Beneficaries
The 10YFP STP Partners (former GPST Partners) comprise the following categories: Governments (14%), International Organizations (5%), Non-governmental Organizations (34%), Academia (10%), Private Sector –business oriented/ for-profit- (21%), Private Sector –industry association, business organizations/ not-for-profit) (5%), Experts -technical centers and service providers- (10%). 22 SIDS are now represented within the frame of the 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme that integrated all partners of the former GPST. 2 SIDS are represented by National, Regional or Local Governments and Agencies (Bahamas, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and , Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia Tourist Board), 18 SIDS are represented by International Organizations that are partners of the 10YFP STP (mainly by the Association of Caribbean States and Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mauritius, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu), 1 SIDS is represented through a Civil Society organization (Cook Islands, Island Sustainability Alliance CIS Inc.), and 1 SIDS is represented at the 10YFP STP through involvement of a private company (John Keells Maldivian Resorts Ltd., Maldives).
Actions
The Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism was a group of committed partners led by UNEP, working diligently to keep sustainable tourism on the global agenda. This has culminated in the 10YFP Programme on Sustainable Tourism with its inter-governmental mandate. The development of the Sustainable Tourism Programme has a multi-stakeholder participatory approach with a strong focus on collective impact. Based on an initial stock taking exercise which analyzed the status quo of sustainable tourism worldwide and a global sustainable tourism survey, a concept note for the Sustainable Tourism Programme was developed. The final concept note was reviewed by a group of experts representing the South Asia Pacific region and Small Islands Development States. The tourism economy is of particular importance for many of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Recognizing the special SIDS needs and the interests in capacity building, the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) convened a Special Session on Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development of Tourism in Small Island Developing states (SIDS) as an integral part of the above mentioned consultation. The Consultation Meeting and the Special Session was attended by delegations from the Caribbean, the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS), and the Pacific regions and aimed to create capacity for well managed tourism with minimal negative environmental and cultural impacts, through identification of good practice, tools and guidelines. Regional analysis have been undertaken for the Caribbean and Asia Pacifc region where SIDS issues were assessed and recommendations provided to decision makers.