Goal 3: good health and well-being

By Laura Jaeger, Tourism Watch - Bread for the World

ABSTRACT: In order for tourism to promote good health and well-being for all, a compre- hensive, cross-sectoral and people-centred approach is needed, which takes local peop- le’s as well as tourists’ health and safety into account and puts a strong focus on equity in order to ensure that local people are not structurally disadvantaged.

Governments and the tourism industry need to critically analyse health hazards and develop effective preventative measures in the destinations. They need to ensure that jobs created in tourism comply with labour laws, safety standards and pay fair wages that enable staff to cover their health insurance and medical bills. Tourism bears great potenti- al to foster healthy lives and well-being for both tourists and local communities if the risks involved are reduced by effective preventative measures. For tourism to contribute sig- nificantly to Goal 3, revenues generated from tourism need to be invested in health care systems that are of good quality and accessible and affordable for all