UNWTO

UNWTO will work with the Municipality of Thassos in Greece to help the island rebuild its tourism sector in an inclusive way. The new joint project will focus on two core issues, namely tourism marketing and community involvement in tourism on Thassos. The work is part of a wider focus to place local communities at the centre of tourism policies as the sector's recovery continues to gather pace. Marketing Action Plan As part of the collaboration, UNWTO will work with the Municipality to boost the diversity and resilience of tourism on the island. The marketing initiatives for Thassos tourism carried...

Innovation, tourism for rural development and high-level cooperation were the focus of this week’s official visit of the UNWTO Secretary-General to Israel. As a founding Member State, joining in 1975, Israel has played an active role in UNWTO's work and continues to serve on several important Committees and bodies. Following on from the official visit of Israel's Ministry of Tourism, to the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid in July, the UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili led a delegation to Israel for a series of high-level discussions around shared priorities. In Jerusalem, Secretary-General Pololikashvili held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign...

The Conference on Rethinking Africa: Rethinking Tourism for Africa: Addressing global challenges; Promoting investment and partnerships brought expert African perspectives to global challenges, highlighting the need of investments towards a greener tourism sector and access to finance within the sector and the need to further strengthen public-private collaboration at every level. Tourism Ministers set out visions Reflecting the heightened relevance of tourism as a solution to a range of global challenges and pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Conference was structured around two thematic sessions with a ministerial panel on Addressing global challenges followed by a second...

UNWTO has recognized the most influential innovators reshaping tourism in the Kingdom of Morocco. The finalists of the first Moroccan Tourism Startup Competition showcase the power of the sector for driving post-pandemic recovery, protecting cultural and natural heritage and providing opportunities for both rural and urban communities. After being announced in November 2022, the competition attracted 135 applications from across the Kingdom. The competition focused on identifying solutions to advance the development of the Moroccan tourism, reaching out to startups with a focus on five pillars: Innovation in blue and green economies (life under water) Innovation in natural heritage: Nature,...

Tourism leaders from across Africa have met to rethink and realign the sector’s role as a driver of development and opportunity across the region. At the 66th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa, Member States joined representatives from international organizations and the private sector to focus on opportunities around tourism jobs and investments while also recognizing the vital need to address challenges including the climate crisis. The UNWTO Agenda for Africa has been adapted. Our vision for African tourism is also one of strong governance, more education and more and better jobs Tourism in Africa: Bouncing Back According...

Tourism leaders from across the Americas committed to a more ethical, inclusive tourism as the sector bounces back to drive economic recovery across the region. The 68th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas brought together high-level delegations from 20 countries. The meeting saw participants work together around shared priorities, with a focus on jobs and education, boosting investment in the sector and advancing sustainability and climate action efforts. The Americas: Strong demand drives tourism recovery According to UNWTO data, tourism in the Americas has experienced rapid recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. International arrivals to destinations...

UNWTO further strengthened its cooperation with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean as it brought together public and private sector leaders to advance investments in the tourism sector. Against the backdrop of the meeting of its 68th Regional Commission for the Americas in Quito, Ecuador, UNWTO hosted the Seminar on Sustainable Investments to explore the main challenges and opportunities around this topic in the region. Tourism Investments: A defining priority The latest data from UNWTO shows that tourism in the Americas is steadily recovering, with international arrivals reaching 86% of 2019 levels by the end of the...

UNWTO will work with Alpitour World as a strategic partner to advance innovation, education and sustainability across every part of the tourism sector. Reflecting UNWTO’s focus on harnessing the power of public-private partnerships, the newly-signed Memorandum of Understanding with Alpitour World, will see the two organizations work together around shared strategic goals. In this context, the two organizations will particularly focus on supporting innovators and driving forward the digital transformation of the sector. Working together for a smarter tourism The partnership between UNWTO and Alpitour is aimed at strengthening the links between tourism’s public and private sectors. The Memorandum of...

This week will bring tourism back to the United Nations headquarters to emphasize the sector’s unique position to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Reflecting the unprecedented relevance of tourism on the UN agenda, UNWTO together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Republic of Croatia and support from Ministry of Tourism, India, Chair of the G20 Tourism Working Group will gather leaders from the public and private sectors for a high level roundtable at the official side event on “Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability in Tourism" which will be held on Friday 14 July within the framework...