Tourism, Cinema key to achievement of SDG-UNWTO

Come 1st to 2nd of May 2020, all roads will lead to the Riviera Maya in Mexico for a conference on Tourism and the Audiovisual Industry with a bid to showcase the huge role that culture as an essential vector for tourism and cinema can play as a mirror of any given community.

The conference will be centred on the different aspects of the relationship between tourism, the film/audiovisual industry and the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while featuring presentations and debates on cultural tourism, the beneficial impact of cinema on tourism promotion, strengthening the competitiveness of a destination and how to promote and incorporate the SDGs in movies.

“The major focus of the conference is to bring public and private entities linked to the tourism and audiovisual sectors like producers, directors, actors and other film professionals, Destination Management Organizations (DMOs), National Tourism Administrations (NTAs), Ministries of Tourism, and UNWTO Affiliate Members, among others together under the same roof to facilitate a dialogue between tourism destinations and the most important companies producing films and series, public and private television networks, sales agents, distributors and exhibitors from more than 30 countries to promote film tourism through the opening of a special market area to encourage the promotion and marketing of products and services related to the audiovisual, tourism and education sectors,” the organizers said in a statement.

The conference will be integrated into the extensive programme of events in the context of the 2020 Platino Awards Gala and will be held under the theme “17 Awards – 17 Sustainable Development Goals” and will bring together prominent representatives from the entire Ibero-American audiovisual industry: producers, directors, actors, and professionals, among others.

The event will be carried out by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in collaboration with UNWTO Affiliate Members EGEDA (Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de los Productores Audiovisuales), the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo and the XCaret Group, and with the support of the Barceló Hotel & Resorts Group.

Recall that year after year, destinations worldwide are receiving more and more travellers whose motivation is to visit locations where famous series or movies were filmed.