The Diplomat
Six candidates are officially in the running for the post of UN Tourism Secretary-General, according to a note verbale sent to member states by UN Tourism and accessed by The Diplomat.
The officially proclaimed candidates are Muhammad Adam of Ghana, Shaikha Al Nowais of the United Arab Emirates, Habib Ammar of Tunisia, Gloria Guevara of Mexico, Harry Theoharis of Greece, and the current Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili of Georgia.
Zurab Pololiskashvili has been Secretary-General of UN Tourism since January 2018. He is running for re-election for a third term after leading UNWTO (now UN Tourism) through the pandemic. Prior to assuming his position at the helm of the UN specialised agency, he held a number of senior positions in the public and private sectors. After graduating in banking, Pololikashvili gained extensive experience in the private sector, holding a prominent position in one of Georgia’s largest banks and as CEO of the country’s leading football team, FC Dinamo Tbilisi.
His proposals for UN Tourism in the next four years include – in addition to deepening the programmes already underway such as ‘Best Tourism Villages’ or Start-ups Competition – applying measures for the sustainable development of rural and natural environments; promoting and establishing new areas of development such as urban, shopping and ‘sectoral’ tourism; opening new Academies in Africa and Asia; promoting new Investment Guides from different countries; opening new regional offices in Africa and Asia; and continuing to promote congresses on wine, sports and gastronomic tourism, which are producing excellent results.
Gloria Guevara, Secretary of Tourism of the Mexican Government during Felipe Calderón’s term in office, holds a degree in Computer Science from the Universidad Anáhuac and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. In 2017, she assumed the presidency of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
Her vision for UN Tourism focuses on strengthening the organisation and maximising value for its member countries by promoting tourism as a tool for sustainable growth and job creation. He recently stated in an interview that he wants to reclaim the legacy of former Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.
Harry Theoharis was deputy finance minister of Greece from June 2023 to June 2024, in the government of the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Previously, from 2019 to 2021, he was minister of tourism. And between 2013 and 2014 he was secretary general for public revenue at the Greek Ministry of Finance.
His proposal for UN Tourism includes incorporating several states into the organisation – the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Nordic countries -, strengthening sustainable tourism policies, fostering cooperation between member countries and promoting digitalisation and innovation as essential tools to face the challenges of the sector.
Muhammad Adam was, from 2020 until last December, Ghana’s ambassador to Spain. A career diplomat, he was consul general of his country in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and counsellor at the Embassy in Spain. His nomination to head UN Tourism is not yet known,
The United Arab Emirates candidate, Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais, comes from a prominent Emirati family. She is currently the Director of Internal Audit at Rotana Management Corporation PJSC (‘Rotana’). Shaikha previously worked for 3 years for KPMG in Abu Dhabi. She is a graduate in Business Administration from Zayed University.
The Executive Council will make its recommendation to the November General Assembly at its meeting on 29-30 May in Madrid.
