Skift Take
There are some well-qualified insiders and total outsiders with little experience in tourism among the candidates for the new UNWTO Secretary-General. Whoever is nominated and elected later this year will need to work more closely with governments at the national and local level to show them why tourism matters.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), like its parent the United Nations, is mostly an advisory body rather than an enforcer of specific laws related to tourism.
But the UNWTO still exerts heavy influence on destination marketers and tourism organizations around the world and its Secretary-General dictates guidance for the future of global tourism in dozens of countries such as the UN's International Year of Sustainable Tourism For Development this year.
The UNWTO's current Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai of Jordan, has served in the position since January 2010 and is stepping down at the end of this year. The organization's 33-nation executive board will choose a nominee in May to be voted on by its General Assembly later this year to serve as Secretary-General for the 2018 to 2021 term.
Seven eligible applications were received and we provide each candidate's career history below.
As part of the United Nations, the UNWTO supports many of the United Nation's programs and is one of the largest global tourism organizations that advises member states on how to develop and implement tourism policies. The organization's mission is to, "drive economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offer leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowled
