By: Sanja Bojanic
Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Dominican Republic
The UNWTO has declared September 27 “World Tourism Day” since 1980. This year’s theme, “Tourism and Peace”, emphasizes tourism’s potential to cultivate peace and resolve differences among people.
True peace encompasses more than simply the absence of violence and conflict. It reflects justice, equity, and societal well-being. Achieving such peace requires joined-up and equitable development. Simply promoting economic development isn’t enough.
In Punta Cana, a celebrated tourist destination in the Yuma region of Dominican Republic, the Human Development Index (HDI) is the lowest in the country, at 0.566 despite economic prosperity driven by tourism (according to UNDP Territorial Platform for Human Development data). This highlights the need for measures to support shared prosperity and the need for these within the sector’s growth.
What does low human development signify?
A low HDI means people face issues that affect their well-being, like low life expectancy due to inadequate health services, limited access to education and proper jobs, and persistent poverty due to low income.
Economic growth doesn’t necessarily result in well-being for everyone. For that, tourism expansion must be coupled with deliberative government actions fostering sustainable human development, improving social, educational, and health conditions for all.
For tourism to promote peace, it should create local opportunities, reduce inequalities, and ensure fair distribution of benefits. Sustainable tourism can be promoted through local empowerment, as seen in UNDP’s approach (read more).
Tourism can contribute to local development, deter forced migration, and help reduce poverty-related violence. Engagement of citizens in decision-making processes is crucial. Small local businesses should be included in the tourism value chain, offering direct economic impact on communities.
Improving access to basic services like healthcare and quality education is crucial. World Tourism Day is a reminder that its development should promote not just economic growth but peace too, paving the path for sustainable development and “leaving no one behind”.
Author: Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP Dominican Republic. holds an MBA from the School of Economics and International Finance, Brandeis University, Boston, USA, a Master’s degree in Business Economics, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro. Fluent in English and Macedonian, and native in Montenegrin (Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian).