The United Nations Tourism Organization successfully held the first regional conference of the Latin America and Caribbean Tourism Law Observatory on the theme “Legal Perspectives for Sustainable Tourism” on 15 and 16 July in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The event was hosted by the United Nations Tourism Office, in collaboration with Grupo Puntacana and Quiroz Advisors – QA Legal, and in collaboration with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism. The meeting brought together dozens of legal experts, government representatives, international organizations and key figures from the tourism sector from both the public and private sectors.
Over two days, experts and authorities discussed the main challenges and opportunities facing the region’s tourism industry from a legal perspective. Issues such as sustainability, governance, land use planning, short-term tourist rentals, accessible tourism and access to green investments were analyzed with the aim of developing concrete recommendations to strengthen the legal framework in this area.
At the opening ceremony, Alicia Gomez, Director of Legal Affairs and International Standards, UN Tourism, emphasized the importance of clear and transparent legal frameworks, inclusive governance models, and cross-cutting approaches to economic, social and environmental sustainability. He added that tourism law should be used as an important tool to build more resilient and sustainable tourism destinations.
One of the highlights of the conference was the formation of the Working Group on Governance and Land Use Planning, where Member States representatives, under the guidance of the United Nations Tourism Office and tourism law experts, developed legal recommendations on land use planning and the management of land as a tourism resource. These conclusions serve as a basis for developing good practice guidelines and future activities by the LAC Observatory in this field.
In parallel, specialized training focused on the application of international standards for accessible tourism was provided to the private sector. Additionally, a post-conference on green investments was held with the participation of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to consider financial mechanisms to promote a more inclusive and sustainable tourism economy.
The conference was attended by distinguished international guests such as Ecuador’s Minister of Tourism Mateo Estrella and Dominican Republic’s Deputy Minister of Tourism Carlos Peguero, as well as representatives from the region’s business, academic and financial sectors.
The conference marks a milestone in the integration of regional legal approaches to sustainable tourism development and strengthens the efforts of UN Tourism and its partners to create more sustainable and competitive destinations.
For more information about the Latin American and Caribbean Tourism Law Observatory, please visit: Latin American and Caribbean Tourism Law Observatory | Observatory
About the United Nations Tourism Office
The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), a specialized agency of the United Nations, is the leading international organization with a decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism. It serves as a global forum on tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. Membership includes 166 countries, six regions, two permanent observers, and more than 500 affiliated members from the private sector.
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