UN Tourism’s Executive Council has met again to jointly advance the transformation of the sector.
With the latest UN Tourism Data showing that the sector is on track to reach 96% recovery of pre-pandemic numbers by the end of the year, the 122nd Session of the Executive Council looked to the future, with investments and innovation high on the agenda. The Session welcomed representatives of 47 countries, including 21 Ministers and Vice-Ministers of Tourism, alongside key strategic partners from the private sector, civil society and international finance.
Opening the session, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili welcomed the example set by Colombia in "betting on tourism" to provide a better future for the country, including for previously-marginalized groups. He said: "Colombia has chosen to invest in tourism, not in weapons or war, and as the only country to have hosted every major UN Tourism event, including two General Assemblies, it is a testament to the power of tourism as a force for change."
The Secretary-General then presented his report to Members. The report sets out the progress made in advancing the Organization's work since the Council last met, again with a special emphasis on the shared priorities of investments into tourism, education and accelerating innovation across the sector.
Colombia has chosen to invest in tourism, not in weapons or war, and as the only country to have hosted every major UN Tourism event, including two General Assemblies, it is a testament to the power of tourism as a force for change
In Cartagena, the Members of the Executive Council advanced plans to build a more inclusive, resilient and forward-looking sector, with a focus on:
Within the framework of the 122nd Executive Council, UN Tourism further advanced its work building strong partnerships around shared goals. A special networking session of the UN Tourism Affiliate Members focused on Tourism of the Future: Moving Towards the Sustainable Development Goals, bringing together destinations, private sector leaders and civil society stakeholders.
During the Executive Council, UN Tourism announced the latest additions to its growing Best Tourism Villages network. For the 2024 edition, a further 55 rural destinations were awarded the title, recognizing their leading work in harnessing the power of tourism to create local opportunities as well as preserving and celebrating natural and cultural heritage.
The Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization has analysed and approved its vision to transform the sector. Meeting for its 119th session, Members were also presented with the Organization’s Programme of Work for the past months, with a focus on core priorities as well as a longer-term leadership vision for transforming the sector.
The Council met on the eve of the 25th UNWTO General Assembly, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In line with his obligations, Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili presented his report to Members, outlining the progress made since the Executive Council met in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, five months previously. This included an overview of the latest round of Regional Commission meetings, their key outputs and achievements and associated thematic sessions, including work to rethink tourism communications, grow new pillars like wellbeing tourism and support investments into the sector.
As well as assessing progress to date, the meeting also gave Members a chance to learn more about the UNWTO Programme of Work for 2024 and 2025. This is based on a 2022 consultation with all Members on their needs and is distilled into clear strategic objectives and programmatic priorities. Members endorsed the Programme of Work and other key activities put before them. These included plans for directing funding towards flagship programmes and for establishing new Regional and Thematic offices for UNWTO. In this regard, Members were updated on progress to establish a new Regional Office in Marrakesh, the Kingdom of Morocco, endorsed the plans presented by Uzbekistan to establish a Thematic Office for Tourism on the Silk Road in the country, and advanced plans for a further Regional Office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Members of the Executive Council also decided to recommend to the General Assembly that the mandate of the Task Force on Redesigning Tourism for the Future, with new members joining from every global region.
In Samarkand, the host of the Executive Council as well as the subsequent General Assembly, proposed that Secretary-General Pololikashvili be permitted to stand for a third term in office in light of both his accomplishments so far and his longer-term vision for both tourism and for UNWTO. Following the established protocol, the Executive Council agreed that the matter be placed on the agenda for the General Assembly, to be voted on by all Member States.
Members thanked Secretary-General for the publication of his landmark vision for the sector, published to coincide with the General Assembly. "The Journey to 2030: A Vision for a Sector Transformed" sets out clear priorities for the sector in the year ahead and action plans for achieving them.
The Executive Council fulfilled its statutory obligations, including by electing Egypt to serve as the Organization's External Auditor for 2024 and 2025. Members also endorsed the recommendations of Members for the hosts of World Tourism Day for the same years. In 2024, World Tourism Day will be held around the theme of "Tourism and Peace", with Georgia to be put forward as host. Then in 2025, Malaysia will be considered as host for that year's celebrations, to be held around the theme of Tourism and Sustainable Development.
“Put people front and centre!” was the core message as UNWTO brought together global branding experts, journalists and content creators to rethink narratives around tourism communications.
Against the backdrop of the 118th session of its Executive Council in Punta Cana, UNWTO hosted a special Thematic Session. Alongside assessing the evolution of tourism communications, the Session saw leading experts explore current and future opportunities for more effectively portraying tourism as an essential driver of development, both in traditional media and on content platforms.
UNWTO is working to build a new narrative around tourism as a force for development and transformation
With tourism high on the political agenda like never before, UNWTO is leading the shift in tourism communications, with a greater focus on the sector's unique power as a driver of development and opportunity. Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "We have made huge progress over the past few years in making tourism's relevance more visible and more appreciated, by governments and by tourists themselves. But we need to make it even clearer. For this reason, UNWTO is working to build a new narrative around tourism as a force for development and transformation."
The Thematic Session offered a platform to connect content creators with editors and new media platforms, with UNWTO as the bridge between the two.
UNWTO first partnered with Instagram in 2021, firstly to help lead recovery from the impacts of the pandemic and then to empower destinations to embrace digital storytelling. In Punta Cana:
Tourism on the Agenda: The Case of Dominican Republic
Leading journalists and editors from the Dominican Republic assessed how to place tourism on the editorial agenda at every level.
To round out the session, UNWTO welcomed leading content creators to give their expert insights into changing trends in tourism-related content: Instagram Creators Chloé Léger and Marion Payr, provided their experiences from the Dominican Republic from the point-of-view of tourism and travel-creators. They noted:
With global tourism on track to reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, UNWTO convened its Executive Council to advance plans to place education, investments and sustainability at the centre of the sector’s future.
Ahead of the 118th session of the UNWTO Executive Council, the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer showed international arrivals reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels. The first quarter global results of 2023 set the pace for this upward trend to continue.
Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "In 2022, UNWTO asked the world to "rethink tourism". Now it's time to put those plans into action. Building a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive tourism sector will require more and better-targeted investments, skilled workers and more innovation. UNWTO is working closely with our Member States to make significant progress in all these areas and we leave Punta Cana with a clear focus around shared goals and a shared vision for our sector."
In 2022, UNWTO asked the world to "rethink tourism". Now it's time to put those plans into action.
UNWTO welcomed delegations from 40 countries to its Council meeting, with the high-level political support reflecting tourism's heightened relevance.
The UNWTO Secretary-General gave Member States an overview of the Organization's work since the previous Executive Council (Marrakesh, Morocco, 25 November 2022) as well as UNWTO's priorities looking ahead:
On the eve of the Executive Council, UNWTO participated in an International Forum on Sustainable Tourism organized by the Dominican Republic. In Punta Cana, UNWTO:
During its Executive Council session, the UNWTO Secretariat provided updates on progress made in advancing its key priorities of education, jobs and investments:
Within the framework of the Executive Council, UNWTO held the first ever Thematic Session on tourism communications and its role in building a new narrative focused on the sector's importance for economic development and social opportunity.
