AM Newsletter Volume 24. October 2020

• All Regions
• 21 Oct 20
• N PAG. 20

Dear Affiliate Member,

October arrives with important news for the Affiliate Members Department (AMD) and the Affiliate Membership and I am pleased to share with you some of the highlights.

Firstly, I will talk about an important date next month. On 5-6 November 2020, we will celebrate the 42nd UNWTO Affiliate Members Plenary Session in Madrid (Spain), in a hybrid format that combines both inperson and virtual attendance. In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe that the strategic partnership between UNWTO and the private sector, through the Affiliate Membership, is the key element to restart tourism and accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Therefore, this year’s Plenary Session will be of utmost importance as we will focus on recovering tourism, rebuilding trust and reinforcing partnerships, along with repositioning the Affiliate Membership. Moreover, we will discuss about the Programme of Work 2021, which will define the priority lines of the department for next year. In addition, we invite you to attend a Distinction Awards Ceremony where we will recognize the excellence of the work done by the Affiliate Members in different relevant areas of the tourism sector. I encourage you ALL to actively participate in the consistent exchange of information that will take place during this Plenary Session. You can find more information in this newsletter, the dedicated webpage and on AMConnected.

Secondly, I am excited to welcome 29 new members to our Affiliate Membership! Their candidatures were approved by the UNWTO Executive Council, held in Tbilisi, in September 2020. I am happy to expand our AM Membership in regions with less representation, such as Asia and the Middle East, and I take the chance to express my strong commitment to expand the AM Membership with high-quality members worldwide that can add value to our network.

Thirdly, I would like to share my satisfaction for the relevant role and greater visibility achieved by the Affiliate Membership during the 112th UNWTO Executive Council. The priority lines of action of the Affiliate Membership were underlined in the Report of the Secretary General, which I had the pleasure to present. Next to this, the Chair of the Board of Affiliate Members, Ms Ana Larrañaga, presented the most relevant activities carried out by the Affiliate Members and their substantial contributions during the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result of the Affiliate Membership’s particular relevance and visibility at this very important meeting, the Executive Council expressed their full support to the work of the Affiliate Members.

Lastly, I am proud to announce that we have initiated the process of a Reform aimed to build an updated and modernized regulatory and legal framework for our Affiliate Membership, which will allow our Membership to operate in a more consistent and effective way.

We have achieved important milestones recently, but there is more to be done. As we face this challenging time for the tourism sector, now more than ever, the Affiliate Membership needs to reinforce our dialogue and cooperation.

I encourage you to continue to share with us your proposals, measures and initiatives, and, in particular, your proposals for the Programme of Work 2021.

As always, I am at your disposal to hear your comments and insights and I look forward to welcoming you in person at our 42nd Plenary Session!

Sincerely,
Ion Vilcu

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