According to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the tourism industry generated 462 billion US $ worldwide in 2004. Further increases are projected for the near and mid-term future. Our partner countries' share of the international tourism market is also constantly growing, leading to high expectations that new employment and income opportunities will be created in and around the tourism sector. Environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources are set to receive a boost. Last but not least, it is essential to ensure that economic development through tourism is socially just.

Today, sustainable tourism is well-established in international environmental and development policies. It plays a vital part in the working programmes of: the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), the UN Organisations (UNEP, UNDP, UNESCO, among others), various donor organisations, and internationally operating environmental associations and organisations, like the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as well as of those based in Germany: Global Nature Fund, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) and Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU).