That tourism contributes to conservation of environment has recently drawn the attention of The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The organization is going to hold its second international conference on global warming and tourism in Davos, Switzerland. The subject climate change and tourism will be given importance at the conference, to be held from October 1-3. UNWTO's first conference on climate change and tourism was held in Djerba, Tunisia, in 2003.

In the General Assembly in Colombia, UNWTO firmly stated that the meetings would advance research and policy measures that would help tourism to defeat the challenges caused by climate change, and at the same time go on with providing major contributions towards poverty alleviation. In this context, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, praised the results of these discussions as a tourism input to UN's conference on climate change to be held in Bali this December. In the spirit of UNWTO's Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, and in connection with the UN's Millennium Development Goals, the tourism sector can and must act out its part.

World leaders in recent years have documented a range of challenges of truly global import, with acute poverty and climate change as the most forceful issues. They entail innovative and changed behaviour to effectively respond over time, and tourism can and must play its part in the solutions to both. World tourism has entered a historically new phase of growth, which began three years ago. A more solid and more accountable type of growth distinguishes this new phase. The UNWTO will encourage stakeholders from the public and private sectors, and representatives from the civil society, as "climate change has become a key issue for policymakers worldwide, and tourism is an important element of discussions."

In remarking about the upcoming event, UNWTO secretary-general Francesco Frangialli said: "UNWTO as the lead tourism organization in the UN family is collaborating with UNEP as the key environment agency to guarantee that the tourism sector plays its part in this matter."

The Davos conference will be followed by a Ministerial Summit, supported by the United Kingdom, at the World Travel Market in London on November 13. "The Davos International Conference and the follow-up Ministerial Summit in London will trigger research and policy measures that will enable tourism to respond to the challenges of climate change and, at the same time, reduce the industry's own contributions to global warming," the secretary-general added in a meeting.

The options open to the tourism sector for adaptation to climate changes will be talked about, in three panel sessions, from a destination's perspective: coastal destinations and small islands, mountain regions, and nature-based destinations. Possibilities for improvement will be discussed in three panel sessions: improvement in the transport sector, improvement in hotels and other tourism establishments, and improvement of tourism impact on the natural environment, and strengthening of the resilience of ecosystems.

Climate is an essential resource for tourism, especially for the beach, nature, and winter sports tourism sections. Changing climate and weather patterns at tourist destinations and tourist generating countries can significantly affect the tourists' comfort and their travel decisions. Changing demand patterns and tourist flows will have an impact on tourism business and on host communities, as well as knock-off effects on related sectors, such as agriculture, handicraft or construction. In small island states and developing countries, where tourism is a major economic activity, any significant reduction in tourist arrivals will have serious employment impact and engender further poverty.

Governments and private sector must lay augmented importance on these factors in tourism development strategies, and in climate and poverty strategies. They are interdependent, and must be dealt with in a holistic fashion. This calls for a more accountable growth. Tourism has become both the victim and the victor of climate change. The sector has to reduce its discharge; it also has to adapt.

No one now doubts the reality of climate change, and the UN system is committed to seeking solutions that are coherent with other global challenges, particularly the war on poverty. This is important for tourism, which is a vital export for poor countries.

Tourism works as an important tool for raising the environmental awareness of the people. It beautifies nature and thus helps increase the public appreciation of the environment. Tourism and the environment are complementary to each other. The UNWTO Davos conference will let the world know this anew, chalking out dos and don'ts for making people more aware of global warming and its deadly upshot.

Mohammad Shahidul Islam is a faculty of National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation.