Zoritsa Urosevic, UN Tourism Executive Director
Zoritsa Urosevic is the Executive Director of UN Tourism and a key figure in positioning tourism as a strategic driver of sustainable development, economic resilience, and international cooperation. Since joining UN Tourism in 2006, she has led high-level engagements with the United Nations system, international financial institutions, and multilateral platforms, elevating tourism within the global policy agenda.
A dynamic advocate for sustainable tourism, Urosevic has played a pivotal role in achieving major milestones, including securing the adoption of UN Resolution A/77/178 on sustainable and resilient tourism, leading High-Level Thematic Events at the UN General Assembly, and integrating tourism into global climate discussions through COP28 and COP29 and now towards COP30. Under her leadership, UN Tourism successfully positioned “Climate Action in Tourism” within the UN Climate Change COP29 Action Agenda and spearheaded the Baku Declaration on Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism.
Urosevic has been instrumental in the development of new international standards, such as the UN Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST), which was endorsed by the United Nations Statistical Commission. This is the first global framework to measure beyond GDP, reinforcing tourism’s role in sustainable economic, social, and environmental policies. Additionally, she has played a key role in positioning UN Tourism in major global forums, including the G20 and the first-ever G7 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, thereby strengthening tourism’s inclusion in global economic strategies.
Beyond policy advocacy, Urosevic has overseen key research and knowledge initiatives, spearheading UN Tourism’s flagship publications and modernizing global tourism data platforms. She has also been at the forefront of resilience-building efforts, leading the adoption of the UN Resolution A/RES/78/260, which proclaims 2027 as the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism.
With a distinguished career spanning international and economic diplomacy and institutional development, Urosevic continues to shape the global discourse on tourism’s role in sustainability, climate action, and inclusive growth – placing science at the core of development. Her expertise and leadership have solidified UN Tourism’s position as a leading voice in global development, ensuring that tourism remains at the heart of multilateral cooperation and international policy frameworks.