Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)

We’re focused on the capacity of sustainable tourism to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Background

At the 2000 United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to a set of eight time-bound targets that, when achieved, will end extreme poverty worldwide by 2015.

 

Summary of goals

Goals 1 through 7 commit the international community to raise the poor out of poverty and hunger, get every child into school, empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, and ensure environmental sustainability.

Goal 8 explicitly recognizes that eradicating poverty worldwide can be achieved only through a global partnership for development. For poor countries to achieve the first seven goals, it is absolutely critical that wealthier countries deliver on their end of the bargain – more and more effective aid, more sustainable debt relief and fairer trade rules -well in advance of 2015.

In Asia Pacific, tourism continues to be of increasing importance to the economies of poorer countries. It is a dynamic economic sector generating substantial foreign exchange earnings throughout our fast growing tourism region of the world.

We support the Millennium Campaign

MDG sign at Ministry of Tourism building, Samoa

The Millennium Campaign informs, inspires and encourages people’s involvement and action for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. An initiative of the United Nations, the Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their government to account for the Millennium promise.

For more information, see www.millenniumcampaign.org