Zurab Pololikashvili travel tips

H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of United Nations (UN) Tourism, (formerly the United Nations World Tourism Organization – UNWTO) will deliver the Keynote Address during the opening ceremony of the second Global Tourism Resilience Day Conference, which will be hosted by Jamaica from February 16-17, 2024.

The leading players of Travel & Tourism globally have published a landmark joint report setting out their joint plan to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

UN Tourism has partnered with the European Committee of the Regions for a comprehensive study of the significant impact and potential of tourism in fostering socio-economic development in rural areas.

On April 22 in London, some of the top players in travel collaborated to publish a joint report on how to help combat and reverse biodiversity loss.

Europe’s national tourism authorities have met to advance shared solutions to the biggest challenges facing tourism as well as the opportunities offered by the sector’s post-pandemic return.

Prominent political and tourism industry figures are to attend the official opening ceremony of the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show on 4 March. A spectacular show programme featuring classical works and folk music by the Official Host Country Oman awaits the audience at the opening of ITB Berlin 2024.

According to the first UNWTO World Tourism Barometer of the year, international tourism ended 2023 at 88% of pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 1.3 billion international arrivals. The unleashing of remaining pent-up demand, increased air connectivity, and a stronger recovery of Asian markets and destinations, are expected to underpin a full recovery by the end of 2024.

UN Tourism has opened applications for the 2024 edition of its Best Tourism Villages initiative. Over the past three editions, UN Tourism – the new name of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) - received almost 600 applications from nearly 100 countries.

South America’s largest country is keen to attract visitors from the UK, with an approach potentially including Fam and Press Trips, Strategic Partnerships and Creative Activations. Brazil’s ambitious start to the new year follows hot on the heels of a successful end to 2023, which saw the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) open its first office in Latin America in Rio de Janeiro. The office was inaugurated by Zurab Pololikashvili, the Executive Secretary of UNWTO at an opening ceremony taking place last 14th December, which was attended by the President of Brazil Luis Inacio da Silva - more commonly known as Lula - and the country’s Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino.

Tourism leaders from around the world will join together in Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh, for 2023’s United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Day on September 27 and 28. Global tourism ministers and others in the industry will participate in events to connect and collaborate. The location of this year’s event shows how far tourism has come in the few short years since Saudi Arabia opened to tourists in 2019.

Germany and the United States spent 13% and 11% more respectively on outbound travel than in the same nine months of 2019, while Italy spent 16% more through August.

Tourism’s transformation to low-carbon operations is our compass, let’s make Net Zero our destination by 2050 – a journey for prosperity and a healthy Earth

Searching for the best places to visit that promote cultural diversity and sustainable travel? The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently released its third annual list of the Best Tourism Villages for 2023, a compilation of authentic, lesser-known places to travel. Consider this your new travel bucket list.

Saudi Arabia has become a “must-see destination”, Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, said in Riyadh during the opening ceremony of World Tourism Day this weekend. “This is a country that always looks forward, and in big ways,” he continued. “Saudi Arabia is now the second-biggest place for foreign direct investment projects in all the Middle East and Africa. I’m proud to say we count on the support of Saudi Arabia.”

UNWTO has launched a new global initiative designed to unite and encourage nations, tourism sector leaders and consumers to be more open-minded when choosing a travel destination.

Leaders from across the global tourism sector will meet in Riyadh tomorrow for this year's World Tourism Day (WTD).

Details of the speaker lineup have been revealed for this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD), to be held in Riyadh from 27th – 28th September. With more than 500 government officials, industry leaders and experts from across 120 countries set to descend on Riyadh for the event, the level of attendance demonstrates the significance of WTD 2023 in charting the future of the global tourism sector’s growth.

International tourism has continued to recover from the worst crisis in its history as arrival numbers reached 84% of pre-pandemic levels between January and July 2023, according to the latest data from UNWTO. The Middle East, Europe and Africa lead the global sector’s rebound.

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.

Having witnessed a stronger than expected recovery in 2022, the Middle East could see international tourist arrivals return to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Data from the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer noted that while all regions enjoyed significant increase in international arrivals in 2022 over the previous year, the Middle East recorded the strongest relative increase as international tourist numbers climbed to 83 percent of pre-pandemic numbers last year. “The region welcomed large events such as Expo 2020 Dubai and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as well as a highly attended Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia,” noted UNWTO in its report.  “UNWTO anticipates a strong year for the sector even in the face of diverse challenges including the economic situation and continued geopolitical uncertainty,” Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said. UNWTO noted that over 900 million tourists travelled internationally in 2022, which was double the number of those who travelled in 2021 though still 37 percent below 2019.