The Diplomat
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Global Tourism Economic Forum (GTEF) are meeting today in Lisbon to intensify their coordination and promote collaboration between governments and the private sector.
According to a UNWTO press release, following this meeting “the Forum’s status as a leading global platform for tourism policy and knowledge-sharing will be further enhanced”. It adds that “the Forum will take the lead in promoting collaboration between governments and the private sector, focusing on sustainability and resilience in tourism”.
UNWTO will also support the GTEF in the selection of host countries for the organization of the World Tourism Economic Forum, which from 2023 will be held “alternately between Macau and another host country.”
The meeting is being attended by Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of Macau SAR; Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary general of UNWTO; Zhao Bentang, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Portugal; Nuno Fazenda, secretary of state for tourism, trade and services of Portugal; Pansy Ho, vice president and secretary general of the GTEF.
Both organizations, which in 2022 celebrated 10 years of “close collaboration,” the briefing note says, and intend to join forces to complete the recovery of tourism, taking advantage of their respective strengths.
On the one hand, UNWTO is leading the transformation of tourism around greater sustainability, inclusiveness and resilience. Its priorities include: promoting investment in tourism; jobs, training and education; tourism climate action; tourism governance.
On the other hand, the GTEF is supported by the Chinese government and has established itself as a premier tourism platform, bringing together global leaders in the sector, both public and private.
Tourism today: Recovery and transformation
Meanwhile, tourism continues its positive trend in the sector’s recovery from the effects of the pandemic. UNWTO data show that, by the end of 2022, international tourist arrivals worldwide returned to approximately 80% of pre-pandemic levels (2019). A near full recovery (95%) is expected by the end of this year.
China’s reopening to tourism, “the final piece of the tourism recovery,” means the recovery of the world’s largest outbound tourism market: in 2019, Chinese tourists spent a total of $255 billion on international travel.
