UNWTO Secretary-General will meet WHO Director-General in Geneva

The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will be in Geneva this week for high-level talks focused on restarting tourism as travel restrictions are eased in many parts of the world.

Strong relationship with WHO
UNWTO last made an official visit to the host city of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020, just one day before COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. As Switzerland joins a growing number of countries lifting or easing travel restrictions, UNWTO returns to Geneva for a week of meetings with key partners.

El martes (22 de febrero), el secretario general Zurab Pololikashvili se reunirá con el director general de la OMS, el Dr. Thedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, para discutir acciones y prioridades compartidas a medida que el mundo comienza a abrirse nuevamente. Las dos agencias de la ONU discutirán la necesidad de seguir relajando las restricciones, después de haber advertido repetidamente sobre su ineficacia y el daño que las prohibiciones generales de movilidad pueden tener en el bienestar económico y social. Las conversaciones también se centrarán en la visión compartida de la OMT y la OMS de normas y reglamentos más claros y coherentes en materia de turismo y salud, con el objetivo de restaurar la confianza en los viajes internacionales y poner en marcha la recuperación.

Deepening ties with the private sector
Strengthening ties with key partners from the private sector and civil society is crucial in the current circumstances. Secretary General Pololikashvili will meet with the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walsh, as well as Pierfrancesco Vago, President and CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). These meetings will be followed by an official visit to the UEFA headquarters. Here, the president of the sports body, Aleksander Čeferin, will sign a first agreement with the UNWTO aimed at promoting sports tourism as a driver of positive change and making the sector more inclusive and resilient.

Key partners in Switzerland

Against the backdrop of Switzerland’s announcement of its plans to significantly ease inbound travel restrictions, the UNWTO delegation will meet with Eric Jakob, Ambassador of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), whose report includes tourism policy, as well as with Martin Nydegger. , CEO of Switzerland Tourism. Highlighting Switzerland’s commitment to sustainable tourism, the UNWTO delegation will visit Gruyères. The medieval destination was named UNWTO Best Tourist Village at the 24th General Assembly of 2021, and this will be the first official visit to one of the places recognized for its effective use of tourism as a protector of heritage and as an engine of growth and opportunity. The visit will be organized by the mayor of Gruyères, Jean-Pierre Doutaz.

In line with UNWTO’s focus on employment and education in tourism, the leaders will also visit the campus of the Gilon Institute of Higher Education and the Hotel Institute of Montreux (HIM). Secretary-General Pololikashvili will meet Benoit-Etienne Domenget, Executive Director of Sommet Education, UNWTO’s partner for online learning, and will be welcomed to the new UNWTO International Center in Switzerland, located at the Bella Higher Education Campus. View in Altdorf.

In another first, UNWTO will address the UN press conference at the UN in Geneva, providing an overview of the results of the official visit and highlights of the tourism for development agenda for 2022, advanced by UNWTO.