TEHRAN – The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has formulated guidelines to help both governments and businesses better address the needs of women in the tourism sector.

According to the UN body,  the guidelines aim to ensure an inclusive and resilient recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.

“The recently published guidelines continue UNWTO’s work on women’s empowerment to address gender inequalities.”

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says: “The restart of tourism must include everyone and the benefits must be enjoyed by all. Tourism has proven itself a true champion of gender equality and these new guidelines will help both governments and businesses harness the sector’s power as a driver of women’s empowerment as the world opens up again”.

The proposed strategies for the public sector provide specific tools to support national, regional, local, and other tourism institutions, focusing on policies, programs, and thematic issues in the tourism sector. Meanwhile, the strategy for businesses is intended to support tourism enterprises of all types and sizes to achieve effective and consistent strategies and programs for gender equality across their operations.

Furthermore, they recognize that, given the disproportionate loss of employment suffered by women, as well as the high proportion of women workers within the tourism and their concentration in lower-skilled and lower-paid jobs, plans for the sector’s restart and recovery must address their specific needs.

AFM