Supporting Sustainable Tourism Development
Over recent years the Ministry, together with partners from the public and private sector, have been active in the fields of sustainable tourism, strengthening Austria´s position as a sustainable and eco-friendly destination for visitors from all around the world.
The Ministry considers sustainability issues for example in the allocation of funding and promotes energy efficiency, the conservation of resources and environmental-friendly solutions in companies as well as sustainable human resources management and leadership. Initiatives for more accessibility in tourism are supported, in order to assure tourism for each and every one. Tourism and mobility providers are working together to provide sustainable mobility solutions. One of the major challenges is climate change - tourism takes actions in order to adapt to it and to reduce environmental pollution.
In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to, inter alia, end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and fix climate change until 2030. Tourism has been included in three goals, but it has the potential to contribute to all of the goals. This capability was further highlighted by the United Nations declaring 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
The Austrian national tourism strategy "Plan T" acknowledges sustainability in all its facets as the overarching guiding principle of tourism in Austria. In this regard, it strongly aims to contribute to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
For more information on the initiatives of the Ministry, please look at the German website.