United Nations World Tourism Organization (unwto) and Global Sustainable Tourism Council (gstc)

Tourism is a rapidly growing industry in the world, globalization and the internet acts as a catalyst that promotes the tourism industry into what it is today. In 2016, more than 1 billion people were recorded as tourist making tourism one of the world's largest industries. (Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Tourism has a very significant impact in a country's economy and according to 2014 data from World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Macau, Maldives and the British Virgin Islands are the top 3 countries that relies heavily on tourism for income with Macau recording 44% of its GDP, Maldives with 41.5% and The British Virgin Islands with a third of its GDP. All tourism activities need to be sustainable, whether it's for leisure or business as tourism also contributes many problems such as social dislocation, lost of cultural heritage, economic dependence and ecological degradation. And because of this, many people are seeking more responsible holidays where the locals and their culture, together with the tourists, are mutually respected.

Many tourism organizations are also promoting sustainable tourism and are implementing and changing policies to make it happen. International tourism organization like United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) are very prominent in the industry and have influence and shape many countries' tourism policies. Other International organization that are not directly related to tourism like The World Bank and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) have also contributed to promoting sustainable tourism. Each of them have different roles and responsibilities and focus on different aspect of the industry. Some gather data, provide education and training, gather statistics and provide a platform for discussion, while some works with airlines and resources in the industry, invests and come up with ideas to promote tourism. They are all important in governing the industry and making sustainable tourism a reality, more will be discussed below.

The UNWTO and the GSTC plays similar roles and responsibilities in creating sustainable tourism. UNWTO is the leading international organization in the tourism industry that promotes tourism as a driving force in economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability. UNWTO have a very important role to play as it is now a leader in this field and offers support to countries by providing guidelines and advice in shaping their tourism policies. GSTC on the other hand works with small and large businesses in the industry by fostering increased knowledge and understanding good practices in sustainable tourism. GSTC also promote the use of a universal sustainable tourism principles while encouraging the demand for sustainable travel. It certifies the certifiers by providing 3 levels of accreditation which gives tourist the assurance that the tour agency, hotels or destinations are working towards sustainability.

While UNWTO and GSTC provides the guidelines and knowledge of creating sustainable tourism a reality, there are other international organization provides the funds and resources needed. The World Bank for example, just agreed to a loan of US$ 65 million to the Panama government to improve the sanitation condition and reduce contamination in Panama Bay on March, 2017. It has a great impact on the tourism industry of Panama as the improved condition will attracts more tourist and real estate investment while also conserving the marine biodiversity in the area. PATA is another international organization that contributes significantly to sustainable tourism, it influence the direction of which the industry heads towards by bringing together many airlines, land and sea transporters and organization that engage in the production, distribution, financing, consulting and education aspects of the travel industry.

Uluru (also named Ayer Rock in 1873) are homes to Australian Aboriginals, Anangu since 10,000 years ago. The tourism industry at Ayer Rock started in 1936 and boomed over the years with development of tourism infrastructure in the 1950s. In recent years, close to a million people visited Ayer Rocks every year and it resulted in adverse environmental impacts. In Year 2000, it was listed as a World heritage Site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and together with many other organizations and the native aboriginals, sustainable tourism policy and efforts began. For example, tour companies like Uluru Camel Tour and Uluru Segway Tours are adopting sustainable efforts by investing locally, buy resources locally, employing local aboriginals, support aboriginals community and protecting the local environment and culture. Countries who opted to join UNESCO gets funds from them to implement conservation efforts under certain conditions. They have to adhere to their policy and are required to produce and submit periodic data report, providing the World Heritage Committee with an overview of each participating nation's implementation of the World Heritage Convention. This efforts have proven successful as more companies operating at Ayer Rocks are following the guidelines set by these organizations and both tourists and aboriginals are benefitting from it.