UNESCO & TUI Care Foundation to boost sustainable tourism in heritage destinations
Signing Ceremony-34
The partnership combines local destination projects with a broader international component focused on coordination, knowledge-sharing and cooperation around sustainable tourism practices.
UNESCO and the TUI Care Foundation have launched a new global partnership on sustainable tourism in and around UNESCO World Heritage destinations, supporting local communities, safeguarding cultural heritage and promoting more inclusive and responsible tourism development.
Tourism can create economic opportunities and strengthen connections between people and places. At the same time, increasing visitor flows place growing pressure on many heritage destinations around the world, affecting local communities, cultural traditions and natural environments. Through this collaboration, UNESCO and the TUI Care Foundation aim to demonstrate how tourism can actively contribute to heritage preservation while generating long-term benefits for local communities.
The partnership combines local destination projects with a broader international component focused on coordination, knowledge-sharing and cooperation around sustainable tourism practices. Initial activities will begin in UNESCO World Heritage destinations in Morocco and Zanzibar while contributing to wider international exchange and dialogue.
In Morocco, activities will support sustainable tourism development around Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the country’s most iconic cultural landmarks. The initiative aims to encourage longer stays, strengthen opportunities for local artisans and tourism businesses, and develop new cultural tourism experiences rooted in local heritage and traditions. Training for local guides and entrepreneurs, new cultural routes and storytelling and digital interpretation tools will support deeper engagement between visitors and the destination’s living heritage, with particular attention given to women and young people.
In Zanzibar, the partnership will support sustainable cultural tourism in and around Stone Town of Zanzibar, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its rich living heritage and history as a meeting point of cultures. Activities will strengthen links between culture and tourism by supporting skills development, creative entrepreneurship and heritage-based tourism initiatives. Programmes such as Forodhani Culture Nights, Zanzibar Your Creative Markets and Youth Heritage Ambassadors will help create new opportunities for local communities to participate in and benefit from responsible and inclusive tourism development.
Julien Pellaux, Director of Partnerships at UNESCO, shared, “Sustainable tourism must benefit the communities who safeguard our World Heritage and sustain its living traditions. This partnership is about working with the private sector to shape tourism more responsibly — ensuring that economic activity supports heritage protection and translates into meaningful opportunities for local communities. Together, we are helping define a more balanced and sustainable model of tourism for present and future generations.”
Beyond local projects, UNESCO and the TUI Care Foundation will work together to strengthen international dialogue and collaboration around sustainable tourism in UNESCO destinations worldwide through communication activities, knowledge exchange and engagement with public and private stakeholders.
