VISION, STRENGTH & STABILITY: TRUSTED FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE TOURISM
For the next leader of the UNWTO, the challenges will be great. Whoever takes the top job must navigate the organisation through dramatic changes taking place in the tourism world – travel policies, attitudes, technology. At the same time, he or she will need to demonstrate how the UNWTO will help shape a stronger tourism future for all – members, staff, partners, as well as travellers.
As staff and member states ponder over possible successors, curiosity and concern run parallel. The legacy of Taleb Rifai, outgoing Secretary General, is undeniable. In his two terms at the helm, in addition to step-changing the focus and delivery of the organization, Rifai has achieved unprecedented levels of trust, credibility, relevance and cohesion within the industry, and outside. The UN’s designation of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism For Development, across all UN bodies, is testament to his success in raising the profile of the value of tourism, beyond the sector.
For his successor, strengthening this success is a must, while at the same time addressing any weaknesses. Fresh thinking is an expectation of new leadership. Evolution. But not revolution. The vision must be clear. It must be inspiring. It must be unifying. And it must be capable of carrying the sector forward for the benefit of all members.
One candidate has this principle firmly in place – South Korea’s nominee, AMBASSADOR DHO YOUNG-SHIM, a highly respected, delivery-focused, lifelong practitioner of tourism, within and outside the global UN system. Clear on the strengths and shortcomings of the UNWTO, and appreciative of the work done by the UNWTO in recent past under Rifai, to now shake its foundations with dramatic shifts in direction will risk not just the capability of the organisation, but its credibility.
To ensure growth with both strength and stability, Ambassador Dho’s priorities for the next stage of UNWTO leadership focus on inspired evolution, not revolution. Key to delivery: positioning her candidacy as a partnership, inviting as her running mate CARLOS VOGELER, a Venezuela-born Spanish national now operating as UNWTO Regional Director of the Americas and Executive Director for Member Relations.
This unique pairing of global, outside-in and inside-out experience and expertise gives UNWTO Executive Council members tasked with determining Rifai’s successor, a leadership combination that guarantees Rifai’s legacy acts as the foundations for a new era of UNWTO impact. Vision, strength, stability and shared commitment to an even more innovative, empowering tourism future for all – members, staff, and the wider global tourism community. It’s about leadership, not leaders.