A/RES/66/196 and the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020, 12 Recalling further the outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals, 13 Recognizing the important dimension and role of sustainable tourism as a positive instrument towards the eradication of poverty, the protection of the environment and the improvement of quality of life and its contribution to achieving sustainable development, especially in developing countries, Welcoming the efforts of the Marrakech Process on sustainable consumption and production, the achievements of the International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development and the objectives of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism, launched in 2011 as a permanent successor to the International Task Force, Taking note of the outcome document of the first workshop on sustainable tourism, adopted by the Central American Tourism Council of the Central American Integration System on 24 June 2011, at a meeting organized in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization in Roatan, Honduras, in the framework of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012, Taking note also of the Joint Declaration, the Plan of Action and the declaration of 2012 as the Year of Sustainable Tourism in Central America, adopted at the thirty-seventh meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System, held in San Salvador on 22 July 2011, and the Declaration of the Central American Tourism Council, adopted at its eighty-second meeting, held in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, on 7 July 2011, Emphasizing that sustainable tourism in Central America is a fundamental pillar of regional integration and an engine of social and economic development, given its significant contribution in terms of jobs, income, investment and hard currency, and therefore contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Invites States Members of the United Nations and other stakeholders, and 1. the World Tourism Organization, to continue to support the activities undertaken by the Central American countries for the promotion of responsible and sustainable tourism in the region, including in the context of emergency preparedness and response to natural disasters, as well as for capacity-building in order to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, by extending the benefits of tourism to all sectors of society, in particular the most vulnerable and marginalized groups of the population; Takes note of the work of the Central American Governments in the 2. implementation of existing programmes designed to launch and promote sustainable tourism throughout the region, in coordination with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development, and welcomes their contribution to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in this regard; Encourages the Central American countries, through the Central 3. American Tourism Council and the Central American Tourism Integration _______________ 12 13 2 Ibid., chap. II. See resolution 65/1.