The importance of urban tourism as an economic activity has strongly risen in recent years. Not only have urban tourist numbers increased, but tourists also increasingly venture out in new parts of cities.
This ‘off the beaten track’ tourism offers opportunities for local economic development, particularly in economically impoverished areas. However, it can also cause disturbance and create conflicts between different groups of residents, visitors and industry actors.
The Global Urban Lectures are 15-minute lectures on themes related to sustainable urbanisation, delivered by renowned experts, UN-Habitat partners and UN-Habitat staff. The lectures have been ranked among the best MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) on cities.