Mallorca Hosts Sustainable Tourism at 2024 INSTO Meeting and Summit

UN Tourism gathered its International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) in Mallorca to develop actionable policy recommendations for promoting sustainable practices in tourist destinations worldwide.

Co-hosted by the Fundació Mallorca Turisme (Consell de Mallorca) and UN Tourism, the 2024 INSTO meeting was held alongside the III Sustainable Destinations Summit, attracting over 100 participants, including thought leaders, academics, government officials, and development experts. The discussions focused on improving governance between national and regional levels and the importance of measuring tourism’s local impact through robust data management.

One key outcome was a collective push to adopt science-driven transformation, with UN Tourism’s Executive Director, Zoritsa Urosevic, emphasizing the need to mainstream newly adopted metrics beyond GDP to assess tourism sustainability. “Together, we are accelerating progress towards more responsible, accessible, and sustainable tourism destinations,” she remarked.

José Marcial Rodríguez Díaz, Executive Counsellor for Tourism of the Consell de Mallorca, highlighted his department's commitment to fostering coexistence between residents and tourists, promoting responsible tourism within a framework of sustainable development.

INSTO, launched in 2004, now has 45 members worldwide, including recent additions from Colombia and Austria, with a mission to continuously improve tourism’s sustainability through systematic monitoring and the exchange of best practices.