UN Tourism has introduced a groundbreaking digital self-assessment tool, the UN Tourism Self-assessment Tool to Assist Rural Destinations (STAR), designed to support tourism development in rural areas.
STAR enables local public authorities in rural destinations to evaluate their tourism development level on their own. It offers customized recommendations, benchmarks destinations, and provides essential data and insights, aiding Member States in crafting sustainable and inclusive tourism policies.
Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UN Tourism, says: “The UN Tourism Self-assessment Tool is a game-changer for rural destinations. It empowers local authorities with a tool that allows them to self-evaluate their policies and actions, providing actionable insights fostering sustainable tourism development, and contributing to the overall growth of rural communities.”
Available to all rural destinations within UN Tourism Member States, the tool is open to local authorities keen on evaluating their tourism progress and receiving guidance to adopt a sustainable, inclusive, and smart tourism model. STAR’s key features include:
Self-Assessment: Allows rural destinations to gauge their policies and initiatives using indicators across five key areas: Tourism Governance; Economic, Social, and Cultural Sustainability; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Development; and Infrastructure. This tool aids stakeholders in strategic planning, marketing, training, policymaking, product diversification, infrastructure development, environmental and cultural preservation, collaboration, financing access, and result measurement.
Tailored Recommendations: Provides a customized guide with recommendations adhering to UN Tourism standards, tailored to the unique attributes of rural destinations.
Benchmarking Excellence: Assists local authorities in comparing policies and practices, facilitating comprehensive evaluations of destinations.
Data and Insights: Offers extensive data to Member States, enabling detailed analytics on assessed destinations, highlighting local governments’ strengths and weaknesses in tourism strategies and interventions, and laying the foundation for improvements at local, regional, and national levels.
STAR is an integral part of UN Tourism’s Tourism for Rural Development Programme, which views tourism as a catalyst for rural development and well-being. It supports the conservation of rural villages, landscapes, knowledge systems, and cultural diversity, and aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting innovative and transformative tourism strategies in rural areas.
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