as a “big step forward” towards introducing a universal, legally binding ethical code for tourism, one of the world’s most important socio-economic sectors.

Indonesia became the first country to sign, signalling its strong commitment to uphold the highest ethical principles as it expands its tourism sector. Indonesia played an important role in the drafting of the Convention as part of the Committee that converted the Global Code of Ethics in Tourism into an international legally binding instrument.