For the first time, the UNWTO certification system for tourism education, UNWTO.TedQual, is present in five continents, owing to the recent new certified tourism courses in the Middle East region.

In May 2013, UNWTO.TedQual certified the first tourism programme in the Middle East, the Bachelor of Arts in Tourism Program in the Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. The following June, the UNWTO.TedQual certification was granted to the Diploma in Culinary Arts, offered at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in Jordan, an affiliate of Les Roches International School of Hotel Management. This certification process was included as part of a national strategy in furthering tourism education, whose objective among others was to internationalize tourism institutions and higher programs in tourism.

This is the first time ever that UNWTO.TedQual certified institutions are present in five continents, opening the possibility to undertake new initiatives. These include promoting the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, ranging from a special focus on international understanding, to a real commitment to improve the living conditions of the local community of host destinations.

UNWTO.TedQual is a certification issued by the World Tourism Organization to Higher Tourism Education Programmes that accomplish UNWTO Quality Standards for tourism education and are willing to progressively integrate, through concrete actions, the purposes and principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism into their programmes. To date, a total of 172 certifications have been issued, comprising 84 institutions in higher education in tourism from 39 countries.