Tourism is one of the biggest global industries today. In 2021, travel and tourism direct contribution to GDP worldwide was approximately 5.8 billion US dollars. Promoted by most countries in the world, tourism is perceived as a direct source of foreign currency and generator of jobs at the local level. 

But the development of mass tourism, concentrated in a few multinational companies, has been subject to international criticism in terms of human rights and environmental impacts. Such tourism is linked to infrastructure development and land grabbing, that result in violations of indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and resources. In some cases, indigenous peoples unwillingly become the tourism attraction themselves, and the uncontrolled marketing of arts and crafts and the commodification of their cultures have had very negative effect on their cultural rights. At the same time, some indigenous peoples and communities have developed themselves tourism community projects as a source of income for their communities but also with a view to be in control of the relation with visitors and communicate on their own cultures and ways of life.

This year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples announced his intention to develop and submit a thematic report to the UN General Assembly in October 2023 focusing on the different aspects of tourism and the tourism industry in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples.

In order to share further light to the different aspects of the issue, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights International (IPRI) and the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) have requested partner organizations and experts to provide their views and information on particular cases and have compiled them in the present publication. We hope it can be a useful contribution to the work to be developed by the Special Rapporteur.

"Such tourism is linked to infrastructure development and land grabbing, that result in violations of indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and resources."