
Sustainable Tourism Programme
Food waste reduction
Sustainable food production and consumption is one of the most important levers to protect planet and people. One reason for this is the constantly and rapidly growing demand for food in a world whose population is expected to grow to over 9 billion people by 2050. At the same time, food producers around the world often do not receive a fair share of the global food trade and in many cases work under poor conditions. Additional pressure comes from greenhouse gas emissions caused by food production, which play a crucial role in climate change. Furthermore, the health aspect of food is a major concern, especially in modern societies, and rapid socio-cultural change raises the issue of protecting food cultures and traditions. While food consumption is considered by most tourists to be an important part of their trip, unsustainable food consumption can cause harm to tourists, locals, and destinations in general. Overuse of scarce resources, excessive food waste, and poor working conditions are some examples of areas where tourist food consumption has negative consequences for a destination.
GLOBAL ROADMAP FOR FOOD WASTE REDUCTION IN THE TOURISM SECTOR
To address the issue, it is necessary to have an overarching framework for sustainable and circular management of food, with special emphasis on preventing food waste in the tourism sector. The Programme has developed the Global Roadmap for Food Waste Reduction in the Tourism Sector which is rooted on the fact that agriculture is currently the major cause of biodiversity loss and wishes to support tourism stakeholders in contributing to more sustainable global food systems.
The Roadmap sets out how the tourism sector can contribute to the achievement of target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims at halving food waste globally by 2030. The Roadmap provides an action framework to accelerate food waste reduction in tourism, sharing practical insights and guidance for the sector with a particular focus on accommodation providers and cruise lines to scale up impacts.

The Roadmap encourages and provides recommendations for tourism stakeholders to:

GLOBAL ROADMAP FOR FOOD WASTE REDUCTION IN THE TOURISM SECTOR
By proposing a consistent framework based on prevention, redistribution and circulation, the Roadmap aims to scale up action on food waste reduction in tourism
The Roadmap builds on the UNWTO Recommendations for the Transition to a Green Travel and Tourism Economy. It also supports the transition towards sustainable gastronomy, building on the Guidelines for the Development of Gastronomy Tourism released by UNWTO and the Basque Culinary Center. In addition, it supports the implementation of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism by stressing the importance of reducing GHG emissions associated with food waste.
A participatory approach was followed, involving the members of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme’s Advisory Group on Food Waste in a series of consultation meetings during 2021 and 2022. The final draft of the Roadmap was released for public consultation at the 7th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism held in Nara, Japan in December 2022.

TOOLS & RESOURCES
