World Tourism Organization

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World Tourism Organization

Abbreviation UNWTO

Formation 1 November 1975 (46 years ago)

Type United Nations specialized agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Madrid, Spain

Head Secretary-General

Zurab Pololikashvili

Website www.unwto.org

Politics portal

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized

agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally
accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the
leading international organization for the promotion of tourism as a driver of
economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability. It
provides leadership and support in advancing knowledge and tourism policies
and serves as a global forum for tourism policy and a source of tourism
research and knowledge. It encourages the implementation of the Global Code
of Ethics for Tourism[1] e Development, Competitiveness, Innovation & Digital
Transformation, Ethics, Culture & Social Responsibility, Technical Cooperation,
UNWTO Academy, and Statistics.[2]
The official languages of UNWTO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian and Spanish.
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism stood at an all-time
high: 1 out of 10 jobs worldwide depended on tourism and international tourist
arrivals reached 1.5 billion in 2019.
Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, UNWTO conveyed the Global
Tourism Crisis Committee to guide the tourism sector as it faced up to the
COVID-19 challenge.

Contents

• 1UNWTO Priorities
• 2UNWTO and COVID-19
o 2.1UNWTO COVID-19 Resources
• 3Members
• 4Secretaries-General
• 5Structure
o 5.1General Assembly
o 5.2Executive Council
o 5.3Committees
o 5.4Secretariat
o 5.5Official languages
• 6Publications
• 7See also
• 8References
• 9Further reading
• 10External links

UNWTO Priorities[edit]

UNWTO headquarters, Madrid

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of
tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as
a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level
playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.
Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UNWTO Members’
competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resource
development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning,
research and statistics, sustainable tourism development, marketing and
promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.
Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable
tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of
environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host
communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.
Increasing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and
development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and
achieving the MDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and
promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.
Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting
countries to assess and address their needs in market knowledge, education
and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and
exchange.
Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local
tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the
UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism
sector.

UNWTO and COVID-19[edit]

The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill, and
tourism is the worst affected of all major economic sectors. Against a backdrop
of heightened uncertainty, up-to-date and reliable information is more important
than ever, both for tourists and for the tourism sector. UNWTO's priorities
shifted towards recovery of tourism increasing its efforts:
- By cooperating closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), the
lead UN agency for the management of this outbreak;
- by ensuring with WHO that health measures are implemented in ways
that minimize unnecessary impact on international travel and trade;
- by standing in solidarity with affected countries; and
- by emphasizing tourism's proven resilience and by standing ready to
support recovery.
UNWTO COVID-19 Resources[edit]
Sustainability as the new normal - To mark World Environment Day, the One
Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme led by UNWTO announces its new
vision for global tourism– growing better, stronger, and balancing the needs of
people, planet and prosperity.
Tourism Recovery - Governments have responded quickly and strongly with the
level and coverage of measures steeping up over time. Most countries have
adopted economy-wide stimulus packages (fiscal and monetary measures)
along with job support measures.
Restarting Tourism - At its fifth meeting, UNWTO changed the emphasis
towards restarting tourism. The Committee endorsed UNWTO's Global
Guidelines to Restart Tourism, an action plan focused on the Priorities for
Tourism Recovery.
Recovery for Action - Supporting Jobs and Economies Through Travel &
Tourism. A Call for Action to Mitigate the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19
and Accelerate Recovery
Travel Restrictions - This latest research shows that while discussions on
possible first measures for lifting restrictions are underway, 100% of
destinations worldwide still have COVID-19 related travel restrictions for
international tourists in place.
Tourism Recovery Tracker - As tourism slowly restarts in an increasing number
of countries, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has developed the first
comprehensive tourism recovery tracker worldwide, monitoring a number of
relevant indicators throughout the recovery of tourism.
Latest impact assessment - The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer monitors
short-term tourism trends on a regular basis to provide global tourism
stakeholders with up-to-date analysis on international tourism.
Plastics and COVID-19 - A new set of Recommendations published today
outline how the global tourism sector can continue in its fight against plastic
pollution while effectively facing the public health and hygiene challenges of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package - We are facing an
unprecedented global health crisis, the repercussions of which are being felt in
all sectors of society and the economy.
Knowledge - Improve your skills and knowledge by joining the webinars
delivered by UNWTO and those created and delivered directly by our partner
Institutions and experts. You can join Live Webinars or come back to them in
our Recorded Webinars’ section.
UNWTO Global Tourism Dashboard - Loss of 850 million to 1.1 billon
international tourists. Loss of US$910 billion to US$1.2 trillion in export
revenues from tourism. 100 to 120 million jobs at risk
Measures to support tourism - This compilation of country and international
policy responses aims to share and monitor worldwide measures to mitigate the
effects of COVID-19 crisis in the travel and tourism sector and accelerate
recovery.
Supporting Recovery - UNWTO calls for solid international leadership and for
tourism to be included as a priority in future recovery efforts
Health advice for tourists - As the COVID-19 situation evolves, many people
around the world continue to travel: for leisure, for business and for vital
humanitarian reasons.
Know the Impact - International tourism has seen continued expansion, despite
occasional shocks, demonstrating the sector's strength and resilience and
benefiting all regions in the world.

Members[edit]

UNWTO Tourism Regions

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has long considered the public and
private sector to be integral partners in fulfilling its general mandate of
promoting sustainable development in tourism. In addition, UNWTO is the only
agency of the United Nations that has private sector members that participate in
the governance structure. We believe that the public and private sectors share
many common objectives which, in today's globalized world, can be more
effectively tackled through collaboration and the establishment of partnerships.
UNWTO members have endorsed the Management Vision and Priorities of the
Secretary-General which seeks to position tourism as a policy priority, lead in
knowledge creation, enhance the Organization's capacity through building new
and stronger partnerships, and offer better value for existing Members while
also expanding membership.
“It is absolutely crucial to work towards the enhancement of a new generation of
partnerships, partnerships not only with governments, not only with civil society
and academia but equally partnerships with the business community in the
context of the perspective of implementation of the Sustainable Development
Goals, creating the conditions for an inclusive and sustainable development –
the best way to prevent crises and conflicts in today’s world”. António Guterres,
United Nations Secretary-General
To realize the Management Vision, UNWTO's work is based around five distinct
pillars:

1. making tourism smarter through celebrating innovation and leading the

digital transformation of the sector;
2. making tourism more competitive at every level through promoting
investment and promoting entrepreneurship;
3. creating more and better jobs and providing relevant training;
4. building resilience and promoting safe and seamless travel; and
5. harnessing tourism's unique potential to protect cultural and natural
heritage and to support communities both economically and socially.
Membership of the UNWTO includes 158[3] states,[4] six territories (Flemish
Community (1997), Puerto Rico (2002), Aruba (1987), Hong
Kong (1999), Macau (1981), Madeira (1995)),[5] and two permanent observers
(Holy See (1979), Palestine (1999)). Seventeen state members have withdrawn
from the organization for different periods in the past: Australia (citing poor
value for money), Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada (Canada withdrew from
the World Tourism Organization when it appointed Robert Mugabe as a leader
in 2013), Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Grenada, Honduras, Kuwait, Latvia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Panama, Ph
ilippines, Qatar, Thailand, United Kingdom and Puerto Rico (as an associate
member).[citation needed] The Netherlands Antilles was an associate member before its
dissolution.
Non-members are: Antigua and
Barbuda, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Comoros, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia, Fi
nland, Grenada, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxem
bourg, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South
Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, United States.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejoined the organization in May 2013, 26
years after having left UNWTO.[6]
Additionally, and uniquely for a United Nations specialized agency, UNWTO has
over 500 affiliate members, representing the private sector, educational
institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities, non-
governmental entities with specialised interests in tourism, and commercial and
non-commercial bodies and associations with activities related to the aims of
UNWTO or falling within its competence.

Secretaries-General[edit]
Name Years of Tenure

Robert Lonati 1975–1985

Willibald Pahr 1986–1989

Antonio Enriquez Savignac 1990–1996

Francesco Frangialli 1997–2009

Taleb Rifai 2010–2017

 Zurab Pololikashvili[7] 2018–

Structure[edit]
General Assembly[edit]
The General Assembly is the principal gathering of the World Tourism
Organization. It meets every two years to approve the budget and programme
of work and to debate topics of vital importance to the tourism sector. Every four
years it elects a Secretary-General. The General Assembly is composed of full
members and associate members. Affiliate members and representatives of
other international organizations participate as observers.[8] The World
Committee on Tourism Ethics is a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly.[9]
Executive Council[edit]
The Executive Council is UNWTO's governing board, responsible for ensuring
that the Organization carries out its work and adheres to its budget. It meets at
least twice a year and is composed of members elected by the General
Assembly in a ratio of one for every five full members. As host country of
UNWTO's headquarters, Spain has a permanent seat on the Executive Council.
Representatives of the associate members and affiliate members participate in
Executive Council meetings as observers.[10]
Committees[edit]
Specialized committees of UNWTO members advise on management and
programme content. These include: the Programme Committee, the Committee
on Budget and Finance, the Committee on Statistics and the Tourism Satellite
Account, the Committee on Market and Competitiveness, the Sustainable
Development of Tourism Committee, the World Committee on Tourism Ethics,
the Committee on Poverty Reduction and the Committee for the Review of
applications for affiliate membership.[11]
Secretariat[edit]
The Secretariat is responsible for implementing UNWTO's programme of work
and serving the needs of members and affiliate members. The group is led by
Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili of Georgia, who supervises about 110
full-time staff at UNWTO's Madrid headquarters. The Secretariat also includes a
regional support office for Asia-Pacific in Osaka, Japan, financed by the
Japanese Government,[12] and a liaison office in Geneva as UNWTO's
representation to the UN System, the World Trade Organization, and other
diplomatic organizations in Switzerland.[13]
Official languages[edit]
The official languages of UNWTO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Russian and Spanish.[14][15]

Publications[edit]
Key tourism statistics

•
UNWTO Annual Report
•
UNWTO Declarations
•
UNWTO Fact Sheets
•
UNWTO World Tourism Barometer
•
Knowledge Network Issues Paper Series
Visa Openness Report
UNWTO research concluded that, by improving visa processes and entry
formalities, G20 economies could boost their international tourist numbers by
122 million, tourism exports by US$2016 billion and employment by 5 million.[16]
The Organization's latest UNWTO Visa Openness Report, published in 2016,
shows the highest ever percentage of international tourists not requiring a visa
to travel - 39% compared with 23% in 2008.[17] The report concluded that the 30
countries whose citizens were least affected by visa restrictions in 2015 were
(based on the data compiled by the UNWTO, based on information from
national official institutions):[18]