Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "UN Tourism" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

UN Tourism

UN Tourism headquarters, Madrid, Spain
Abbreviation	UN Tourism
Formation	1 November 1975 (49 years ago) (1975-11-01)
Type	United Nations specialized agency
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Membership	160 Member States
Secretary-General	Zurab Pololikashvili
Parent organization	United Nations
Website	www.unwto.org
Politics portal

UN Tourism (UNWTO until 2023) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Other offices include: a Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific in Nara, Japan and a Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

UN Tourism serves as a global forum for tourism policy and a source of tourism research and knowledge. It encourages tourism competitiveness, innovation, education, investments and digital transformation. The organization also focusses on ethics, culture and social responsibility related to tourism, provides technical cooperation and includes a UN Tourism Academy and statistics work.

The six official languages of UN Tourism 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, UN Tourism conveyed the Global Tourism Crisis Committee to guide the tourism sector as it faced up to the COVID-19 challenge.

From its inception in 1975 until 2023, UN Tourism was called the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Members

UN Tourism has 160 Member States, six associate members (Aruba, Flanders, Hong Kong, Macao, Madeira and Puerto Rico), and two observers (Holy See (1979), Palestine (1999)).

Nonmembers are: Australia, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom and the United States. Seventeen state members have withdrawn from the organization for different periods in the past including 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, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand, United Kingdom and Puerto Rico (as an associate member). The Netherlands Antilles was an associate member before its dissolution.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejoined the organization in May 2013, 26 years after having left UN Tourism.

Additionally, UN Tourism has over 500 affiliate members, including non-governmental entities with specialised interests in tourism, and commercial and non-commercial bodies and associations with activities related to the aims of UN Tourism or falling within its competence.

On 2 April 2022, Russia announced it would leave UN Tourism, and the organization subsequently voted the same day to suspend Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Secretaries-General

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	2018–

As host country of UN Tourism'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.

Publications

• UNWTO Annual Report
• World Tourism Barometer
• UNWTO Declarations
• Knowledge Network Issues Paper Series

Tourism Data Dashboard

UN Tourism releases its Tourism Data Dashboard which "provides statistics and insights on key indicators for inbound and outbound tourism at the global, regional and national levels. Data covers tourist arrivals, tourism share of exports and contribution to GDP, source markets, seasonality and accommodation (data on number of rooms, guest and nights)."

Visa Openness Report

UN Tourism 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.

The Organization's latest UN Tourism 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. 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 UN Tourism, based on information from national official institutions):

Least restricted citizens

Rank	Country	Mobility index (out of 215 with no visa weighted by 1, visa on arrival weighted by 0.7, eVisa by 0.5 and traditional visa weighted by 0)
1	Denmark,  Finland,  Germany,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  Singapore,  United Kingdom	160
8	France,  Japan  Netherlands,  South Korea,  Sweden,  United States	159
14	Belgium,  Canada,  Ireland,  Norway,  Portugal,  Spain,   Switzerland	158
21	Austria,  Greece,  Malta	157
24	Czech Republic,  New Zealand	156
26	Hungary,  Iceland,  Malaysia	155
29	Australia,  Slovakia	154

Ambassadors

Sports

Didier Drogba - Football player

Leo Messi - Football player

Andrés Iniesta - Football player

Gastronomy and Wine

Gino Sorbillo - chef

Ramon Freixa - chef

Business Leaders

Michael Frenzel - Businessman

Adam Goldstein - Businessman

Arts, Design & Culture

Giorgio Armani - Passion designer

Placido Domingo - Opera singer

See also

• World Tourism Day

References

1. "Member States". www.unwto.org. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
2. ^ "UNWTO Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific". Retrieved 10 January 2024.
3. "Home | UNWTO". www.unwto.org. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
4. "UNWTO Becomes "UN Tourism" to Mark A New Era for Global Sector". UN Tourism. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
5. "Who we are | World Tourism Organization UNWTO".
6. "Member States". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
7. "Spanish Visa Experts". Retrieved 5 October 2023.
8. territories or groups of territories not responsible for their external relations but whose membership is approved by the state assuming responsibility for their external relations.
9. "The United Arab Emirates joins the World Tourism Organization". World Tourism Organization UNWTO. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018.
10. Pons, Corina; Khalip, Andrei (27 April 2022). "UN tourism body chief says Russia quitting the organization". Regina Leader Post. Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024.
11. "UNWTO Executive Council recommends Zurab Pololikashvili for Secretary-General for the period 2018-2021". World Tourism Organization UNWTO. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019.
12. "Executive Council". World Tourism Organization UNWTO. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
13. "The UN Tourism Data Dashboard". UNWTO. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023.
14. The Impact of Visa Facilitation on Job Creation in the G20 Economies: Report prepared for the 4th T20 Ministers' Meeting, Mexico, 15–16 May 2012. UNWTO and WTTC. 2012. doi:10.18111/9789284414727. ISBN 9789284414727.
15. Visa openness report 2015. 2016. doi:10.18111/9789284417384. ISBN 9789284417384.
16. "Visa Openness Report 2016" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.

Further reading

• Jafari, J. (1974). Creation of the intergovernmental world tourism organization. Annals of Tourism Research, 2, (5), 237–245.
• United Nations General Assembly. (1969). General assembly – twenty fourth session.
• United Nations World Tourism Organization. (2007). About UNWTO.
• World Tourism Organization. (2003). WTO news, 2003 (3). Madrid: World Tourism Organization.
• "World Tourism Organization changes its abbreviation to UNWTO". UNWTO Press and Communications. 1 December 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2008.

External links

• Official website
• UNWTO eLibrary
• UNWTO Themis Foundation

v t e United Nations
Secretary-General: António Guterres Deputy Secretary-General: Amina J. Mohammed General Assembly President: Dennis Francis
UN System	Charter Preamble Principal organs Secretariat Secretary-General selections Deputy Secretary-General Under-Secretary-General General Assembly President International Court of Justice Statute Security Council Elections Members President Reform Veto power Economic and Social Council President Trusteeship Council Funds, programmes, and other bodies Culture of Peace IAEA IPCC ITC MINURSO OHCHR SCSL UNAIDS UNCDF UNCITRAL UNCTAD UNDGC UNDP UNDPO peacekeeping UNEP OzonAction UNEP/GRID-Arendal UNEP-WCMC UNFPA UN-HABITAT UNHCR UNHRC UNICEF UNICRI UNIDIR UNITAR UN-Oceans UNODC UNOPS UNOSAT UNRISD UNRWA UNSDG UNSSC UNU UNU-CRIS UNU-OP UNV UN Women WFP Specialized agencies FAO ICAO IFAD ILO IMF IMO IOM ITU UN Tourism UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFEO WHO WIPO WMO World Bank Group IBRD IDA IFC Secretariat offices and departments Headquarters Conference Building General Assembly Building Secretariat Building Department of Economic and Social Affairs Department of Peace Operations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Dag Hammarskjöld Library Department for Safety and Security Division for Palestinian Rights Office at Geneva Palace of Nations Office at Nairobi Office at Vienna Office for Disarmament Affairs Office for Outer Space Affairs Office for Partnerships Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Office of Internal Oversight Services Office of Legal Affairs Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States Office of Counter-Terrorism Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Office on Sport for Development and Peace UN organizations by location
Members and observers	Founding members Full members Security Council Permanent members Permanent representatives to the UN list General Assembly Observers European Union
History	Preceding years International Telegraph Union Universal Postal Union Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 Permanent Court of Arbitration International Office of Public Hygiene League of Nations archives covenant organization member states Preparatory years Declaration of St James's Palace (1941) Atlantic Charter (1941) Declaration by United Nations (1942) Moscow Conference (1943) Tehran Conference (1943) Bretton Woods Conference (1944) Dumbarton Oaks Conference (1944) Yalta Conference (1945) Conference on International Organization (1945) Genocide Convention (1948) Activities Enlargement Peacekeeping missions timeline governed territories UNPOL Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafting Human Rights Day World Heritage Convention Convention on the Rights of the Child committee Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Indigenous Caucus Sustainable Development Goals Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
Resolutions	Security Council vetoes General Assembly 66th 67th Security Council Cyprus Iran Iraq Israel Lebanon Nagorno-Karabakh North Korea Palestine Syria Western Sahara Yemen
Elections	Secretary-General 2021 2016 International Court of Justice 2023 2022 2021 2020 2017 2014 2011 General Assembly President (2016) Security Council (2016)
Related	Outline Advisory Committee of Local Authorities Art Collection Security Council mural Block By Block Bretton Woods system Celestial Sphere Woodrow Wilson Memorial CCISUA Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Criticism Delivering as One Drug control treaties Expulsion from the United Nations Ex Tempore Federal Credit Union FICSA Flag Honour Flag Four Nations Initiative Global Compact International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons International Day of Peace International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World International Narcotics Control Board International School Hanoi Interpretation Service Laissez-passer Memorial Cemetery Korea Military Staff Committee Millennium Declaration Millennium Summit Model United Nations Official languages Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Postal Administration Ralph Bunche Park Reform SDG Publishers Compact Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners Treaty Series Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons UN Mandate UN Sacco UN Special UNICEF club United Nations Day United Nations in popular culture United Nations Medal United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights United Nations Radio United Nations television film series University for Peace Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge Withdrawal from the United Nations Women in peacekeeping World Federation of United Nations Associations
World portal

• World Tourism Organization
• Tourism agencies
• United Nations Development Group
• United Nations specialized agencies
• Organisations based in Madrid
• Spain and the United Nations
• International organisations based in the Community of Madrid
• Organizations established in 1974