World Tourism Day: To unlock sustainable transformation, unions are the key

Each year on 27 September - World Tourism Day - the United Nations marks the sector's power to drive positive change. In 2025, the theme is "Tourism and Sustainable Transformation," stressing responsible entrepreneurship and skills development for young workers. But one critical component is often overlooked in that narrative: the essential role of trade unions in making these ambitions real.

At the international level, the IUF has not only organized workers but also secured significant international accords. Examples include IUF agreements with Meliá Hotels, Essendi and Riu Hotels, formalizing commitments to prevent sexual harassment, ensure dignity, health, and safety, uphold collective bargaining rights and gender equality. The end result of agreements at this level? Safe workplaces for workers from IUF-affiliated unions. Workers such as hotel housekeepers, who are at great risk of sexual harassment and other exploitation - unless their unions empower them to stand up for their rights.

The IUF also intervened with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) during construction of Marriott-branded hotels in Zambia, pushing for conditions where workers could vote - free from intimidation - for their own union representatives. Additionally, the IUF partnered with Sodexo in a formal declaration of intent to raise health and safety standards throughout the hospitality and catering sectors.

In the Asia/Pacific region, the IUF is uniquely focused this World Tourism Day on the plight of young and informal tourism workers, groups that frequently overlap. Following recent youth-centred mobilization across the region, the IUF Asia/Pacific youth committee convened educational seminars and rallies for better wages, job security and safe work environments. Kristjan Bragason, Acting General Secretary, noted that "these two groups are often one and the same - youth more often find themselves in informal working arrangements," a reality underlining the importance of union outreach in these sectors.

For World Tourism Day 2025, then, sustainable transformation must include not just entrepreneurship and training, but also the collective strength and rights that only unions can secure.