The United Nations 70th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
“With more than one billion international tourists now traveling the world each year, tourism has become a powerful and transformative force that is making a genuine difference in the lives of millions of people. The potential of tourism for sustainable development is considerable.
[restrict] As one of the world’s leading employment sectors, tourism provides important livelihood opportunities, helping to alleviate poverty and drive inclusive development.”
Tourism remains Palau’s main economic driver and as seen in 2014, environment and infrastructure were strained with sudden and large influx of visitors.
“The rapid rise in tourism activity strained infrastructure and was tilted towards low budget tourists, which led the authorities to limit the number of charter flights in FY2016,” stated IMF 2016 Executive Report on Palau.
“Planned manageable growth will be our motto in the next four years,” says President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr. on Palau’s development, calling for quality instead of quantity in tourism numbers. [/restrict]