Tourism is often a key sector of the economy of countries where international donors are involved, and this trend is expected to continue, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently revised its forecasts upwards and now expects an average annual growth rate of international tourist flows of 5% per year until 2030. Countries in development are particularly concerned by the growth of these flows.
International donors are public, multilateral or bilateral organizations. They assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in implementing and financing their development programs.
The mission of international donors is to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Organization. They grant borrowing governments loans or grants to finance economic or social development projects (access to water, energy, infrastructure development, education, etc.).
The global amount of development aid administered by these organizations reached nearly USD 143 billion in 2016.
Some examples of international donors are the European Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and USAID etc.
While donors have a long history of financing tourism projects, they rarely have a defined tourism strategy. Supported tourism projects are under support to local development (value chains strengthening, structuring of activities, infrastructures), the preservation of cultural heritage, urban development, support to small and medium enterprises, preservation of biodiversity, and the fight against the effects of climate change. Thus, most donors support sustainable tourism, but this action has not been the result of a comprehensive and coherent vision.
Horwath HTL has identified key issues and recommendations to be considered, in order to target and improve the effectiveness of international donors’ intervention for the sustainable development of tourism, and leveraging this formidable tool for territorial development.
These recommendations are intended for both bilateral and multilateral public institutions that administer official development assistance, and non-governmental organizations and foundations that wish to develop an intervention strategy for sustainable tourism.
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Coralie Marti joined Horwath HTL France in 2014 as a Senior Consultant and is in charge of international business development at Horwath HTL France and coordinates the Tourism and Leisure business line within the Horwath HTL network. She is in charge of coordinating joint business development actions with other Horwath HTL offices within the tourism and leisure international markets and cultivating and sustaining key partnerships across public and private sectors.
Coralie holds a masters degree in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics and a masters degree in Urban and regional policies from Paris Institute of political studies.