Accor S.A., renowned French multinational hospitality company founded in 1967 and based in Issy - les - Moulineaux, group that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties has entered into an innovative three-year partnership with WMF, World Monuments Fund, well known private, international, non-profit organization focused to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through advocacy, education, fieldwork, grantmarking and training founded in 1965 and based in New York.
The primary objective of this alliance is to protect cultural heritage by empowering local communities, combining expertise, resources and global networks to improve and enrich destinations by fostering community engagement and promoting long-term resilience.
The travel and tourism sector nowadays plays a fundamental role in the global economy contributing up to 10% of global GDP and some countries rely on tourism for up to 70% their GDP.
The tourism sector also generates 10% of global employment, although climate change and overtourism are phenomena that are threatening many cultural and historical sites that often form the heart of local communities.
Linked to all that, the Accor Group and the World Monument Fund with this initiative are committed to developing innovative travel solutions planned to address these challenges by promoting a process of sustainable progress while avoiding contributing to problems.
Through this partnership, Accor's primary objective is to play a key role in the conservation of cultural heritage, while supporting the environmental and social progress of these destinations through its action.
Over the next three years, Accor and the World Monument Fund will leverage their global influence and expertise to optimally implement projects focused on enriching destinations by coming into direct contact with communities, strengthening long-term resilience.
The World Monument Fund's conservation efforts are particularly linked to those developed by World Monuments Watch program, a proven tool for raising awareness about heritage places in need of protection and galvanizing action and support for their preservation that often include training local communities and collaborating with authorities to develop sustainable tourism models designed to mitigate the negative effects of mass tourism.
Accor will be instrumental in reshaping these tourism initiatives to ensure that cultural heritage sites are preserved while continuing to attract visitors, thereby supporting the local economy and improving the skills of local populations.
The World Monument Fund and Accor will work together to redistribute tourist flows by highlighting lesser-known monuments and heritage sites and promoting new destinations through sustainable and thoughtful development.
These efforts will ease the pressure on traditional tourist resorts while drawing attention to new areas that can be explored and discovered.
The partnership between Accor and the World Monuments Fund will continue to evolve over the next three years with the first initiatives scheduled for early 2025 to coincide with Earth Day, an event that will be held on 22nd April 2025.
By working together, these two leading organizations are raising the bar for sustainable tourism by ensuring that the world's most important sites are safeguarded and protected for future generations.
Accor Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin commented that through this important partnership, Accor undoubtedly reinforces its commitment to safeguarding cultural heritage by preserving the world's most iconic and emblematic destinations.
This collaboration with the World Monuments Fund also aims to promote new initiatives relevant to the sustainable and responsible development of the travel industry and the company will continue with its goals of being pioneers of the art of responsible hospitality by connecting cultures with generosity and passion.
Link - https://www.expreso.info/noticias/hoteles/102752_nueva_iniciativa_de_accor_para_enriquecer_destinos_y_fortalecer_comunidades
