Public and private leaders have been called on to unite behind the Jeddah Call to Action, a commitment to align with UNWTO’s approach to rethink tourism governance at every level to keep adapting to the challenges faced by tourism as a global driver for recovery.
On the back of the 116th session of its Executive Council, held in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UNWTO set down a marker for the future of global tourism. With the pandemic having showed the systemic vulnerabilities of the sector, the United Nations specialized agency called for the construction of a new and reimagined system of governance and financing with the aim of building resilience against future shocks while also making tourism more sustainable.
Now is the time to think big. Realize tourism’s unique potential to drive recovery, provide opportunity and build resilience, through better and stronger governance and focusing on jobs, training and education
In Jeddah, UNWTO continued with its tradition of complementing the important deliberations of its Executive Council with an open discussion on the biggest challenges and opportunities for the sector. The Forum "Tourism Futures – New Governance and Advocacy”, featured two distinct sessions - “Towards a New Tourism Governance” and “Raising Tourism’s Visibility” outside of the sector.
“Now is the time to think big”, said the UNWTO Secretary-General welcoming delegates and speakers. Zurab Pololikashvili stressed the need to “realize tourism’s unique potential to drive recovery, provide opportunity and build resilience, through better and stronger governance and focusing on jobs, training and education”.
His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, commented: “We cannot recover backwards. Now is the time to capitalize on this heightened recognition and to position tourism as an essential pillar of transformation, development and opportunity.” The Minister also reiterated the Kingdom’s plans to invest US$100 million in training 100,000 young tourism workers.
Illustrating the diversity of UNWTO’s Membership, the high-level Thematic Debate featured contributions from Ahmed bin Aqil Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism Saudi Arabia, Siandou Fofana, Minister of Tourism and Recreation Côte d’Ivoire, Carlos Peguero, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dominican Republic, Tomohiro Kaneko, Vice Commissioner of the Japanese Tourism Agency, Najib Balala, Minister of Tourism of Kenya, Sofia Zacharaki, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Greece, and Tonči Glavina, State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Croatia.
Similarly highlighting the broadness of the sector and UNWTO’s reach of influence, the Ministers were joined by high-level representatives from business, destinations, media and communications, namely from Euronews, PRM Global, Interbrand, Netcom, Amadeus and the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGGA). Referencing the shared desire to get tourism moving again, Jerry Inzerillo, CEO of the DGDA, noted, “We may not share the same ideology, we may not share the same theology, but we share the same biology”, highlighting a universal desire to travel and connect with other cultures.
Providing the perspective from the media, Ruth Wright, Head of Tourism and Lifestyle Verticals at Euronews stressed that viewers still demand certainty as the “perception amongst travellers is definitely still that travel is difficult and stressful.” As a result, content focused on rules and regulations remains relevant, even as human-led tourism stories becomes more popular. “Travellers are yearning to get back to the day when travel was fun, carefree and full of unexpected surprises,” she added.
With the discussions emphasizing the importance of taking a whole-government approach to tourism policy, with finance and interior ministries also part of the sector’s governance, Secretary-General Pololikashvili urged participants and all UNWTO Executive Council members advance this important agenda for positive change.
The Jeddah Call to Action recognizes the vital need for more and better tourism governance, with targeted investments and a focus on building resilience, advancing sustainability and expanding education and training. It forms part of UNWTO’s wider work ensuring the recognition of tourism reflects the sector’s unique social and economic importance, including through making it a key part of the work of the United Nations and securing the cooperation of governments, international organizations and financial institutions.
The Executive Council of UNWTO has met to advance the recovery of tourism around shared goals and a common vision for the sector.
Held for the first time in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the 116th session was the largest meeting of the Executive Council since the start of the pandemic, with more than 200 participants and 32 countries represented. Members noted that the meeting came at a pivotal point for the sector as it learns from the lessons of the pandemic while at the same time looking ahead to a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.
Tourism is united and determined like never before, and UNWTO is guiding it forward, with inclusivity and sustainability at the very heart of all our work
“We have faced up to a triple crisis: an ongoing pandemic, a climate emergency and now the return of war in Europe,” UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said. He stressed that “tourism is united and determined like never before, and UNWTO is guiding it forward, with inclusivity and sustainability at the very heart of all our work”.
In his report to Members on achievements since the previous Council meeting six months ago, the Secretary-General illustrated how UNWTO is seizing tourism’s unprecedented relevance, including within the United Nations, in national recovery and growth plans and within the wider public and media conversation.
UNWTO laid out its plans to keep advancing the priorities around fostering sustainability, promoting tourism jobs and education, growing tourism investments and accelerating its digital transformation.
The Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia and host of the Executive Council, Ahmed Al Khateeb, said: “Tourism’s restart in many countries around the world offers a unique chance to rethink tourism governance, communications and beyond. We have an incredible opportunity to set a new way forward, to create a strong future for the global tourism sector, and we must embrace it.”
The recognition of tourism’s importance was further echoed by the Minister of Tourism and Leisure of Cote d’Ivoire, also serving as Executive Council Chair, Siandou Fofana, who noted that “tourism is united to face future challenges”, while stressing the importance of cohesion in planning and policymaking as the sector recovers to drive wider social and economic recovery.
Members agreed to hold the 117th session of the UNWTO Executive Council in Morocco, in the second half of this year. With two countries offering to host the 118th session, Members voted in favour of the Dominican Republic holding the first Council of 2023.
Members of the Executive Council were provided with an update on the work of the UNWTO Regional Office for the Middle East, opened in the capital of Saudi Arabia in May 2021. The office in Riyadh is set to emerge as both a regional and global hub for the sector, with a special focus on tourism education and tourism and rural development, exemplified by the first major project to come out of the office, Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.
From Jeddah, the UNWTO leadership will visit Riyadh to formally welcome personnel.
The UNWTO Executive Council has decided to hold an extraordinary UNWTO General Assembly to address the suspension of the membership of the Russian Federation. The first ever Extraordinary UNWTO General Assembly will be convened in the coming days. This was the first time in the history of UNWTO that the Executive Council met to address a request to consider suspending a Member from the Organization.
Held in Madrid at the request of several UNWTO Members, the Executive Council met amid ongoing global concern and condemnation for the unilateral actions of the Russian Federation.
“War is never a solution! Not now, and not ever. But it is evident that not everybody is committed to this ideal,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. He added: “For this reason, UNWTO – and me as the voice of the Organization – must be loud and clear: If you are a Member, then you commit to our rules. And you must embrace our values. So, when Members go against our goals, there must be consequences.”
War is never a solution! Not now, and not ever. But it is evident that not everybody is committed to this ideal
The aggression against Ukraine is inconsistent with the United Nations Charter and contravenes the fundamental aim of the UNWTO as enshrined in Article 3 of its Statutes, which states the “promotion and development of tourism with a view to contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights”, as the fundamental principles of the Organization.
UNWTO stands fully behind the resolution of the UN General Assembly and the vote of the UN Human Rights Council. The sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders must be upheld, and the call of the United Nations for peaceful resolution of the conflict, must be followed.
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a Resolution demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”. The UNGA reaffirmed the paramount importance of the UN Charter in the promotion of law among nations.
Also last week, the UN Human Rights Council condemned the actions of the Russian Federation “in the strongest possible terms”. Its members voted in favour of establishing a special commission to investigate alleged human rights violations including possible war crimes in Ukraine.
In accordance with its Statutes, the UNWTO General Assembly alone has the sovereign responsibility to decide on the suspension of membership of any Member State, if it found that the Member persists in a policy contrary to the fundamental aims of the Organization, as enshrined in article 3 of its Statutes.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has convened an emergency session of its Executive Council in response to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. The session will be held in Madrid on 8 March.
Following the request of Colombia, Guatemala, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Ukraine for the suspension of the Russian Federation from membership of UNWTO, the UNWTO Secretary-General has called for an emergency session of the Executive Council to address the matter, in accordance with Rule 3.4 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure. The decision was made following consultations between the Secretary-General and the Chair of the Executive Council (Côte d´Ivoire).
The in-person Council session will be held on 8 March in Madrid. It is the first time in the Organization’s history that the Executive Council will address a request of this type.
Article 3 of the UNWTO Statutes states that the fundamental principles of the Organization are the “promotion and development of tourism with a view to contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights”.
UNWTO has unequivocally condemned the actions of the Russian Federation, noting that they are a clear breach of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and UNWTO Statutes.
