The 25th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has been held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
During the meeting, the proposal submitted by the host Uzbekistan to establish a special office on Silk Road tourism was adopted by the 119th session of the Executive Council of the UNWTO. It was decided that the 26th session would be held in Saudi Arabia. The theme of World Tourism Day 2024 is "Tourism and Peace" and the main event will be held in Georgia; The theme of World Tourism Day 2025 is "Tourism and Sustainable Development" and the main event will be held in Malaysia. Zurab Pololikashvili has been re-elected as Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization.
According to the statistic from UNWTO, the number of international tourists worldwide has recovered to 95 percent of the pre-pandemic level for the same period. In a message before the opening of the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that tourism brings opportunities for global development. As a key sector in the global economy, tourism is an important force for cultural heritage, opportunities and sustainable development.
According to the report submitted to Member States by the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, the 5 key directions of the tourism industry are to expand innovation and digital transformation, focus on talent training and employment, promote industry investment and financing, promote sustainable development and green transformation of the tourism industry, and enhance the resilience and competitiveness of the tourism industry through statistics, market analysis and product development.
The 25th session lasted for four days and representatives from 117 countries and regions attended. Each day, the conference is organized around a different theme, focusing on education, innovation and sustainability, allowing participants to express their views and concerns to improve UNWTO activities and projects in the future. At the same time, we will focus on assisting developing countries to develop tourism and provide assistance to various national tourism plans.
