So, what does low human development mean?

A low Human Development Index indicates that people living in this region face difficulties in key areas essential to their well-being. These challenges include low life expectancy which can be due to limited access to healthcare services; restricted educational opportunities, which limit personal development and progress, as well as access to decent employment; and low incomes, which perpetuate poverty.  While economic growth is one of the critical preconditions to increase HDI it does not automatically translate into overall well-being for all residents in the region. For that to happen, economic development, including tourism expansion, needs to be accompanied by conscious and intentional government (national and local) strategies that promote sustainable human development – improvement of social, educational, and healthcare conditions of the entire population. 

This means eliminating geographical disparities in access to social services and protecting natural and human capital that in turn becomes the main sources of competitiveness. Concretely, in case of tourism, for it to truly be a tool for peace, it needs to generate opportunities for local communities, contribute to reducing inequality gaps, and facilitate that ensuring that benefits are distributed more equitably.

So, how can we support that tourism contributes to peace—justice, equity, and well-being? At UNDP, we believe that one key action is to strengthen local empowerment mechanisms, both for communities and governments. Empowering people in their territories not only allows them to actively participate in decisions that affect their future but also fosters stability and social cohesion, essential factors for lasting peace. In this context, visitors and tourism can play a key role by directly contributing to local well-being, reducing forced migration, social deprivation, and violence associated with poverty, with programs designed to support these contributions. 

To promote equity and inclusion, citizens participation and involvement needs to be supported and facilitated so that they can take a more active role and contribute locally to the process of prioritizing needs, formulating sectoral and territorial plans, and determination of local development agenda.

Another essential strategy is to promote productive linkages between large tourism companies and small local entrepreneurs and inclusion of small local companies in the tourism value chain. Promoting the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through innovation, digitalization, and the creation of business incubation spaces can generate a direct economic impact on communities. This type of economic integration has potential to benefit both tourism companies and local entrepreneurs and that way contributes to local development and more equitable distribution of benefits.

Finally, it is essential that all these initiatives are developed with the “big picture” in mind and in the framework of a territorial public policy that is dedicated to enhancing access to basic services such as quality healthcare and education. These services are the foundation that will lead to having healthy and qualified human capital that will support further expansion of tourism and other sectors that drive country’s sustainable development. 

This World Tourism Day is an opportunity to look at the broader picture and recognize that it is essential to ensure that its development not only promotes economic growth but also contributes to creating an environment conducive to peace, understood as justice, equity, and well-being. Only in this way can we ensure that sustainable human development progresses in all regions and that "no one is left behind."