International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development

Fourth International Meeting
Costa Rica June 2008

The Fourth International Task Force Meeting on Sustainable Tourism Development (ITF-STD) was held on 9-11 June, 2008 in San Jose and Arenal, Costa Rica. The meeting was organized by the Costa Rica Ministry of Tourism; the French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning; the French Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs; the French Ministry in charge of Tourism and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the financial support of the Norwegian and French Governments.

The meeting was hosted by Mr. Carlos Benavides, Costa Rica Minister of Tourism, who chaired also the opening and closing sessions, and co- chaired and facilitated by Mr. Christian Brodhag, former French inter-ministerial Delegate for Sustainable Development.

The objectives of the meeting were to:

  • Review the current challenges related to the financing of sustainable tourism development and exploring opportunities and strengthening partnerships with multi-lateral and bilateral financing institutions and donors;
  • Present case studies, lessons learned and recommendations focusing on the thematic priority areas of the Task Force;
  • Experience sustainable tourism on the field with Costa Rica example of implementations.
  • Identify a first list of policy recommendations that could be submitted under the 10-years framework (10YFP) for Sustainable Consumption and Production that will be negotiated at the UN CSD in 2010/2011.

A milestone of the Fourth International Meeting was the drafting of the first set of policy recommendations to support sustainable tourism development that are structured around a simplified life cycle of the tourism value chain. These recommendations are scheduled to be presented at the CSD in 2010/2011. In relation to proposed work on sustainable investments and financing, the Task Force gained further support from participating financial institutions and organizations, such as the Inter-American Development Bank/ Multi-lateral Investment Fund (IADB/MIF). The World Bank Group communicated its decision to host the launch of the SIFT Network at the World Bank's headquarters in 2009.

Documents

Report: English I French