TheUnited Nations World Tourism Organization orUN Tourism (formerlyUNWTO) is aspecialized agency of theUnited Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessibletourism. Its headquarters are inMadrid, Spain. Other offices include: a Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific inNara, Japan[4] and a Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
UN Tourism serves as a global forum for tourism policy and a source of tourism research and knowledge. It encourages tourism competitiveness, innovation, education, investments and digital transformation. The organization also focusses on ethics, culture and social responsibility related to tourism, provides technical cooperation and includes a UN Tourism Academy and statistics work.[5]
Before the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic, tourism stood at an all-time high with 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals in 2019, according to the organization'sWorld Tourism Barometer. Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, UN Tourism conveyed the Global Tourism Crisis Committee to guide the tourism sector as it faced up to the COVID-19 challenge. The global tourism sector eas estimated to have lost over US$600 billion under the best-case COVID-19 scenario and over US$1.9 trillion in the worst-case scenario.[7] Following a 72% drop in international arrivals in 2020, travel recovered and attained pre-pandemic levels in 2024.[8]
UN Tourism has 160 Member States,[9][10][11] six associate members (Aruba, Flanders, Hong Kong, Macao, Madeira and Puerto Rico),[12] and two observers (Holy See (1979), Palestine (1999)).
Seventeen state members have withdrawn from the organization for different periods in the past including Australia (citing poor value for money),Bahamas (later rejoined),Bahrain (rejoined in 2001), Belgium, Canada (Canada withdrew from the World Tourism Organization when it appointedRobert Mugabe as a leader in 2013),Costa Rica (rejoined in 1995),El Salvador (rejoined in 1993), Grenada,Honduras (rejoined in 2001),Kuwait (rejoined in 2003), Latvia,Malaysia (rejoined in 1991),Myanmar (rejoined in 2012),Panama (rejoined in 1996),Philippines (rejoined in 1991),Qatar (rejoined in 2002),Thailand (rejoined in 1996), United Kingdom andPuerto Rico (as an associate member).[citation needed] TheNetherlands Antilles was an associate member beforeits dissolution.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejoined the organization in May 2013, 26 years after having left UN Tourism.[13]
Additionally, UN Tourism has over 500 affiliate members, including non-governmental entities with specialised interests in tourism, and commercial and non-commercial bodies and associations with activities related to the aims of UN Tourism or falling within its competence.
On 2 April 2022, Russia announced it would leave UN Tourism, and the organization subsequently voted the same day to suspend Russia in response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[14]
As the host country of UN Tourism's headquarters, Spain has a permanent seat on the Executive Council. Representatives of the associate members and affiliate members participate in Executive Council meetings as observers.[17]
UN Tourism releases its Tourism Data Dashboard which "provides statistics and insights on key indicators for inbound and outbound tourism at the global, regional and national levels. Data covers tourist arrivals, tourism share of exports and contribution to GDP, source markets, seasonality and accommodation (data on number of rooms, guest and nights)."[18]
UN Tourism research concluded that, by improving visa processes and entry formalities, G20 economies could boost their international tourist numbers by 122 million, tourism exports by US$2016 billion and employment by 5 million.[19]
The Organization's latest UN Tourism Visa Openness Report, published in 2016, shows the highest ever percentage of international tourists not requiring a visa to travel - 39% compared with 23% in 2008.[20] The report concluded that the 30 countries whose citizens were least affected by visa restrictions in 2015 were (based on the data compiled by the UN Tourism, based on information from national official institutions):[21]
Least restricted citizens
Rank
Country
Mobility index (out of 215 with no visa weighted by 1, visa on arrival weighted by 0.7, eVisa by 0.5 and traditional visa weighted by 0)
^Staff writer (2024)."UN Tourism". UIA Global Civil Society Database.uia.org. Brussels, Belgium:Union of International Associations. Yearbook of International Organizations Online. Retrieved28 December 2024.
^territories or groups of territories not responsible for their external relations but whose membership is approved by the state assuming responsibility for their external relations.
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