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- New UN Tourism-IDB publication highlights how data and governance improve tourism outcomes.
SAO PAULO, Brazil – World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched a new publication highlighting how tourism observatories can strengthen sustainable tourism development in Latin America and the Caribbean by improving data-driven decision-making, governance, and destination management.
“Shaping Sustainable Tourism – the Role of Tourism Observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean,” was presented during the 1st World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America Ministers’ Summit held in Sao Paulo.
The report emphasises the importance of regular, timely, reliable and locally generated data for managing tourism sustainably. Tourism observatories—such as UN Tourism and the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO)—enable destinations to monitor key indicators, including supply and demand trends, resource use and tourism capacities, and translate this information into actionable insights for planning, investment, and policy decisions.
It also underscores the importance of participatory governance, showing how observatories create platforms for public and private stakeholders to align priorities, strengthen coordination, and support more transparent and accountable tourism.
The analysis provides an overview of how tourism observatories operate and presents a series of case studies and best practices from across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The findings highlight that tourism observatories can contribute to better governance by enabling early identification of risks and opportunities supporting integrated decision-making, and improving the measurement of economic, social and environmental sustainability, particularly at the destination level.
The publication comes amid increased engagement by international organizations in supporting sustainable tourism programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting how investment in tourism observatories can bridge national strategies and local action while strengthening transparent, accountable, and sustainability‑focused destination governance.
WTM Latin America was held April 14-16. The event featured a range of activities, including the 1st Tourism Ministers’ Summit, which brought together ministers of tourism and ministerial representatives from the region. Under the theme “Latin American Tourism: Responsible and Regenerative for the Future,” the Summit fostered strategic dialogue on the future of the sector in Latin America.