UN Tourism News 2022

2022 has been the year to rethink tourism.
Countries around the world turned UNWTO’s vision for a greener, smarter and more inclusive sector into real action.

2020 showed the relevance of tourism for sustainable development.
2021 laid the foundations for the transformation of the sector.
In 2022, we made it happen.

From Austria to Vietnam, 32 destinations from all around the world have been named as ‘Best Tourism Villages 2022’ by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

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

“Our job is to create jobs,” UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili told tourism sector leaders gathered at the Ministers’ Summit at the World Travel Market to discuss how education, sustainability, and governance must be transformed to advance tourism for development.

Destinations around the world are reporting significant advances in sustainable tourism, with timely evidence and analytics serving as key tools for transformation as the sector’s recovery continues to get underway.

Held around the theme of ‘Rethinking Tourism’, the Global Day of Observation emphasized the sector’s unique potential to drive recovery and deliver positive change for people everywhere.

“Rethink Tourism”: Sector Gets Ready to Celebrate World Tourism Day 2022

The countdown to World Tourism Day 2022 is now underway, with every part of the sector invited to be an active part of the annual celebrations.

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million international arrivals recorded. This compares to 77 million arrivals from January to May 2021 and means that the sector has recovered almost half (46%) of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

The Global Youth Tourism Summit (GYTS) is a new platform, developed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), that aims to empower youth to take an active part in decision-making processes within the tourism sector.

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.

The American Members of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have met to assess the current state of the sector and plan for its sustainable future. The 67th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas brought tourism leaders from across the region together in the leading destination of Punta del Este, Uruguay.

RUSSIA SUSPENDED FROM UNWTO: Meeting for a first extraordinary UNWTO General Assembly, Members debated the suspension of Russia from the Organization. The Russian delegation avoided to step up and defend its position, and instead announced its withdrawal from UNWTO before the debate took place.

International tourism continued its recovery in January 2022, with a much better performance compared to the weak start to 2021. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine adds pressure to existing economic uncertainties, coupled with many Covid-related travel restrictions still in place.

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, people, as well as our whole societies and economies, have suffered enough. We cannot afford for this to continue. We must rebuild and look to the future with hope, not fear.

The first 2022 issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer indicates that rising rates of vaccination, combined with easing of travel restrictions due to increased cross-border coordination and protocols, have all helped release pent up demand.