Source: UN Tourism
Source: UN Tourism

With the presence of 30 community leaders, with their colorful traditional outfits that represent the cultural diversity of the different indigenous, Afro and mestizo peoples of Panama, the UNWTO and the ATP shared with the media the official details of the competition.

The Competition will promote innovative and disruptive tourism experiences that encourage the conservation and regeneration of the natural and cultural heritage of Panama and the empowerment of local communities. The categories of the contest will reflect the five Heritage Routes of Panama established in the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan 2020-2025: (1) Bridge of the World Route, (2) Crucible of Cultures Route, (3) Forests of Life Route, (4) Birds in Paradise, (5) Wonders of the Ocean.

Applications to participate will be open until 15 March 2023. The grand winner of the contest will receive: (a) a prize of US$25,000 in infrastructure for the community of the winning experience, (b) a spot to exhibit the experience at the Adventure Travel World Summit 2023 in Japan. The five finalist experiences will receive: (a) a course from the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, (b) inclusion in the UNWTO Innovation Network, with global visibility through UNWTO social media channels, (c) seed capital of US$2,000 each for the communities, (d) a spot for each of the 5 finalists in Adventure Next Latin America 2023 to market their experiences.

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “During the pandemic, technology and the growing sense of responsibility have created a need to develop new transformative products that are more inclusive and sustainable, and with this competition we are promoting an effort in this direction.”

The Minister of Tourism of Panama, Iván Eskildsen, highlighted: “Our Sustainable Tourism Master Plan establishes that, in order to achieve true sustainability, local communities must be at the centre of the tourism phenomenon. We value the support of the UNWTO and its commitment to the transformation of our industry.”

As of July 2022, Panama has exceeded the figure of 1 million visitors, more than triple the visitor arrivals in 2021. With this competition being launched together with the UNWTO, Panama seeks not only to get back to the pre-pandemic levels of visitors (it is estimated that the monthly volume will be recovered before the end of the year), but above all to transform the country through tourism, improving the quality of life of local communities, while conserving and regenerating its natural and cultural treasures.

RELATED LINKS:

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.

UNWTO Communications Department
+34 91 567 8100
UN Tourism