Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism

Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism

Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST)


The Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST) is an internationally agreed reference framework for measuring the economic, social and environmental aspects of tourism.

As a living example of going beyond GDP, MST supports the production in countries of reliable, internationally comparable data on the performance of countries and subnational tourism destinations when it comes to the sustainability of tourism.  

All in all, MST leads to more robust data to ensure that tourism action on the ground really contributes to the betterment of people’s lives now and into the future.  

The MST Statistical Framework has been developed by UN Tourism in partnership with leading countries, and with the support of the United Nations Statistics Division, the International Labour Organization and others. 

Governance

Governance

Under the auspices of the UN Tourism Committee on Statistics, the development of the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism was led by the Expert Group on MST with the technical guidance of the Editorial Board on MST.

Governance

Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism

Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism

The Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST) is an organizing structure for integrating statistics on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable tourism.

Statistical Framework

Pilot studies and country experiences

Pilot studies and country experiences

Country pilot studies have contributed to the design and development of the statistical framework by testing its relevance and feasibility.

Pilot Studies

RELATED INITIATIVES

Sustainable Development Goals Indicators

Sustainable Development Goals Indicators

UN Tourism Committee on Statistics liaises with the official UN process (IAEG-SDGs) on the development of statistical indicators for the measurement of tourism's role in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG Indicators

ESG Framework for tourism businesses

ESG Framework for tourism businesses

While a number of ESG reporting and disclosure initiatives already exist, they have been developed relatively independently, meaning the comparability and scalability of ESG reporting is limited. In this context, UN Tourism is joining efforts to provide a single ESG framework that can be used as a single reference by all kinds of tourism businesses.

ESG Framework

DOCUMENTS/PUBLICATIONS

Events related to MST

MST in the media