The new Regional Office will focus on strengthening investment promotion. One of its first key outcomes will be a set of guidelines aimed at boosting green investments, recognizing the importance of biodiversity for tourism in the Americas. The Rio Office will also develop a strategy for the technical training of young people, equipping them with the professional skills needed for the sector’s growth throughout the region.
On the occasion of the inauguration, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili held a bilateral meeting with Brazil’s Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino. The meeting focused on the projects to be carried out at the Regional Office and how it can serve as a hub for tourism development, both in Brazil and throughout the region.
The UN Tourism Regional Office for the Americas will support the advancement of the tourism sector not only in Brazil but also across the entire region. Rio de Janeiro will become a veritable centre of leadership and ideas, focusing on growth, securing investments for the sector, and harnessing the power of tourism for sustainable and inclusive development. Secretary-General Pololikashvili
Other key initiatives to be led by the Regional Office include women’s empowerment, with a dedicated event on the topic set to take place in 2025. Additionally, the Office will advance efforts in indigenous tourism, accessibility, and multi-destination routes in the region, such as the Jesuit Route in South America, among others.
The Regional Office for the Americas strengthens UN Tourism’ presence on the ground, bringing it closer to its Members. In addition to its Headquarters in Madrid, the Organization now has a Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and an office in Nara, Japan. A Regional Office for Africa is planned to be opened in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The Regional Offices enable UN Tourism to provide tailored support to its Members in all regions of the world, focusing on priorities such as tourism innovation, investment, and education and training across the sector.
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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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