CAF joins the Glasgow Declaration on Tourism

CAF -development bank of Latin America- joined the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism during FITUR 2023, in a sign of its commitment to become the green bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and accelerate climate action in all economic sectors in the region. 

The accession coincides with the creation of a new area on sustainable and regenerative tourism, which will support tourism development that, in addition to boosting economic growth and employment generation, contributes to mitigating the effects of climate change, preserving biodiversity, enhancing cultural heritage and boosting key sectors such as transport, hotels, restaurants and gastronomy.  

By joining the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, CAF commits to the following: 

• Support the halving of emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.  
• Deliver climate action plans within 12 months of becoming a signatory and implement them.  
• Align corporate plans with the declaration's five indicators: measurement, decarbonisation, regeneration, collaboration, finance.  
• Publicly report annually on progress against intermediate and long-term targets and actions being taken. 
• Work in a spirit of collaboration, sharing good practice and solutions, and disseminating information to encourage more organisations to join the Declaration's objectives. 

Tourism is one of the most important sectors of Latin American economies. In 2019, it accounted for 42% of total exports in the Caribbean and 10% in Latin America. The tourism economy, which includes all sectors orbiting around the reception of travellers, accounted for 26% of total GDP in the Caribbean and 10% in Latin America. It also accounted for 35% of employment in the Caribbean and 10% in Latin America. 

CAF has created a new office, based in the Dominican Republic, to promote the development of living and regenerative tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, which, beyond avoiding negative impact on the environment, contributes to restoring and improving natural and cultural heritage, effectively and equitably increasing its contribution to people's well-being. 

These are the lines of action of CAF's new tourism proposal:  

• Identity, Social Equity and Cultural Heritage. Support and guarantee the economic, social and cultural well-being of local host communities (rural, indigenous peoples and afro-descendants) and thus contribute to reinforcing respect for their rights and heritage, raising their importance and incorporating their vision and knowledge to achieve environmental, development and conservation goals. 
• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Support the protection, conservation and regeneration of marine, terrestrial and island ecosystems, and enhance biodiversity through the sustainable use of natural resources for economic benefits with minimum environmental impact.  
• Vulnerability to natural disasters resulting from climate change. Strengthening monitoring systems and adaptation measures to extreme events, especially in small island states. 
• Local and National Governance. Support local governments in their planning process, seeking to develop tourism plans at appropriate scales in coordination with national bodies, respecting the carrying capacity of the territory and linking all social agents and sub-sectors of the tourism sector. 
• Sustainability and Circular Economy. Accelerate the decarbonisation of the sector seeking neutrality by 2050, promoting new business models through innovative solutions based on the use and reuse of resources, ecological regeneration, energy efficiency, water resource management, the integration of circularity throughout the tourism value chain under the parameters of the framework for action of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism and the Global Initiative on Tourism and Plastics. 
• Urban Regeneration and Creative Economies. Support the revitalisation and preservation of tangible cultural heritage and the generation of Enabling Infrastructure for Creative and Cultural Economies (e.g. cultural centres, museums, galleries, theatres, creative districts) for the consumption of products or services derived from the sectors where creativity, art or culture is experienced, participated in, as well as the training of local talent.