The Montreal Declaration : 30 years of a humanist vision of tourism.

In 2026, the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO) celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Declaration, one of the founding documents of social and solidarity tourism.

Two events will mark this anniversary: ​​a celebration organized on October 29th and 30th, 2026, in Montreal (Canada) by ISTO Americas in partnership with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), followed by a second celebration on November 26th and 27th, 2026, in Bologna (Italy), organized by ISTO Europe with AITR as part of AITR Incontra. This will be an opportunity to go back to the origins, content, and evolution of the text in details.

Why was the Declaration signed ?

The Montreal Declaration was adopted in 1996 by ISTO (then known as BITS—the International Bureau of Social Tourism). It follows directly from two earlier texts: the 1972 Vienna Charter, which had already established the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions of tourism as a fundamental issue of the time, and the World Tourism Organization’s Manila Declaration, which had solemnly reaffirmed the objectives of social tourism.

The text stemmed from a fundamental question asked in its preamble: what does social tourism mean at the dawn of the third millennium? How do the sector's stakeholders view themselves, and what are their ambitions in a rapidly changing world?

The Declaration presents a mixed picture of the world in the 1990s: wealthy nations grappling with economic slowdowns that left segments of their populations struggling; persistent social inequalities; economic blocs organizing according to their own free-market logic; emerging nations opening up to domestic tourism; yet also entire continents held in extreme poverty. Against this backdrop, tourism was experiencing spectacular growth—with open borders, a wider range of destinations, and a boom in both business and leisure travel. However, this growth did not benefit everyone : some countries even saw the exploitation of local populations, with the Declaration explicitly citing child prostitution as an unacceptable abuse that had to be combated.

The Declaration sought to address the gap between the boom in global tourism and the persistent inequality of access to leisure activities. It did so by grounding itself in a foundational principle: Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms every human being's right to rest, leisure, and paid holidays—a right that, at the time of the Montreal Declaration's signing in 1996, was far from being universally realized.

What was the main objective of the Montreal Declaration ?

The text serves a dual purpose: it is both a manifesto of values ​​and a tool for identification. It acts as an international frame of reference for all stakeholders committed to social tourism—including associations, cooperatives, mutuals, foundations, federations, and non-profit organizations—by providing concrete criteria to distinguish their approach from tourism driven solely by the pursuit of maximum profit.

Thirty years later, the Declaration continues to shape the activities of ISTO and its international network; it serves as the foundation for the organization’s position statements, its subsequent addenda, and the events organized for its anniversary—events designed as opportunities to reflect on the evolution of social tourism and the future challenges involved in achieving tourism that is more responsible and socially sustainable.

Key elements for a foundational text

The Declaration is structured into three main parts.

Social tourism as a response to exclusion

The opening articles of the Montreal Declaration frame social tourism as an ambition to combat inequality: making tourism and leisure accessible to all—particularly families, young people, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those with limited means or living in developing countries. The text emphasizes that modest initiatives, when integrated into a comprehensive strategy, can be just as effective as large-scale projects in fostering social cohesion.

Social tourism as an economic and social driver

The text presents social tourism as a powerful vehicle for social cohesion—facilitated by encounters, cultural discovery, and shared activities. Yet, it also acts as a full-fledged economic driver, leveraging the social and solidarity economy to generate flows of people and investment that benefit regions and redistribute resources from wealthier nations to less advantaged ones. Furthermore, it positions social tourism as a key player in regional planning and local development, capable of reconciling tourism growth with environmental protection—a requirement for "sustainable and enduring development" that the text claims to have anticipated well before international organizations formalized the concept.

Criteria for defining social tourism

The final section—arguably the most practical—sets out the criteria that allow an organization to identify itself as part of the social tourism sector:

• pursuit of a general interest objective rather than profit alone,
• non-discrimination in target audiences,
• creation of non-economic value,
• commitment to respectful integration into the local community,
• transparent pricing aligned with social objectives,
• reinvestment of surpluses into service improvements,
• and personnel management that complies with labor laws.

The text clarifies that the actions taken by one's organization—rather than legal status— legitimize its place within the social tourism movement.

Evolution over time: two major addenda

The Montreal Declaration has not remained static; it has been supplemented by two addenda that update it without replacing it.

The Aubagne Addendum (2006), adopted during the ISTO General Assembly, clarifies and strengthens several articles ten years after the original text was adopted. It reaffirms the role of independent trade unions in defending the right to paid leave, extends the requirement for personal fulfillment to host communities as well as visitors, emphasizes local populations' access to their own tourism resources, and calls for facilitating the free movement of people (particularly through tourist visas). This addendum also more explicitly incorporates NGOs, fair trade, and microcredit as partners in social tourism. It concludes with the idea that tourism—despite the security challenges of the time, such as terrorism or natural disasters—must remain a means of bringing peoples closer together and fostering dialogue between cultures.

The Brussels Addendum (2023), published to mark the organization's 60th anniversary, represents a clearer conceptual shift: it establishes the social sustainability of tourism as the central pillar of sustainable development—the one that activates the other two pillars (economic and environmental). The text proposes a precise definition of this social sustainability and, crucially, detailed evaluation criteria for five categories of stakeholders: resident populations, tourism workers, visitors, the operational sector (tourism companies and organizations), and public authorities.

For each category, the addendum details concrete indicators:

• working conditions,
• gentrification,
• access to water and resources,
• local purchasing policies,
• public budgets dedicated to holidays for all,
• management of tourist flows, etc.

ISTO also makes four commitments in this regard: fostering a forum for reflection on social sustainability, producing data and indicators, encouraging its members to implement practical measures, and promoting these criteria to public authorities at all levels.

Thirty years later, its relevance remains undiminished

The Montreal event, organized in partnership with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), aims to bring together the ISTO international network to reflect on the Declaration's legacy, the evolution of social tourism over the past thirty years, and future challenges; the program includes case studies, the sharing of best practices, and technical visits with the Quebec network.
The celebration will continue in Italy in late November with a working session at the University of Bologna, followed by discussions at "AITR Incontra," extending the reflection begun in Montreal and strengthening dialogue among Italian, European, and international stakeholders in responsible tourism. ISTO presents these two events as an opportunity to reaffirm, thirty years after the text's adoption, the enduring relevance of its principles in building a more responsible, inclusive, and sustainable tourism sector.

From the fight against exclusion to precise criteria for social sustainability, the trajectory of the Montreal Declaration aptly illustrates how a foundational text can remain dynamic: by evolving without betraying its core principles, in step with changes in the tourism sector and shifting societal issues.

Join us !

To mark this major milestone, ISTO will host the 30th-anniversary celebration of the Montreal Declaration in Montreal, Canada, on October 29th and 30th, 2026. The celebrations will continue in November 2026 in Bologna, Italy, where ISTO Europe, in partnership with AITR, will organize the European celebration of the Montreal Declaration’s 30th anniversary, titled "Towards a Humanist and Social Vision of Tourism," as part of the 5th edition of AITR Incontra.