Secretary-General Pololikashvili Nominated to Lead UNWTO for Four More Years

• All Regions
• 19 Jan 2021

The Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has expressed its continued support for Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. Meeting in Madrid, its members nominated him to continue leading the United Nations specialized agency for four more years.

At the end of the 113th session of the Executive Council, held as a hybrid event in Spanish capital, Members voted in person and in secret for their choice of leader for 2022-2025. Incumbent Pololikashvili won 76% of the votes in a process where the Kingdom of Bahrain also put forward a candidate for the position, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa. Her Excellency congratulated Mr Pololikashvili on his win and the Government of Bahrain expressed its support for UNWTO.

Mr Pololikashvili had based his campaign for re-election both on the progressive institutional and policy reforms undertaken during his first term, and on his clear leadership of global tourism throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Council’s recommendation will be carried forward to the 24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly, due to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, towards the end of the year.

In Madrid, both the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and His Majesty King Felipe VI expressed their support for UNWTO and its leadership. The Secretary-General has also laid the foundations for seizing the momentum of the rollout of vaccines to ensure a harmonized approach to the return of safe and seamless international travel.

 

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• UNWTO: Governing Bodies – The Executive Council
• Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the UNWTO

Madrid Set to Host Key Week for Global Tourism

• All Regions
• 17 Jan 2021

The global tourism sector is starting the new year prepared to #RestartTourism when conditions allow, with the World Tourism Organization set to again bring together leaders from across the public and private sectors. Tomorrow in Madrid, the UNWTO Global Tourism Crisis Committee will hold its first meeting of the year. This meeting to advance concrete plans to ensure the restart of tourism will take place in the context of the UNWTO Executive Council.

On Monday (18 January), the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, established by UNWTO at the very start of the pandemic as a means to unite the sector and lead a strong and consistent response to the crisis, will meet for the first time this year. Taking advantage of the Executive Council celebrated the following day and hosted by Spain, this meeting will be a hybrid event, combining in-person and virtual participation. Once again, the Committee will bring together tourism leaders from around the world, as well as UN agencies and representatives from civil society and the private sector.

Key issues on the agenda include exploring how vaccines against COVID-19 can be part of a harmonized approach to restarting tourism, including through the potential use of health passports and other measures. UNWTO will also call on members of the Committee to join forces for a global campaign aimed at restoring confidence in tourism.

Executive Council meets for 113th Session

During the 113th session of the UNWTO Executive Council (19 January), representatives of the 35 Council members will be provided with updates on the implementation of the UNWTO Programme of Work and plans for 2021. The Executive Council will also explore current tourism trends, including the impact of the ongoing pandemic on the sector and what this means for livelihoods and tourism’s contribution to sustainable development. This hybrid event expects 150 in-person participants.

The Executive Council meeting will also include the election for the position of UNWTO Secretary-General for the term 2022-2025. Incumbent Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili has made himself available for re-election for a second term, while the Kingdom of Bahrain has nominated Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa for the position.

Related Links

• Download in PDF
• UNWTO: Governing Bodies – The Executive Council
• As 2020 ends, tourism looks forward with determination
• Tourism Back to 1990 Levels as Arrivals Fall by 70%

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Fundació Mallorca Turisme Rewarded for Excellence with UNWTO.QUEST Certification

• All Regions
• 23 Dec 2020

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has awarded its UNWTO.QUEST Certification to Fundació Mallorca Turisme. The award further advances UNWTO’s work to promote and recognize excellence and quality in destination management  for the benefit of the whole of the sector. At the same time, it boosts competitiveness in Mallorca, one of Europe’s top destinations, and emphasizes the importance of placing sustainability at the heart of future growth.

Fundació Mallorca Turisme, a UNWTO Affiliate Member, becomes the fourth DMO (Destination Management Organization) in the world and the first in Europe to receive the UNWTO.QUEST Certification. The international benchmark was created to enhance and recognize excellence and quality in the three key performance areas at the DMO level: strategic leadership, effective execution and efficient governance

Fundació Mallorca Turisme ranked particularly highly in the fields of promotion and communication and in fostering large events. The DMO was also recognized as an inspiring example in the advancement in competitiveness and for working with other public institutions and relevant partners, including academia.

Welcoming the news, Catalina Cladera, President of the Consell Insular de Mallorca, said: “Mallorca is proud to have obtained the UNWTO.QUEST Certification, a distinction that positions us as one of the leading tourism destinations for efficient governance, strategic leadership and effective execution of plans and actions. Our island has demonstrated, through this comprehensive examination, that the strategy and formulas for tourism management are in line with the principles promoted by UNWTO.”

UNWTO.QUEST Certification, which is valid for four years, with possibility of renewal, is an example of the UNWTO’s leading work in the field of tourism standards. The initiative highlights the importance and success of public-private-community partnerships as well as horizontal and vertical cooperation in institutional governance. UNWTO.QUEST aims to strengthen internal and institutional capacities to face pressing challenges, among them reviving their reputation and brand, restoring tourists’ confidence and boosting demand.

Related links

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• UNWTO.QUEST
• UNWTO Guidelines for Institutional Strengthening of Destination Management Organizations (DMOs)
• UNWTO Destination Management

Global Talent on Display as SDGs Tourism Startup Competition Finalists Announced

• All Regions
• 23 Dec 2020

All five global regions are represented as the UNWTO SDGs Global Startup Competition reaches its final stages. The competition was launched to identify innovators whose ideas can advance tourism’s contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and attracted more than 10,000 participants from 138 countries. Now, the jury has narrowed the field down to a shortlist of just 60 finalists.

This competition is a UNWTO initiative, in collaboration with Wakalua (powered by Globalia), created as part of the collaboration with the United Nations Innovation Network, a common action framework by UN Agencies to develop public-private partnerships to support the SDGs. The finalists were chosen by a special jury made up of experts drawn from international banks, airlines, tourism destinations and technology platforms. Reflecting the global interest in the initiative, the 60 finalists come from 28 countries, with each of UNWTO’s five global regions represented in the final stages.

Now, the jury will work on selecting just one finalist for each of the 17 SDGs. Each startup will be assessed according to fixed criteria, including their ability to contribute to a specific SDG, the ease of value capture, their potential business impact and the maturity of both their product or platform and their team.

This final group of 17 startups will be announced throughout January. Then, in the spring, they will be invited to pitch their ideas to UNWTO, its partners and investors at the flagship event of the Global Startup Competition, the UNWTO SDG Tourism Tech Adventure (TTA), due to be held in Qatar this Spring.

In addition to the chance to pitch at the TTA Innovation Forum, winning startups will gain access to leading technological support and to more than 100 venture capitalists. They will also be able to benefit from UNWTO’s network of partners, with curated mentorship programmes from, among others, Amadeus, Amazon Web Services, BBVA, ClarkeModet, FarCo, Globant, Google, the Inter-American Development Bank, IE University, Mastercard., MentorDay, Telefónica and Qatar Airways. 

FINALISTS OF THE UNWTO GLOBAL SDG STARTUP COMPETITION

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As 2020 ends, tourism looks forward with determination

• All Regions
• 23 Dec 2020

We are almost at the end of what has been the most challenging year in the history of tourism.

Almost overnight, the pandemic brought global tourism to a complete standstill.

Millions of people missed chances to explore different places and embrace different cultures and customs. And the world lost out on opportunities for tourism to create jobs, support businesses, kick-start development, and to protect and preserve the very things we leave our homes to see.

However, in the face of such a downturn, tourism ends the year more united and determined than ever.

The UNWTO Global Tourism Crisis Committee, created in March soon after the pandemic was declared, recently met for a final time in 2020.

This unique cross-sector platform coordinates international efforts and has proven to be crucial in guiding our response to COVID-19 and informing the measures and tools for mitigating its impact on jobs and businesses.

Notwithstanding new and ongoing developments of the pandemic, the Committee is geared towards accelerating the restart of tourism, always factoring in the most recent situation of global health.

Harmonized, consistent travel protocols are essential for restoring confidence in international travel and getting tourism moving again. UNWTO will maintain the momentum we gained in 2020 into the new year.

Over recent months, we have made political and business leaders listen and make tourism a part of their plans. We have emphasized the relevance of tourism to almost every part of our societies, most recently amplified through our partnership with CNN and reinforced through high-level, in-person visits to Member States including Portugal, Tunisia, Namibia, Brazil, Uruguay, Egypt, Italy, France, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.

This joined-up approach contributed to ensuring tourism has been given record levels of financial support and political goodwill and rewarded with public recognition. The European Commission has led the way in turning encouraging words into firm actions, most notably with its unprecedented economic support for tourism at this crucial time. 

Through in-person visits to leaders in the Americas, Africa and Europe, and through welcoming the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, to address the most recent meeting of the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, we now call on governments to do more. To show that safe international travel is not only possible but, given the social and economic benefits that only tourism can deliver, essential too.

Without doubt, news of a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus gives us reason for cautious optimism. However, the restart of tourism – and the many millions of people who depend on it – cannot wait for mass vaccinations to become a reality.

It is time now to rethink quarantine rules for tourists. To embrace innovation and new solutions for testing travellers before or after their journeys. Alongside this, restrictions on travel must be eased or lifted in a responsible and coordinated manner as soon as it is safe and feasible.

The important steps undertaken to ensure better coordination and refusing to stand still, are the precursors to prepare for the new year. 2021 could be a critical year for the restart of tourism, but only if we continue along this path.

The foundations are there for this to be a turning point. It is a moment for directing our sector towards greater sustainability and inclusivity and realizing its massive potential to deliver lasting development and change for all. We cannot waste this chance.

Now, as we pause and reflect, I send you my best wishes from Madrid. Wherever you are, and however you celebrate, I wish you all a safe and restful festive period.

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