Education and Investments are Cornerstones to Transform Tourism: UNWTO Executive Council Meets in Marrakesh

• All Regions
• 25 Nov 2022

Tourism leaders from every global region have met to advance plans to transform the sector against a backdrop of challenges old and new.

UNWTO convened its Executive Council in Marrakesh, Morocco, as the sector’s recovery continues to gather pace. According to UNWTO data released this week, international arrivals are on track to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year. However, building on its year-long call for both public and private sector leaders to “rethink tourism”, UNWTO placed innovation, investments and education and youth empowerment at the centre of discussions, while also emphasizing heightened interest for transformation through Climate Action and the sector’s importance for rural development everywhere.

Welcoming 16 Ministers of Tourism and delegations from 36 countries, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili underscored that “the window of opportunity to transform our sector will not stay open for long”. He emphasized that “now is the time to fast-track building a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable sector”, and reminded this leading UNWTO governing body that tourism’s success cannot longer be measured based on numbers alone, “but rather on the impact our sector has on lives, on livelihoods and the wellbeing of both people and planet”.

UN recognition as UNWTO delivers

Now is the time to fast-track building a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable sector

On the eve of the Marrakesh meeting, the United Nations General Assembly was presented with a draft resolution calling on all parts of the UN system to promote tourism in their work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The resolution, which so far has the support of 104 countries, is the culmination of UNWTO’s enhanced presence at the highest political level. It is also a reflection of the unprecedented recognition of tourism’s importance to economic and social wellbeing and integrates the key strategic work streams of UNWTO. In particular, it draws attention to tourism’s power to help build inclusive societies and protect ecosystems.

Alongside sharing this landmark moment for the sector, in his report to Members on its achievements since the previous Council meeting, Secretary-General Pololikashvili illustrated how UNWTO is leading the transformation of the tourism. Central to this is a stepping up of education and training programmes, promoting investments in tourism for growth and sustainability, and through providing technical assistance for Member States in every region. Executive Council Members also heard how UNWTO has delivered in advocating for tourism at the very highest level.

His Excellency Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Minister of Tourism, Handicraft, and Social and Solidarity Economy of the Kingdom of Morocco warmly welcomed the UNWTO leadership and his fellow Ministers to Marrakesh. He added: “This important session of the UNWTO Executive Council provides us with the opportunity to reaffirm priority orientations to promote the prosperity and development of our sector. I am looking forward to a more resilient tourism in the African continent thanks to an inclusive continental approach that will increase the awareness of Africa’s assets thus improving the attractiveness of Africa as a destination."

SMEs, Digitalisation and rural development

Within the framework of the 117th Session of the Executive Council, UNWTO also held  a special Thematic Session focused on empowering small businesses to be agents of transformation, inspired by the G20 Guidelines for Tourism SMEs and Communities as agent for transformation. The Session brought together Ministers of Tourism alongside leading figures from the private sector to address the biggest challenges standing in the way of smaller enterprises fulfilling their potential to drive change. These include access to investment and financing, a lack of market intelligence and an inability to adapt to meet changing consumer trends.

Also underlining discussions in Marrakesh was a shared recognition of the importance of tourism for rural development and opportunity. In his report to the Executive Council, Secretary-General Pololikashvili provided an update on the new Programme for Tourism and Rural Development, hosted by the Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, including of its flagship initiative, Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO.

Council makes decisions to guide sector forward

The Executive Council is the top governing body of UNWTO and meets twice a year. Made up of 34 Members following the Russian Federation’s suspension from the Organization, it works with the Secretary-General to implement both its own decisions and the recommendations of the Assembly. The 118th Session of the Executive Council will be held in the Dominican Republic and the next hosts sent a message to all fellow Members looking forward to welcoming them in 2023.

Related Links

• Download the News Release in PDF
• Marrakesh Call to Action
• UN General Assembly: Tourism for Poverty Eradication and Environmental Protection
• UNWTO at G20: Tourism Reimagined
• Tourism Recovery Accelerates to Reach 65% of Pre-Pandemic Levels

Category tags

UNWTO and Save the Children partner for education for the future in Central America and the Caribbean

• Americas
• 10 May 2022

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Save the Children Dominican Republic have launched a new challenge to promote the development of educational ideas and experiences through the tourism sector in Central America and the Caribbean.

The challenge seeks innovative and technological proposals in 'Early Stage' development that offer new educational opportunities through the tourism sector. The challenge has two categories:

• New technologies: People or startups that promote the use of technology to provide solutions to the tourism and education sector.
• Local impact: People or startups that promote transformation and social improvement, and that belong to the tourism and education sector.

Tourism is a leading provider of opportunities for young people throughout Central America and the Caribbean

According to Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, “tourism is a leading provider of opportunities for young people throughout Central America and the Caribbean, and innovation and new technologies can help us reach more young people, allowing them to benefit as tourism returns to the region.”

"For our organization, the launch of this challenge represents a unique opportunity to capitalize on the potential of the tourism sector in our country and the region, thus generating innovation in favor of childhood education with a high social impact," says Juan Tomás Díaz, President Save the Children Dominicana.

Tourism for the SDGs

Projects must be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations. Additionally, they must be framed in one (or several) of the following areas:

• The management of destinations or the private management of solutions/products/services developed around and education as tourism and education products;
• Seeking a balance between sustainable development and the profitability of the project, maximizing its positive impacts.
• The connection with the market and the user experience in all phases of the journey

Applications are open until 25 June, 2022. The winning projects will be selected based on several criteria, such as the degree of innovation, and its viability and sustainability. The winners will be invited to the Tourism Tech Adventure in the Dominican Republic that will take place in November 2022.

Tourism education for empowerment

Tourism is one of the largest sectors in the world, accounting for more than 4% of direct global GDP in 2019. In the Americas, the contribution of tourism to regional GDP fell from 3.4% to 1.6% during the pandemic. Central America and the Caribbean represent 4.8% of global international arrivals, and reflect the potential in all tourism sub-sectors, and their needs for good training and education.

After the effects of COVID-19, this sector is reinventing itself to achieve more responsible, innovative and accessible tourism. The pandemic has also disrupted education systems around the world, highlighting that digital learning must become an essential service available to all. This means that all children and young people have access to first-rate digital solutions that facilitate personalized learning and open the doors to a better future.

UNWTO supports digital education and innovation initiatives promoted by Startups and small and medium-sized enterprises, which will play a leading role in the revival of tourism in the coming years.

RELATED LINKS:

• Download the news release in PDF
• Reto regional en Centroamerica y El Caribe para la innovación y digitalización de la educación a través del sector turístico: Educación para el futuro
• UNWTO Tourism Startup Competitions
• UNWTO Academy
• Save the Children

Category tags

Innovation, Education and Rural Development: UNWTO Strengthens Partnership with Saudi Arabia

• Middle East
• 14 Mar 2022

UNWTO and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed on the next steps they will jointly take to establish tourism as a driver of growth, opportunity and development across the Middle East and beyond.

Less than a year after the official opening of the Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, plans for a range of projects to be run out of the hub have been further advanced, signalling the ever closer cooperation between UNWTO and the Kingdom.

A range of projects is being designed to establish UNWTO’s Regional Office as a leader in tourism for rural development while also making the opportunities of tourism available to everyone through a range of education initiatives. Meeting in Madrid this week, UNWTO Secretary-General Pololikashvili and Saudi Minister for Tourism HE Ahmed Aqeel AlKhateeb agreed to further advance their shared vision and committed to working closely together to fulfil the sector’s potential across the region.

Rural Development and digitalization 

Among the projects being managed by the Regional Office is the UNWTO Global Tourism and Rural Development Programme, aimed at making tourism a pillar of growth and opportunity for rural communities. The Programme includes the world’s Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO initiative, now in its second year after the inaugural competition drew huge interest from destinations in every global region. Alongside this, the Regional Office will also focus on knowledge creation for policy and business practices, training and skills development and Technical Assistance on the ground, with plans also in place to establish a first Tourism and Rural Development Observatory in Riyadh.

Secretary-General Pololikashvili and HE Minister Ahmed Aqeel AlKhateeb emphasised their commitment to guiding tourism based on education and innovation. From the Regional Office, UNWTO will support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) embrace digitalization with partnerships with the largest technology companies such as Amadeus, Mastercard, Cisco, Telefónica, amongst others already established. The UNWTO Digital Futures Programme aims to provide training on connectivity, e-commerce, big data and analytics, and online payments and security, to as many as 20,000 SMEs in 22 countries, including 5,000 in the first 12 months. Later this month (25-26 March), a UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventures innovation forum will be in the United Arab Emirates.

Education

To realize the goal of creating more added-value jobs in tourism through education. To this end, a new UNWTO Knowledge Lab will be launched from Riyadh, while a first Observatory on Quality of Tourism Education and Jobs will also be established to monitor the advancement of the strategy. To ensure the benefits of tourism education are enjoyed as widely as possible, 10 new online courses will be made available in Arabic through the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, and UNWTO will also work with higher education providers from the region through the new Tourism Faculty Development Programme.

Green investments for green transitions

In line with UNWTO’s wider commitment to advancing tourism for climate action, plans are in place to make the Regional Office for the Middle East a hub for promoting green investments in the tourism sector, both in the region and worldwide, including through projects developed in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other partners such as the Saudi Tourism Development Fund (TDF) – responding to the UNWTO climate action framework ,outlined in the Glasgow Declaration, launched at COP26.

Related links:

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Tourism Online Academy
• Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO
• UNWTO Opens Regional Office for the Middle East
• UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventure UAE

Category tags

Dominican President Joins UNWTO and IE University to Announce 300 Tourism Education Scholarships

• All Regions
• 18 Jan 2022

UNWTO and IE University continue to build on their shared commitment to nurturing tourism talent and promoting accessible education with the announcement of new scholarships to the UNWTO Online Academy. In line with the Organization’s focus on expanding access to training and skills development, and in close collaboration with IE University, the Government of the Dominican Republic will make 300 scholarships available to students from this leading tourism destination.

The scholarships are funded by the Government of the Dominican Republic and were announced by the country’s President Luis Abinader and Minister of Tourism David Collado, together with UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, and Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, CEO of IE University, during a visit to the IE Tower, the new technological and sustainable campus of IE University in the north of Madrid.

The initiative will allow 100 students of all backgrounds to benefit from a wide range of online courses designed to help them gain the skills they need to either start their careers in tourism or advance in the sector. Courses are available in three languages (English, Spanish and Arabic) and delivered by some of the world’s leading experts, including from UNWTO partner IE University.

Welcoming President Abinader, Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili praised his Government’s commitment to tourism, noting that the Dominican Republic was one of the first destinations to re-open its borders, a move that protected many thousands of jobs and helped kickstart economic recovery.

Mr Pololikashvili added: “Everybody should be able to learn the knowledge and the skills they need to work in tourism and be part of our sector’s future. The 300 scholarship holders from the Dominican Republic will help further establish the country as one of the leading tourism destinations in the world – as well as a key ally of UNWTO in the Americas.”

The scholarship program signing event was attended by Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, CEO of IE University, who highlighted "the extraordinary contribution of tourism not only to the economic growth of vacation destinations and source markets, but also to the well-being of everyone." He added: “the tourism sector will continue to grow strongly after the pandemic and a key element of that growth will be the training of tourism professionals.”

To date, the UNWTO IE University Online Tourism Academy has welcomed almost 15,000 students from 190 countries as education continues to be a core priority of the UNWTO leadership.

Related links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Academy
• UNWTO IE University Online Tourism Academy

Category tags