The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has reaffirmed his commitment to working closely with the Government of Brazil to help the country's tourism sector recover and become a key driver of sustainable development. The statement of support came as Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili led a UNWTO delegation to meet with President Jair Bolsonaro and Minister of Tourism Marcelo Álvaro Antônio.

Making good on his commitment to resume in-person visits to Member States as soon as possible, Mr. Pololikashvili led the UNWTO delegation to Brazil, on a first visit to the Americas region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The highlight of the visit was a meeting with President Bolsonaro, during which Secretary-General Pololikashvili thanked him for making tourism a central part of his government's agenda and for his ongoing support for UNWTO. The President and his government were cited as a strong example of Member States working together with UNWTO to advance education and training in the tourism sector, foster innovation, and drive both job creation and investment.

Strong support for tourism

In meetings between the UNWTO leadership and the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, Minister Marcelo Álvaro Antônio outlined how he has been working to support the sector through the unprecedented crisis posed by the pandemic. Measures taken include advancing US$1 billion of loans to support tourism businesses, as well as promoting investments in the sector, including through modifying the existing legal framework.

Alongside this, UNWTO is working closely with private partner Wakalúa, the first global tourism innovation hub, and the Brazilian government to make the country a hub of tourism innovation. Furthermore, the Brazilian government used the occasion of these meetings to again express an interest in hosting a new UNWTO Regional Office for the Americas.

The UNWTO delegation also met with Brazil's Foreign Affairs Minister Ernesto Araújo and shared with him the roadmap to restart tourism designed on the back of continued dialogue with the Global Tourism Crisis Committee. The meeting also focused on the need for stronger cooperation to advance tourism's contribution to inclusive and sustainable development, including for rural communities across Brazil.

UNWTO building confidence in tourism again

The UNWTO Secretary-General said: "Tourism is a powerful force for good for Brazil and for all of the Americas. As UNWTO guides the global restart of tourism, we are on our first official visit to the region since the start of the crisis. I thank the Government of Brazil for the ongoing, strong support for tourism and I am particularly encouraged by the commitment to growing innovation in tourism and using the sector as a tool to advance sustainable development for all."

Secretary-General Pololikashvili also used the occasion of the official visit to Brazil to share the steps UNWTO is taking to ensure confidence returns to international tourism. These include plans to introduce a new International Code for the Protection of Tourists, which will also have the additional benefit of spreading responsibility for tourists faced with emergency situations more fairly across the sector. Furthermore, the UNWTO delegation stressed the heightened importance of strong collaboration, both between governments and also between the public and private sectors.

Next stop - Uruguay

After visiting Brazil, the UNWTO delegation will leave for neighbouring Uruguay where the Secretary-general is expected to meet the country's political leadership and key public and private tourism players.

About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, 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.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

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