International Year of Sustainable Tourism

A stylised rendering of planet Earth surrounded by stylised waves; above, in a semicircle: the inscription "TURISMO SOSTENIBLE"; the country name "SAN MARINO", the initials of designer Andrew Lewis and engraver Uliana Pernazza, the year "2017" and the "R" mintmark.

The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development was proclaimed by the United Nations in 2017 to highlight the economic and social importance of a responsibly organised travel sector. Tourism is one of the world's largest industries, generating around ten percent of global GDP, while at the same time placing considerable strain on ecosystems, water resources and local infrastructure. The UN initiative aimed to encourage governments, businesses and travellers to promote models that keep revenue as directly as possible within countries of origin while protecting cultural and natural resources. The focus was on the Global South, where tourism often represents one of the few sources of foreign currency that can benefit small businesses and rural communities.

San Marino, a small landlocked state in central Italy entirely surrounded by Italy, is itself a vivid example of a tourism-dependent economy: several million visitors come to the city-state every year, whose historic centre, with the medieval fortress complex on Monte Titano, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. The country is therefore directly dependent on sustainable visitor management to preserve its infrastructure and cultural heritage in the long term. With the 2-euro commemorative coin of 2018, San Marino set a visible marker for the 2017 UN Year and positioned itself as a co-signatory of the international sustainability agenda in the field of tourism.