The 24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly, which met in Madrid (30 Novemer-3 December) unanimously approved Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka’s nomination for the position. She will serve as Chair for four years, starting on 3 December 2021, taking over from Pascal Lamy, former Director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and President Emeritus of the Jacques Delors Institute.

“It is with great honour that I accept this appointment and I will, together with the members of the Ethics Committee, work hard to provide a fair guidance towards more ethical practices in the tourism sector.” said Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka.

UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili added: “With her rich background and experience of leadership, Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka will ensure that the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics continue to serve as a compass directing us towards a fairer and more inclusive tourism sector.”

New Committee Members Confirmed

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics is the independent body responsible for interpreting, applying and evaluating the provisions of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The Committee’s tasks include the promotion and dissemination of the Code as well as the evaluation and monitoring of its implementation. Dr. Mlambo-Ngcuka brings to the role significant experience working in the fields of human rights, equality and social justice, most notably serving as an Undersecretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women for two terms.

The 24th UNWTO General Assembly also approved the appointment of the following as Committee Members: Ms. Mayada Belal (Undersecretary for the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Cultural Cooperation), Mr. José Ignacio Besga Zuazola (President of the Basque Country Ethics Cluster), Ms. Susan Longley (General Secretary of the International Union of Food, Agriculture, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF), Ms. Daniela Otero (Chief Executive Officer of Skal International).

Ms. Gunnur Diker (Partner and General Manager of Eurasia Tourism Ltd.), Mr. Shahid Hamid Fih (Chairman & Founder of SH’otel Hospitality Management & Consultancy Ltd) and Prof. Marina Novelli (Professor of Tourism and International Development at the University of Brighton) were also appointed as alternate members of the Committee.

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About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism 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.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

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