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• Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)
• Member States in Asia and the Pacific
• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OBSERVATORIES (INSTO)

ABOUT UN TOURISM

UN Tourism’s (formerly UNWTO) leadership vision acknowledges the most pressing challenges facing tourism and identifies the sector’s ability to overcome them and to drive wider positive change, including the opportunities responsible tourism offers for the advancement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UN Tourism’s members have endorsed the Management Vision 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.

To realize the Management’s Vision, UN Tourism’s work is based around five distinct pillars:

• making tourism smarter through celebrating innovation and leading the digital transformation of the sector
• making tourism more competitive at every level through promoting investment and promoting entrepreneurship
• creating more and better jobs and providing relevant training
• building resilience and promoting safe and seamless travel;
• harnessing tourism’s unique potential to protect cultural and natural heritage and to support communities both economically and socially.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO (now, UN TOURISM) promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

UN Tourism encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development worldwide.

UN Tourism generates market knowledge, promotes competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, fosters tourism education and training, and works to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in over 100 countries around the world.

UN Tourism’s membership includes 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members and over 500 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

source： https://www.unwto.org/who-we-are

OUR MANAGEMENT

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili took office in January 2018. Seeking to optimize the efficiency of the Organization, the Secretary-General has introduced a new leadership structure consisting of a Deputy Secretary-General and two Executive Directors, each one overseeing key structural areas and departments of the Organization, for increased efficiency in achieving UNWTO’s goals, including adding value to members, increasing membership and serving the tourism sector as a whole.

The management team works towards a comprehensive vision for development of the tourism sector. This includes positioning tourism as a policy priority, establishing thought leadership in knowledge and policy creation, increasing resources and strengthening UNWTO’s capacity through meaningful partnerships.

Source: https://www.unwto.org/management

※Each bar directs you to the UN Tourism headquarters website

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What does the World Tourism Organisation do?

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The World Tourism Organisation sounds like a grand name – but what do they actually do? We’ve put together a guide to the World Tourism Organisation so you can get to know a bit more about them. Keep reading to find out more…

What is the World Tourism Organisation?

With the acronym UNWTO, the World Tourism Organisation is the United Nations agency who exist to promote ‘responsible, sustainable and universally accessible’ tourism. They are the leading international organisation within the tourism industry.

The headquarters of the World Tourism Organisation are in Madrid. The UNWTO actually dates back to 1925, in a roundabout way. In this year, the first international congress of official tourist organisations was held at The Hague. After annual meetings, they formed the International Union of Official Tourist Publicity Organisations known as IUOTPO. This was in 1934. A few years later, this was restructured to form the International Union of Official Travel Organisations (IUOTO).

In 1970, the IUOTO became the World Tourism Organisation (WTO). This was in order to further enhance the group’s role on an international level. Only in 2003 did it become a specialised agency of the UN, known as UNWTO.

The World Tourism Organisation has five official languages: Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The structure of the World Tourism Organisation

The structure of the UNWTO is as follows:

The General Assembly, made up of full members and associate members, meet every two years to approve the budget, programme of work, and topics of vital importance. A secretary-general is elected every 4 years.

The Executive Council, who meet every two years, is the governing board of the UNWTO who ensure the organisation does what it sets out to do.

There are also specialised committees, made up on UNWTO members. The committees advise on management and programme content.

The secretariat, led by the secretary-general, implement the UNWTO’s programme of work.

Major aims of the World Tourism Organisation

UNWTO has 158 member states from around the world. The organisation encourages these member states to implement the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism . There are 10 principles within this code, which each cover something different:

• Tourism’s contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies.
• Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment.
• Tourism, a factor for sustainable development.
• Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and contributor to its enhancement.
• Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities.
• Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development.
• Right to tourism.
• Liberty of tourist movements.
• Rights of the works and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry.
• Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

Each of these articles (you can read them all in detail here ) make up the code as a whole, and lay out loose suggestions about how tourism should be conducted. The overarching aim of this code is to maximise the socio-economic contribution of tourism, while minimising its possible negative impact.

UNWTO also promotes tourism as a way to achieve the worldwide Sustainable Development Goals . The UN created this, and they came into force in January 2016. They are known as the ‘7 goals to change the world’, and cover things like quality education, decent work and economic growth, and peace, justice and strong institutions.

The aforementioned Sustainable Development Goals are part of the wider 2030 Agenda. This global framework was set out to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change by the year 2030. Tourism is something that can aid in all of these goals, either directly or indirectly.

Day to day role of the World Tourism Organisation

Above are the major goals of the UNWTO, and the big things they do/hope to achieve. On a more practical basis, the World Tourism Organisation do a lot of other things. They put together infographics relating to tourism, and collect various statistics. The UNWTO also figures out key trends within the tourism industry, which can then be built upon.

As part of their role within the tourism industry, the World Tourism Organisation offers training and education. It hopes to make tourism an effective development tool.

UNWTO puts together various reports on all sorts of travel and tourism -related topics. Governments and tourists boards can access these reports to improve on what they’re doing. Thanks to the World Tourism Organisation, travel companies can make experiences more accessible, more sustainable, more ethical – just generally better.

These reports also praise tourist boards and governments for the developments that have been made within the industry. They set out what’s going well and where growth has been made. Whether it’s a certain about of money that tourism in a particular country has generated, or the amount of jobs that have been created, the World Tourism Organisations celebrates the positive impact of the industry as well as suggesting where changes can be made.

The World Tourism Organisations hosts a variety of global events, meetings and summits. These include talks and discussions on sustainability, conferences about accessibility, gender empowerment and digital tourism. Events are held around the world a few times per month. A full calendar can be found HERE .

Once a year, on September 27th, the World Tourism Organisation facilities an event called World Tourism Day. This is a worldwide celebration of tourism, hosted in a particular country each year. Every event has a different theme, such as promoting universal accessibility, or linking cultures.

So, that’s what the World Tourism Organisation is, and what they do!

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UNWTO chooses to headquarter its America’s office in Brazil

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has elected to locate the headquarters of its Americas office in Brazil. The decision was made at the UNWTO’s 24th General Assembly held last month, and the subsequent announcement revealed at the conclusion of the 114th Meeting of the Executive Council of the UNWTO, the following day.

The new office is tasked with attracting investments; carrying out commission studies on the tourism sector; developing a Tourist Support Portal; fostering startups operating in tourism; and supporting the activities and projects developed by the UNWTO worldwide. The office is intended to start operations this year.

Headquartering the Americas office in Brazil was a natural choice for the UNWTO — largely owing to the nation’s status as an economic powerhouse in the LATAM region, and its thriving tourism sector supported by Embratur, its International Tourism Promotion Agency. Through Embratur, Brazil continues to promote itself as a friendly destination to UAE-based travelers, focusing on its diverse eco-tourism attractions as well as its gastronomic, luxury, business, leisure, and well-Being offerings.

The location of the office will therefore continue to strengthen ties between the UAE and Brazil opening up more opportunities for Emiratis to explore and visit the country’s tropical beaches, historical sites, and the Amazon rainforest.

To attract more visitors from the Gulf, UAE, Asia and Europe, Brazil is also expanding its halal-tourism in a bid to cater more to the needs of Muslim tourists. This shift to accommodate the preference of more diverse holidaymakers will see the introduction of halal-certified hotels as well as signed spaces aimed at  Mecca and copies of the Quran in accommodations.

“We have just approved a new UNWTO office in Brazil. I congratulate the Minister of Tourism, Gilson Machado Neto; the President of Embratur, Carlos Brito; and everyone who, along with them, took part in this momentous win. I want to also thank President Jair Bolsonaro for his support and for pursuing the idea of ​​opening this office in Brazil”, said the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili — who was re-elected as Secretary General during the 24th General Assembly.

The minister of Tourism and President of Embratur’s Deliberative Council, Gilson Machado Neto, celebrated the victory of the Brazilian candidacy and highlighted that Nature Tourism is being increasingly sought after worldwide: “The confirmation of an UNWTO office in Brazil is a great achievement for this government and for Brazil. Thanks to the commitment and credibility of the current government, we were able to prove our potential to the world and commemorate what is one of the biggest advertisements for Brazilian tourism in decades.”

The president of Embratur, Carlos Brito, who actively participated, along with the Embratur team and the Ministry of Tourism, in the entire campaign that culminated in Brazil’s victory, also commented: “We are extremely honored to have been elected to host the UNWTO in Brazil and we are certain that we will be able, together with the world’s leading authority in the tourism sector, to carry out even more promotional actions so that international tourists can visit the spectacular wonders of Brazil.”

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Poverty alleviation through tourism, industry research.

To support its members with scholarly support and assist them in making informed data-driven decisions, WTA works with relevant institutions in sponsoring and releasing a series of industry and market research reports.

Organizational Structure

Secretariat structure.

Introduction to the WTA

Zhang is a researcher and Master's degree holder, and has spent his entire career in public service at the Ministry of Culture of China (later renamed to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism). His previous positions include Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Public Culture, Editor-in-Chief of Culture Monthly, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Society and Culture (briefly on secondment to the Hebei Provincial Department of Culture as Deputy Director-General), Director-General of the Department of Society and Culture(the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage), Director of the Central Cultural Management Cadre College in China, Director-General of the Department of General Administration, Vice Minister of Culture and the Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism of China.

Adam Burke serves as President & CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (Los Angeles Tourism). With more than 25 years of travel & tourism industry experience, Burke previously served as Senior Vice President, Customer Loyalty for Hilton Worldwide with global management responsibility for the award-winning Honors customer loyalty program. Burke is actively engaged in advocating for the broader travel and tourism industry, serving on the Board of Directors of U.S. Travel Association and the Board of Trustees of the Destinations International Foundation,as well as the Global Leadership, and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committees of Destinations International, the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, and the Simple view Advisory Board.

Henri Giscard d'Estaing, a president of Club Med. He is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies and has a master's degree in Economic Sciences. Mr. Giscard d'Estaing began his career at the Cofremca. Then, he joined Danone Group; he has been Mergers &Acquisitions Senior VP, CEO of the British subsidiary HP Food Lea and Perrins, CEO of Evian-Badoit and CEO of the Mineral Waters division. He became Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Club Med in December 2002.In 2017,Mr. Giscard d'Estaing has been named Global Partner of the Fosun Group, the Vice Chairman of the Foliday Board as well as Executive Director and Co-chief Executive Officer,President of Club Med and Director of Club Med Holding. Since April 2018, he is Member of the Advisory board of BOAO Forum for Asia.

Pansy Ho is Group Executive Chairman and Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited(“Shun Tak”), Co-chairperson & Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited, Chairman of Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre. Ms. Ho also holds a respectable number of executive roles in various private and quasi-government entities including Sociedade de Turismo e Diversöes de Macau， S.A., Shun Tak-China Travel Shipping Investments Limited, Air Macau Company Limited, Macau International Airport Company Limited and Hong Kong lnternational Airport Ferry Terminal Services Limited. In addition, she is a member of the 14th Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Vice Chair of the 13th Executive Committee of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Over the years, Ms. Ho has been dedicated to the promotion of tourism development on the international front, actively engaged in a number of the world's leading tourism organizations.

Eduardo Santander is the Executive Director of the European Travel Commission (ETC). Mr. Santander has over 15 years of experience in tourism marketing, brand development, business consulting, advocacy and public affairs gained in diverse private companies and public institutions from the tourism and hospitality sector.Educated in Spain, USA and Austria he holds a PhD in Sport Sciences and an MBA degree with a focus on Hospitality and Recreation Industry Management. Mr. Santander is a passionate advocate of freedom to travel, smart connectivity and sustainability in tourism and beyond.

Xu, Deputy Director-General and First-level Inspector of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, graduated from Hangzhou University with a Bachelor degree in Tourism Economic Management, from Zhejiang University with a Master degree in Economic Law, and from Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a Master of Science in Hotel and Tourism Management (HTM) in 2006. He was previously President of Zhejiang Travel Agency Association,Executive Vice President of Zhejiang Tourism Association, and a member of the National Technical Committee on Tourism Standardization. He has extensive experience in the tourism industry, and has a long history in tourism industry management, marketing promotion, and industrial development.

Statutes of the World Tourism Alliance

Chapter 1. General Provisions

Article 1. The name of the Alliance is the World Tourism Alliance or WTA in abbreviation form.

Article2. The WTA is a non-government, non-profit international organization for consultation and cooperation between tourism institutions and relevant personages committed to promoting international exchanges and cooperation. It is a social organization with legal person status established in accordance with Chinese laws.

Article 3. The WTA abides by the constitution, laws, regulations and state policies of the host country and observes social ethics.

Article 4. Following the vision of Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World and the objectives of promoting development, poverty reduction and peace with tourism, the WTA aims to enhance international exchanges and cooperation in the global tourism community for the purpose of building consensus, sharing experience and deepening cooperation, and promote sustainable and inclusive development of the world tourism industry.

Article 5. The WTA is registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, and administered by the Ministry of Culture and Toursim of the People’s Republic of China. The WTA is subject to the supervision and guidance of the registration and administration authorities.

Article 6. The headquarters of the WTA is based in Hangzhou, the People’s Republic of China.

Article 7. The working languages of the WTA are Chinese, English, French, Russian, Arabic and Spanish.

Chapter 2. Scope of Business

Article 8. Scope of Business

1. To provide professional services for all members, build a platform for member-to-member dialogue, exchange and cooperation, and promote business cooperation and experience sharing among members.

2. To strengthen communication and coordination with major international organizations, collect and analyze tourism data, study the global trend of tourism development, and provide statistics and research reports;

3. To track the difficulties and challenges of tourism development, and provide policy advice and recommendations on tourism development to national governments;

4. To hold the WTA’s annual meetings, summits, expos and other tourism promotion events, and build a platform for exchange and cooperation between the public sector and the government.

5. To provide education, training, consulting and planning services, promote the sharing of resources and enhance the capability of the tourism industry for achieving sustainable development.

Chapter 3. Membership

Article 9. Scope of Membership

Membership of the WTA consists of institutional and individual members. Institutional members refer to the national tourism associations, influential tourism enterprises, think tanks, research institutes and other institutions of various countries. Individual members refer to the experts and scholars in the tourism field.

Article 10. Applicants for WTA membership must meet the following conditions:

1. Endorse the WTA Statutes;

2. Intention to join the WTA;

3. Hold adequate influence in the sector.

Article 11. Procedures for Admission

1. Submission of membership application;

2. Discussion and approval by the WTA Council;

Article 12. Rights of Members

(1)To elect, stand for election and vote in the WTA;

(2)To take part in the WTA activities;

(3)To have priority access to the services of the WTA;

(4)To criticize, make suggestions on and supervise the work of the WTA;

(5)To use the data and information of the industry provided by the WTA;

(6)To undertake and sponsor various WTA activities on a priority basis;

(7)To enjoy the benefits provided by the WTA;

(8)Other rights granted by the Council;

(9)Voluntary membership application, freedom of withdrawal.

Article 13. Members’ Obligations

(1)To implement the WTA resolutions;

(2)To safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the WTA;

(3)To complete the work assigned by the WTA;

(4)To pay membership dues according to regulations;

(5)To report the relevant information to the WTA and provide relevant materials.

Article 14. Members that withdraw from the WTA shall notify the WTA in writing and return their membership cards. Members that fail to pay membership dues or take part in WTA activities for one year shall be deemed as automatically withdrawing from the WTA.

Article 15. Members that commit serious violation of this Statutes shall be dismissed upon the approval of the Council by voting.

Chapter 4. Organs and Heads of Organs

Article 16. The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the WTA, whose functions and powers include:

1.To formulate and amend the Statutes;

2.To elect or dismiss members of the Council;

3.To deliberate on the work report and financial report of the Council;

4.To formulate and revise the membership dues standards;

5.To discuss the proposals tabled by the members;

6.To discuss the venue for the next General Assembly;

7.To decide on matters related to termination;

8.To decide on other important matters.

Article 17.Quorum for the General Assembly shall be two thirds of the membership. Any resolution of the Assembly shall come into effect only after being adopted by more than half of the members present through voting.

Article 18.The General Assembly shall be held every four years. Should it be held in advance or be postponed owing to special circumstances, the decision shall be adopted by the Council through voting, submitted to the administrative authorities for review and approved by the registration authorities. Whereas, the postponed period for the re-election shall be no more than one year.

Article 19.The Council, which is the executive organ of the General Assembly, oversees the day-to-day work of the WTA when the Assembly is in recess, and stands accountable to the General Assembly.

The number of Council members, which shall account for no more than 30% of the WTA’s membership, shall be an odd number and may be adjusted, upward or downward, with the approval of the General Assembly. The Council members shall each serve a four-year term and can be re-elected. The composition of the Council shall reflect the principle of balance between sectors and regions.

Article 20.Functions and Powers of the Council

1.To implement the resolutions of the General Assembly;

2.To elect and dismiss the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary-General of the WTA;

3.To prepare for the convening of the General Assembly;

4.To deliver the work report and fiscal report to the General Assembly;

5.To decide on the admission or dismissal of members;

6.To decide on the establishment of executive agencies, branch agencies, representative agencies and physical agencies;

7.To decide on the appointment of Deputy Secretaries-General and agency chiefs;

8.To lead the work of the WTA;

9.To formulate internal management rules;

10.To decide on other important matters;

Article 21. Quorum for the Council meeting shall be two thirds of the Council membership. Any resolution of the Council meeting shall come into effect only after being adopted by more than two thirds of the Council members present through voting.

Article 22. The Council shall meet at least once every year. In case of special circumstances, the meeting may also be conducted by way of communication.

Article 23. The Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and Secretary-General of the WTA shall meet the following conditions

1.Hold a considerable influence in the WTA’s field of business;

2.Good health conditions and fit for work;

3.No record of criminal punishment involving deprivation of political rights;

4.Full capacity for civil conduct.

Article 24. Candidates for the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and Secretary-General who have exceeded the age limit shall be appointed only after being approved by the Council through voting, submitted to the administration authorities for review and approved by the administrative authorities.

Article 25. The Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and Secretary-General shall serve a term of four years, with a maximum of two terms. In case the term needs to be extended owing to special circumstances, the decision shall be adopted by over two thirds of the members at the General Assembly through voting, submitted to the administrative authorities for review and approved by the registration authorities.

Article 26. The Chairperson of the WTA shall be its legal representative. In case of special circumstances which require the Secretary-General to be the legal representative, the decision shall be submitted to the administrative authorities for review and approval by the registration authorities.

The legal representative of the WTA shall not concurrently serve as the legal representative of other social organizations.

Article 27. Functions and Powers of the Chairperson

1.Convene and preside over the Council meeting;

2.Check the progress of implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly and Council;

3.Sign the relevant important documents on behalf of the WTA.

Article 28. Functions and Powers of the Secretary-General

1.Oversee the daily work of the executive agencies, and organize the implementation of the annual work plan;

2.Coordinate the work of various executive, branch and representative agencies;

3.Nominate the Deputy Secretary-General and the heads of various executive, branch and representative agencies and submit the nominations to the Council for decision;

4.Decide on the recruitment of staff members of the executive, branch, representative and physical agencies;

6.Handle other daily affairs.

Chapter 5. Management and Use of Assets

Article 29. Source of Funds

1.Membership dues;

2.Donation;

3.Government support;

4.Incomes from activities or services carried out within the approved scope of business;

5.Interest;

6.Other legal incomes.

Article 30.The WTA collects membership dues in accordance with the relevant state regulations.

Article 31.The WTA funds shall be used within the scope and for the cause prescribed by this Statutes, and shall not be distributed among the members.

Article 32.The WTA shall establish a stringent financial management system and ensure the legality, authenticity and integrity of accounting materials.

Article 33.The WTA shall be staffed with professional accounting personnel, who shall not concurrently serve as the treasurer. The accounting personnel must conduct accounting calculations and accept accounting supervision. When moving to other jobs or leaving the current job, the accounting personnel must complete the handover procedures with his/her successor.

Article 34.The management of WTA assets shall be subject to the financial regulations of the country where the headquarters is based,and accept the supervision of the General Assembly and the financial authorities.Funds that come from state appropriation, government support or public donation must accept the supervision and audit of the audit authorities, and the relevant information must be made available to the public through appropriate means.

Article 35.Before re-election or change of legal representative, the WTA must accept the financial audit organized by the registration and administration authorities.

Article 36.No organization or individual may occupy, secretly divide or misappropriate the assets of the WTA.

Article 37.The salary, insurance, welfare and other entitlements of official WTA staff members shall be enforced in accordance with the relevant regulations of the host country and with reference to the relevant international rules.

Chapter 6. Procedures for Amending the Statutes

Article 38. The amendments to the Statutes shall be adopted by the Council through voting and then submitted to the General Assembly for review.

Article 39. The amended Statutes shall come into effect after being reviewed and approved by the administration authorities and submitted to the registration authorities for examination and approval within fifteen days after adoption by the General Assembly through voting.

Chapter 7. Termination and Property Disposal

Article 40. In case the WTA is to have its registration nullified due to such circumstances as completion of purposes, independently initiated dissolution or separation and merger, a motion of termination shall be put forward by the Council.

Article 41. The motion on the termination of the WTA shall be approved by the General Assembly through voting and submitted to the administration authorities for review and consent.

Article 42. Before termination, the WTA shall set up a clearing organization under the guidance of the administration authorities andrelevant departments to sort out credits and debts and deal with the aftermath. During the clearing period, it shall not engage in any activity other than clearing.

Article 43. The WTA shall be deemed terminated after its registration is nullified by the registration authorities.

Article 44. The remaining WTA assets after termination shall be devoted to the development of undertakings in line with the WTA purposes under the supervision of the administration and registration authorities and in accordance with the relevant state regulations.

Chapter 8. Auxiliary Provisions

Article 45. This Statutes is adopted by voting at the General Assembly on … (date), (month), and (year).

Article 46. The right to interpret this Statutes shall rest with the WTA Council.

Article 47. This Statutes shall come into force on the date of examination and approval by the registration authorities.

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United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Recently, the Prime Minister of India hailed the Dhordo village in Kutch district of Gujarat for being awarded as the Best Tourism Village by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

About united nations world tourism organization (unwto).

• It is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
• Functions: It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
• It was established in 1975.
• Members: Membership of the UNWTO includes 159 countries.
• Official languages: The official languages of UNWTO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
• General Assembly: It is the principal gathering of the World Tourism Organization. It is composed of full members and associate members. It meets every two years.
• Executive Council: It is UNWTO's governing board. It is composed of 35 members elected by the General Assembly in a ratio of one for every five full members. It meets at least twice a year.
• Headquarter: Madrid, Spain

Key facts about Best Tourism Villages initiative

• It was launched in 2021 by UNWTO.
• It is part of the UNWTO Tourism for Rural Development Programme.
• The programme works to foster development and inclusion in rural areas, combat depopulation, advance innovation and value chain integration through tourism and encourage sustainable practices

Q1) What is the United Nations?

It is an international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among member countries. The United Nations works on a wide range of issues, including diplomacy, humanitarian aid, human rights, and sustainable.

Source: PM hails Gujarat's Dhordo for being awarded as Best Tourism Village by UNWTO

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Governing Bodies

The bodies of the World Tourism Organization are the:

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the principal gathering of the UN 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.

Regional Commissions

UN Tourism has six regional commissions-Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. The commissions meet at least once a year and are composed of all the Full Members and Associate Members from that region. Affiliate Members from the region participate as observers.

Executive Council

The Executive Council is UN Tourism'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 by Members elected by the General Assembly in a ratio of one for every five Full Members.

Specialized committees of UN Tourism Members advise on management and programme content. These include: the Programme and Budget Committee, the Committee on Statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account, the Committee on Tourism and Competitiveness, the Committee on Tourism and Sustainability, the World Committee on Tourism Ethics and the Committee for the Review of Applications for Affiliate Membership.

Secretariat

The Secretariat is led by Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili from Georgia, who ‎supervises 152 personnel at UN Tourism's Madrid Headquarters. Together, they are responsible ‎for implementing UN Tourism's programme of work and serving the needs of Members. ‎The Affiliate Members are supported by a full-time Director at the ‎Madrid Headquarters. The ‎Secretariat also includes a regional support office for Asia-Pacific in Nara, Japan, ‎financed by the Japanese Government and a Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, opened in 2021. At its 25th General Assembly, Members agreed to open a first Regional Office for the Americas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a Regional Office for Africa in Marrakesh, Morocco. The official languages of UN Tourism are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and ‎Spanish. ‎