UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili took office in January 2018. Seeking to optimize the efficiency of the Organization, the Secretary-General has introduced a new leadership structure consisting of a Deputy Secretary-General and two Executive Directors, each one overseeing key structural areas and departments of the Organization, for increased efficiency in achieving UN Tourism’s goals, including adding value to members, increasing membership and serving the tourism sector as a whole.

The management team works towards a comprehensive vision for development of the tourism sector. This includes positioning tourism as a policy priority, establishing thought leadership in knowledge and policy creation, increasing resources and strengthening UN Tourism’s capacity through meaningful partnerships.

Tourism has the potential to contribute, directly or indirectly to all of the goals. In particular, it has been included as targets in Goals 8, 12 and 14, on inclusive and sustainable economic development, sustainable consumption and production, and sustainable use of oceans and marine resources, respectively.

• The year 2015 has been a milestone for global development as governments have adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The bold agenda sets out a global framework to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change until 2030.
• Building on the historic Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets is people-centered, transformative, universal and integrated.