World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, Inclusive Recovery Guide – Sociocultural Impacts of Covid-19, 2021

World Bank, Rebuilding Tourism Competitiveness: Tourism Response, Recovery and Resilience to the COVID-19 Crisis, 2020.

OECD, Managing tourism development for sustainable and inclusive recovery, Tourism Papers, 2021.

To achieve capacity building in local communities for climate and risk management, the following approach can be taken:

1. Conduct regular training and capacity building programmes for local communities on climate change, biodiversity and risk, supported by national initiatives such as seminars, webinars and modular courses, especially for municipal actors.

2. Facilitate the integration of traditional knowledge with modern technology and adaptive strategies through collaboration with indigenous peoples and local communities, and document this knowledge for use in local management and preparedness.

3. Implement strategic planning that includes risk assessment, disaster preparedness and regularly updated environmental and cultural impact assessments, which are anchored in municipal plans and national climate adaptation strategies.

4. Establish permanent cross-sectoral cooperation networks with all relevant stakeholders, including the public sector, business, academia and local communities, for coordinated monitoring, preparedness and decision-making processes.

5. Promote the role of culture-based tourism as a driver of local community resilience by supporting innovation and initiatives that can contribute to broader local economic value creation and security independent of the tourism sector.

The following questions can guide efforts to strengthen local community resilience through training and capacity building:

Regular training and capacity building

• How can we ensure that training programmes are accessible and tailored to the needs of different local communities, particularly municipal actors?

• How can seminars, webinars and modular courses be effectively integrated into national and local initiatives for climate and environmental awareness?

• How do we evaluate the impact of capacity building over time to ensure continuous improvement?

Integration of traditional knowledge and modern technology

• How can indigenous peoples and local communities be involved in the documentation and application of traditional knowledge?

• How can modern technology support, but not replace, traditional knowledge?

• How can we ensure the respectful and ethical use of local knowledge in management and preparedness?

Strategic planning and risk assessment

• How can risk analyses and impact assessments be incorporated into municipal plans and national climate adaptation strategies?

• How can we ensure that emergency preparedness measures are up to date and relevant to local environmental and cultural conditions?

• How can information from environmental and cultural impact assessments be communicated to local communities and decision-makers?

Cross-sectoral cooperation networks

• How can cooperation networks involving the public sector, business, academia and local communities be established and maintained?

• What can be done to strengthen coordination and sharing of resources and information between different actors?

• How can cooperation be monitored to ensure good decision-making processes and effective response?

The role of culture-based tourism in local resilience

• How can culture-based tourism support local innovation and broader economic value creation beyond the sector?

• What types of initiatives promote local economic security and community resilience in the face of climate and environmental challenges?

• How can we measure and document the effects of cultural tourism on local community development?

Ref. Annex 3: Application