- 08 febbraio 2022, 05:30

24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly

Tourism leaders from all regions arrived in Madrid to hold the first meeting since the start of the pandemic

24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly

Ministers of Tourism were joined by representatives of international organizations and from across the private sector for the global tourism meeting, with innovation, education and investments high on the agenda.

POWER OF YOUTH AND PRIVATE SECTOR

The General Assembly united Member States and Affiliate Members around a shared vision for the future of tourism and UNWTO itself. Members endorsed a landmark International Code for the protection of Tourists, making clear the responsibilities every part of the sector has in assisting tourists in crisis situations and so helping restore trust in international travel.

SUSTAINABLE, INCLUSIVE FUTURE

"Building for the Future: Innovation, Education and Rural Development". Here, the winners of the UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Competition were announced, as was the first list of Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO, recognizing the power of new ideas to create opportunities outside of big cities and those destinations that are already leading the way in harnessing the power of tourism as a driver of recovery and sustainable development.

At the same time, the best young talent was also celebrated with the winners of the UNWTO Students'League sharing their ideas alongside established sector leaders. And the role of UNWTO’s Affiliate Members in putting plans into action the ground was also emphasized. New Affiliate Members were welcomed and examples of effective public-private partnerships singled out, for helping tourism adapt to the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Members voted for Uzbekistan to host the 25th UNWTO General Assembly, scheduled to be held in 2023 and agreed to examining plans to create a new taskforce to ‘Redesign Tourism for the Future’. Additionally, Bali in Indonesia was confirmed as host for World Tourism Day 2022, to be held around the timely theme of ‘Rethinking Tourism’, while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were similarly confirmed as the host country for World Tourism Day 2023, to be held around the year of ‘Tourism for Green Investments’.

 

Andrea Rossotti megazine@megmarket.it

 

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