Madrid (Spain), June 29, 2018 – The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and IE Business School, one of the world’s leading executive education centers, have agreed to join forces to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the tourism sector. Both will promote the role of academia within tourism innovation.

UNWTO has invited IE Business School to provide its support in the framework of UNWTO´s new strategy on innovation and digital transformation. This leading educational institution will give UNWTO strategic support to execute projects, expand and disseminate knowledge about innovation and entrepreneurship in tourism.

“We are delighted to be able to count on the reputation and international experience of IE Business School going forward”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. “With their academics, experts, international networks and extensive teaching and research experience, they will be actively participating in our specialized forums, as well as in the development of knowledge in the framework of innovation and entrepreneurship in tourism”, he added.

UNWTO is a natural ally for Santiago Íñiguez de Onzoño, the Executive President of IE University, to which IE Business School belongs. “As the UN specialized agency for the promotion of sustainable development through tourism, UNWTO is the ideal partner to develop mentoring and acceleration programmes for tourism startups and develop educational and training programmes in technology and innovation, conferences, and seminars, among many more options”, he said.

The agreement between both institutions has a renewable annual duration.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Skål International have announced a new organisational partnership, recognising the importance of promoting the responsible development of the travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy and Skål International CEO Daniela Otero during the recent 47th Skål Asia Congress in Macao, China. The agreement commits the two organizations to share knowledge through research and publications, to reciprocate in event participation, to support mutually agreed advocacy positions, and to enhance access for the benefit of members of both organizations.

Dr. Hardy said, “PATA and Skål are very similar in many regards. Like PATA, Skål has a long-storied history having been founded in 1934 and through the years its members have fostered a great spirit of friendship and camaraderie. They are also committed to the development of young tourism professionals and students through Young Skål. This partnership helps align both our missions in developing a responsible tourism industry and look forward to working to with them towards this goal.”

Skål International CEO, Daniela Otero, stated that “the tourism economy in Asia has increased exponentially in recent years and that the agreement was very important for the development of Skål in that area.”

As the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) held its 2nd World Conference on Smart Destinations in the Spanish city of Oviedo (25-27 June 2018), Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili emphasized how new technologies can and should enable a more universal approach to sustainable tourism.

“Technology helps us to better manage our social, cultural and environmental impacts. And if well managed, tourism can act as an agent of positive change for more sustainable lifestyles, destinations, and consumption and production patterns”, said Mr. Pololikashvili opening the Conference.

This year’s event featured two days of seminars detailing destinations’ routes towards effective digitalization. It shone a spotlight on how destinations can use technological advances like big data and geo-localization to spur sustainable management of tourism.

The Conference provided concrete take-aways for participants and also fostered knowledge creation and exchange. It was preceded by the 1st Hackathon for Smart Destinations (23-24 June) and a research and development day (25 June), which brought startups and academics together to work on ways to bring smart, innovative and sustainable solutions to the sector. These events also highlighted that several forward-thinking governments, private sector entities, researchers and technology centres have already taken the lead in doing so.

The 2nd World Conference on Smart Destinations was organized by UNWTO, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and the Government of Asturias, with the collaboration of Minube.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It is the leading international organization in the field of tourism, which 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. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism knowledge. It encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism to maximize the contribution of tourism to socio-economic development, while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards eliminating poverty and fostering sustainable development and peace worldwide.

UNWTO generates market knowledge, promotes competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, fosters tourism education and training, and works to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in over 100 countries around the world.

UNWTO’s membership includes 156 countries, 6 territories and over 500 affiliate members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities. Its headquarters are located in Madrid.

Madrid, Spain, 26 June 2018 – International tourist arrivals grew 6% in the first four months of 2018, compared to the same period last year, not only continuing the strong 2017 trend, but exceeding UNWTO’s forecast for 2018.

Growth was led by Asia and the Pacific (+8%) and Europe (+7%). Africa (+6%), the Middle East (+4%) and the Americas (+3%) also recorded sound results. Earlier this year, UNWTO’s forecast for 2018 was between 4-5%.

“International tourism continues to show significant growth worldwide, and this translates into job creation in many economies. This growth reminds us of the need to increase our capacity to develop and manage tourism in a sustainable way, building smart destinations and making the most of technology and innovation”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili.

Asia and Europe led growth at the start of 2018

From January to April 2018, international arrivals increased in all regions, led by Asia and the Pacific (+8%), with South-East Asia (+10%) and South Asia (+9%) driving results.

The world’s largest tourism region, Europe also performed strongly during this four-month period (+7%), pulled ahead by the destinations of Southern and Mediterranean Europe, and Western Europe (both +8%).

Growth in the Americas is estimated at 3%, with strongest results in South America (+8%). The Caribbean (-9%) is the only sub-region to experience a decrease in arrivals during this period, weighed down by some destinations still struggling with the aftermath of the hurricanes of August and September 2017.

The limited information coming from Africa and the Middle East points to 6% and 4% growth, respectively, confirming the rebound of Middle East destinations and the consolidation of the growth in Africa.

Confidence in global tourism remains strong according to the latest UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts survey. The Panel’s outlook for the May-August period is one the most optimistic in a decade, led by the particularly upbeat sentiment in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Experts’ evaluation of tourism performance in the first four months of 2018 was also robust, in line with the strong results recorded in many destinations around the world.

This pioneering initiative for the tourism sector reaches out to 164 countries to find startups aiming to transform tourism.
Whether tech-based or non-technological, early-stage or more mature, any startup with innovative ideas capable of revolutionizing the way we travel and enjoy tourism is welcome to participate.

The tourism sector has taken a giant step into the future. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in partnership with Globalia, the leading tourism group in Spain and Latin America, announced the launch of the 1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition. It is the world’s first and largest initiative devoted to identifying new companies that will lead the transformation of the tourism sector. In order to find the best projects, the call for competitors will be launched in 164 countries.

The objective of the programme is to select the best solutions and the most disruptive projects. The search will focus on finding pioneering proposals for implementation of emerging and disruptive technologies, as well as on startups based on new business models, such as the circular economy. In this regard, one of the pillars of this competition is to give visibility to projects that are committed to enhancing sustainability in tourism.

The startup search process is as ambitious as it is complex: identifying the best projects in all corners of the planet. For this, UNWTO and Globalia have enlisted the innovation consultancy firm Barrabés.biz, which boasts more than 20 years’ experience in the creation, connection and activation of entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems.

To broaden the scope of the competition and to facilitate the registration of interested startups, the programme will be implemented through the digital platform YouNoodle, a leading Silicon Valley company in the startup evaluation space at the global level.

“Innovation and tourism investment are not ends in themselves; they are means to develop better tourism products, to improve the governance of tourism and to make the most of the proven sustainability of tourism, by creating jobs and generating opportunities,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

For his part, Globalia CEO Javier Hidalgo confirmed his company’s support for this new initiative emphasizing that “as a global tourism group, we want to offer the winners the opportunity to work with us and transform the sector together”.

Who can participate?

To participate in this global competition, startups must present business models that are related to at least one of four main areas:

The future of travel
The tourism experience
Environmental impact
Community development

Those interested in participating can find more information and submit their applications through the programme’s website at www.tourismstartups.org. Applications are open from 26 June to 3 September 2018. The projects will be evaluated according to five criteria: uniqueness and viability of the solution, potential impact, business model, scalability and team profile. A jury will evaluate the entries and select the best projects as semi-finalists to be announced in September 2018.

The winners of this competition will have the opportunity to be part of the leading companies in the tourism sector.

Madrid, Spain, 20 June 2018 – The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, called for the tourism sector to take more action to combat climate change and biodiversity loss during the 30th joint meeting of its Commissions for South Asia and Asia-Pacific in Fiji (18-20 June 2018).

Adding his voice to that of the host country, Mr. Pololikashvili advocated for stronger partnerships and incentives for governments, businesses and crucially tourists themselves to make a difference in climate action efforts. He also made clear that sound policies must be built upon accurate evidence, requiring the tourism sector to better measure its impact on sustainability – while acknowledging progress has been made in this regard, including UNWTO’s development of a statistical framework to measure sustainable tourism.

The remarks were made as part of a regional seminar on how tourism impacts upon sustainable development efforts in the region and globally, held as part of the meeting in the Fijian city of Nadi. The seminar featured deep dialogue on how tourism policies, partnerships and investments can tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.

This was the first Joint Commission meeting held in a Pacific island nation. The meeting and seminar highlighted the need for developing island countries to collaborate on actionable policies, with measurable results, to address climate change and biodiversity protection within the tourism sector. UNWTO also pledged to raise further awareness of climate change’s impacts and effects on tourism through capacity building and educational opportunities.

“This is the perfect place to have this conversation on climate change, as Fiji continues to lead the efforts on climate resilience and sustainability not only within the country but in the entire region. This was also demonstrated during the Global Climate Summit COP 23, when the Government of Fiji committed to the development of sustainable tourism as a tool to tackle climate change”, said Mr. Pololikashvili.

BANGKOK, June 18, 2018 — The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce that the founding of the Twin Cities World Tourism Association (TCWTA) will take place during PATA Travel Mart 2018 (PTM 2018) in Langkawi, Malaysia from September 12-14.

PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy said, “PATA assists destinations around the world in the development of a responsible and sustainable tourism industry and it is only through cooperation and mutually beneficial partnerships that destinations can achieve such goals. The Twin Cities World Tourism Association’s mission is in line with our activities and PATA Travel Mart is the perfect occasion to launch this initiative.”

Twin cities, also known as sister cities, are collaborations between two cities to foster friendship and understanding between different cultures and to form strategic international business links between them.

The Twin Cities World Tourism Association aims to support and increase tourism and travel between twin cities, support and increase the exchange of ideas and concepts related to tourism and travel between sister cities, and enhance and strengthen relations between twin sisters through tourism and travel.

During PTM 2018, the founding president, Mr. Thomas Binder, Mayor of Gossau-Zurich in Switzerland, will formally announce the foundation of the Twin Cities World Tourism Association (TCWTA) at the Twin Cities World Tourism Forum taking place inside the exhibition hall.

Furthermore, a Board of 14 members will be appointed during this time. The Board will consist of 13 mayors from countries from all over the world while Mr. Hüseyin Baraner, being the only non-mayor member, will be appointed as its General Secretary. This Board will meet once a year in the city of the president to exchange ideas, concepts, and plans. A meeting of the Board will also be held in Zürich or Gossau at a later date in order to sign the charter of the Twin Cities World Tourism Association. 


TCWTA also plans to publish a “Twin Cities Almanac” to be presented at ITB Berlin, which will include an editorial note of the president, reports on the tourism and travel activities of twin cities, and interviews with mayors of twin cities on topics like desiderata, plans, projects and the tourism development of twin cities.

The TCWTA President plans to visit a developing country in Africa or Asia once a year in order to research opportunities to take part in projects to further and support tourism and travel in twin cities located in regions without large financial funds.

“Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development”, was the theme of this year’s seminar in the context of the 61st Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa (Abuja, Nigeria, 4-6 June). The meeting included a ministerial dialogue on the importance of tourism statistics under the topic “Better measure, better manage”.

The Commission for Africa attracted 18 tourism ministers from the region and key tourism stakeholders from 36 countries. Participants underscored how tourism projects can contribute to poverty alleviation, the importance of finding innovative approaches to developing tourism in the region, and the need to find and foster new partnerships and resources to develop the sector.

Against the backdrop of the growth of international tourism in Africa, tourism’s overall economic impact needs to be measured accurately in order for tourism strategies to effectively contribute to national economies. The ministerial dialogue addressed the significance of collecting and compiling quantitative and qualitative data, as well as the importance of commitments from national stakeholders and institutional partnerships for a rigorous tourism statistics system.

“The priorities of my mandate have been formed by listening to the needs of our member states and include the crucial targets of creating more and better tourism jobs, improving tourism education and fostering innovation”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili. “We need to build tight links between public and private sectors for tourism to transform growth across the continent, and for the benefit of its people”, he added.

The meeting was attended by the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, who stated that “Nigeria has great potentials for tourism and investment”, underscoring the relevance of the sector, both regarding its contribution to sustainable development and its role to further diversify the economy and increase social resilience.

In this context, the need for establishing a Statistical Framework for the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism (MST) was addressed. This Framework includes environmental, social and cultural tourism components geared towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The next African Commission meeting will take place during the second quarter of 2019.