Rural tourism has a high potential to stimulate local economic growth and social change because of its complementarity with other economic activities, its contribution to GDP and job creation, and its capacity to promote the dispersal of demand in time (fight seasonality) and along a wider territory.
UN Tourism understands Rural Tourism as "a type of tourism activity in which the visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of products generally linked to nature-based activities, agriculture, rural lifestyle / culture, angling and sightseeing.
Rural Tourism activities take place in non-urban (rural) areas with the following characteristics: i) low population density, ii) landscape and land-use dominated by agriculture and forestry and iii) traditional social structure and lifestyle".
Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism
With the vision of making tourism a positive force for transformation, rural development and community wellbeing, UN Tourism launched the 'Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism' initiative.
It seeks to advance the role of tourism in valuing and safeguarding rural villages along with their associated landscapes, knowledge systems, biological and cultural diversity, local values and activities (agriculture, forestry, livestock and/or fisheries), including their gastronomy.
STAR, digital self-assessment tool for rural destinations
UN Tourism has unveiled its pioneering digital self-assessment tool designed to progress tourism development in rural areas. The UN Tourism Self-assessment Tool to Assist Rural Destinations, STAR, allows local public authorities in rural destinations to self-evaluate and measure their level of tourism development. It also provides tailored recommendations, benchmarking different destinations and generating valuable data and insights for Member States to enhance sustainable and inclusive tourism policies.
RESEARCH
Tourism and Rural Development: Understanding Challenges on the Ground – Lessons learned from the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Initiative
This report delves into over 200 village cases submitted to the Best Tourism Villages Initiative in 2021 and 2022, offering direct insights into on-the-ground challenges. Predominant issues include the preservation of cultural and natural resources, infrastructure deficiencies, and the necessity for enhanced skills development programs and conflict management. It also showcases various innovative examples of how villages are tackling these challenges, spanning policy improvements, tourism product innovations, and approaches to enhancing opportunities like job creation, business growth, and community engagement, particularly with women and youth, as well as promoting and conserving natural and cultural assets.
Tourism and Rural Development: A Policy Perspective
Tourism and Rural Development: A Policy Perspective - Results of the UN Tourism Survey on Tourism for Rural Development to Member States
UN Tourism has launched a new report to determine the status of rural tourism in its Member States and identify the main challenges and opportunities of tourism as a driver for rural development from a policy perspective. This report represents the first baseline document of UN Tourism on tourism and rural development with the participation of Member States worldwide. The report underscores rural tourism's importance, with over half of Member States prioritizing it. Almost all Member States are optimistic about its future. Key opportunities identified include job creation, livelihood improvement, and cultural and environmental preservation.
Tourism and Rural Development: A Policy Perspective
Compilación de buenas prácticas del turismo indígena – Enfoque regional sobre las Américas
The Compilation of Best Practices of Indigenous Tourism - Regional Focus on the Americas outlines significant examples in indigenous tourism across the Americas, focusing on policy frameworks, cultural sensitization, and community empowerment. By showcasing successful case studies, the document illustrates how indigenous tourism can support community development, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation, emphasizing the necessity of equitable partnerships and indigenous community involvement in tourism planning.
Tourism and Rural Development: A Policy Perspective
UN Tourism Recommendations on Tourism and Rural Development
The sustainability of tourism in rural areas will only be successful if a comprehensive, inclusive planning strategy is adopted and implemented based on a multi-action and multi-stakeholder participatory approach. The UN Tourism Recommendations on Tourism and Rural Development, approved by the 24th session of the UN Tourism General Assembly (A/RES/732(XXIV), aim to support governments at various levels, as well as the private sector and the international community in developing tourism in rural territories in a way that contributes to inclusive, sustainable and resilient development.
AlUla Framework for inclusive Community Development through Tourism
Under the leadership of the 2020 G20 Saudi Presidency, the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) and the G20 Tourism Working Group have developed the AlUla Framework for Inclusive Community Development through Tourism to help fulfil the sector’s potential to contribute to and achieve inclusive community development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Framework provides guidance and inspiration to all governments, as well as all other key stakeholders in the tourism sector – including regional and local governments, the private sector, industry associations, civil society, communities and tourists – with the aim of fostering a truly holistic and integrated approach to inclusive community development through tourism.
AlUla Framework for inclusive Community Development through Tourism
AlUla Framework for inclusive Community Development through Tourism – Executive Summary
International Rural Tourism Development – An Asia-Pacific Perspective
This publication released on the occasion of the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017, focuses on community empowerment and poverty alleviation through rural tourism development. The report shines a light on rural tourism development in the Asia Pacific region with fourteen specific case studies that show how communities have adapted a sustainable approach to rural tourism that stimulates economic growth, creates employment and improves the livelihood of communities.
International Rural Tourism Development – An Asia-Pacific Perspective
