International Tourism Bodies Form Small Islands Developing States

Umbrella bodies from five areas of the world’s leading tourism-dependent regions have joined forces together in an unprecedented collaborative initiative to combine efforts with the aim of promoting tourism recovery and resilience in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The five regional tourism groupings – ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA), Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Indian Ocean Tourism Organization (IOTO) and the Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) – have announced the formation of the SIDS Tourism Organizations, envisioned as a formidable force to advocate for interregional collaboration to strengthen the sector among developing countries and island nations that face specific social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.

World Tourism Network (WTN) is a Member of Indian Ocean Tourism Organization.

The SIDS Tourism Organizations remains the foundation from which to build a SIDS Economic Community across the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea (AIMS), marking an important milestone in the SIDS economic integration agenda.

The integration of regional tourism organizations forming the SIDS Tourism Organizations was presented at the Steering Committee on Partnerships for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Global Multi-Stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue held under the auspicious of SIDS Partnerships Framework of the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries,Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).

SIDS Tourism Organizations was initiated by Indian Ocean Tourism Organization, a nongovernmental and non-profit organization established to unite and integrate 37 Member States & Island Nations within the Indian Ocean archipelago and region.

Indian Ocean Tourism Organization retains ownership of an extraordinary arsenal of intellectual properties (IP), committed to reinvigorating economies of its Member States and Island Nations wholly dependent on tourism, curate unique content specifically for its destinations, while simultaneously establishing an unprecedented ecosystem for social entrepreneurs presenting tourism ideas, innovation and solutions improving the Industry and its accompanying economicclusters; as well as advocating economic, environmental, human and social development across its Member States & Island Nations.

The future of tourism in the Indian Ocean requires a fundamental and profound shift in how tourism should work, transforming tourism’s impact on nature and people by working alongside local communities, and the deployment of innovative economic propositions facilitating avant-garde, new and fresh perspectives for the industry.

Indian Ocean Tourism Organization is associated with the World Social Entrepreneurs Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, member of the World Tourism Network; and currently building multiple ecosystems and specific working groups placing emphasis on the unexploited yet colossal creative industry, producing entirely new knowledge domains.