Harry Theoharis
Candidate for UN Tourism Secretary General
Manuel Paillole
Harry Theoharis is, as a politician, relatively young: it is only seven years since he joined the New Democracy party and ten years since he entered politics. But his ‘technical’ experience is much broader and dates back to 2011, when he was appointed secretary general for Information Systems at the worst moment of the economic crisis that shook Greece. Then, in 2019, he became minister of tourism. And then came covid-19. Now he is running for UN Tourism Secretary General.
You were Greece’s Minister of Tourism between 2019 and 2021, in other words, in the midst of the pandemic. What do you think we should have learned from those months and have not applied?
My experience as tourism minister of Greece was indeed during the pandemic, a time when destinations from around the world shared a common problem and could see the benefits of collaboration and sharing of best practice among different countries. We applied innovative technological solutions such as artificial intelligence for screening vistors and optimizing testing. Perhaps most importantly, we actively involved all the population and tourism stakeholders at every stage. Throughout the crisis I was publicly sharing each of our challenges, experience and solutions, learnings of what worked and what didn’t, not just in Greece but with the global tourism community. The key learning was that tourism is a complex and fast changing sector and even the most difficult and unexpected challenges can be solved with innovation, the right process and the right funding. Tourism is, by definition, a global sector and as such it can only be managed in collaboration between destinations and source markets and public and private stakeholders. We need to Strengthen Regional Resilience and Investments, develop cross-border networks and establish inter-regional institutions, in collaboration with key partners, for disaster preparedness and recovery, ensuring swift mobilization of funds and resources to support vulnerable communities. Finally, UN Tourism should work with public and private sectors to enhance real-time data-sharing and AI-driven predictive analytics to manage crises effectively.
The motto of your programme is “Reform to transform, unite to grow”. What do you think needs to be reformed in UN Tourism?
UN Tourism should be a forward-looking driving force and clear leader of the global tourism community as it works towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In recent years UN Tourism has lost credibility and many member states are questioning its value. Without the full confidence and trust of all Member States UN Tourism cannot be an effective or credible leader. The organs of governance are set out in the statutes but recently they have not been applied to the detriment of membership unity. I will reform the organization by restoring the organs of governance and ensuring they fulfil their role freely, uniting and empowering all Member States. for shared prosperity and maximize our contribution to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. We also need to modernize the operational efficiency. I have experience in the digital transformation of complex organizations to reduce bureaucracy and improve effectiveness.
You propose to improve the transparency, accountability and efficiency of the Organisation. How will you do this if elected?
There is currently very little transparency and very vague reporting on the activities and impact of UN Tourism. Without clear, measurable objectives it is difficult to hold the leadership accountable for its work and management of the Member States’ resources. I will immediately implement a series of initiatives to set clear, measurable governance standards and metrics, publish regular reports and conduct independent audits, and launch a centralized, publicly accessible platform that provides real-time data on project outcomes, financial performance, and progress against goals.
The second part of your motto is “uniting to grow.” What do you need to unite?
The lack of unity is a direct result of lack of transparency and a personalized approach to leadership that limits the participation of member states in important matters. Once again, if the organs of governance are allowed to operate correctly, objectives will be agreed between members and decisions will be made through consensus and experiences, information and knowledge will be shared. As secretary general I will work for the interests of the members and not my own and together we will make UN Tourism an equitable, inclusive, force for good that truly represents its Member States and drives positive change across the sector.
What do you mean when you talk about encouraging member states to take bold policy lead? Doesn’t it seem that UN Tourism is, at first glance, giving up on its own functions?
UN Tourism exists to serve the interests of its member states. It has no legislative power itself but one of its key functions is to provide its members with the all the collective intelligence and resources necessary for each Member State to implement the best policies. Bold, transformative policies require the reassurance of collective action and here a united and collaborative UN Tourism will empower its member. For UN Tourism to perform this key function the member states must trust each other and the leadership of the organization.
There are those who believe that the nationality of the secretary-general determines the direction that the organisation will take. That is to say, a European will favour the interests of Europe, an African those of Africa, and so on. Do you agree with this view?
When looking at some of the decisions that have been made by the organization in the past, favouring not only national but even personal interests, you may be forgiven for thinking the choice of Secretary general will bring favouritisms. This should definitely not be the case a every UN Officer, including the Secretary General of the organization, upon assuming office, must sign a sworn oath in which they promise not to take care of the interest of their own country/region, rather treat all countries equally. I will make this oath and I will keep it.
Spain is the host country of UN Tourism and a permanent member of its Executive Council. Do you think the Organization should have special treatment for Spain?
Notwithstanding the oath of impartiality above, UN Tourism is the only UN Agency to be lucky enough to be headquartered in Madrid and the relevance and reputation of UN Tourism reflects Spain’s own international reputation as a tourism powerhouse. As host country there is clearly and necessarily a close working relationship between Spain and UN Tourism and as the only permanent member of the executive council Spain has a special relationship and responsibility to UN Tourism and its members. I personally believe that in an organization such as UN Tourism the value members get out is directly proportional to the commitment they put in. Spain has a huge amount to offer the global tourism community, not just the new headquarters in Madrid but also amazing talent, innovation and best practice in both the public and private sectors. I would like therefore for Spain to be more directly involved in the governance and work of UN Tourism.
You have stated that you have received the support of the African Tourism Board, a non-profit organisation whose patrons include former UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai. Does this support guarantee you the votes of African countries?
I was the first of the six candidates to Secretary-General to present a set of specific initiatives focusing on the sustainable development of African tourism and this continent, that has been largely ignored by UN Tourism for too long, is a priority for me. I plan to, not only make Africa the beneficiary of many of the more urgent and important UN Tourism projects but also ensure that the region is better represented in the governance and operational management of the organization. This focus on Africa was quickly recognized by the African member states and by the ATB that represents the national tourism boards of each country. It is a great satisfaction and an honor to have this support for my proposed initiatives, it is an indication of how the African members will vote but it is not a guarantee. Nothing can guarantee the votes of any members (despite what candidates may claim) and I must remind you that the vote is secret and can change on the election day.
As a computer engineer, in which areas of the tourism sector do you think new technologies can provide the most value?
Before joining public service, I worked for years as a software engineer leading digital transformation and data analytics projects for many complex organizations and I am the candidate best qualified to lead the digital transformation, first of UN Tourism and then, working with member states, apply innovation and technology to many challenges facing the tourism industry. Technology and specifically big data analytics and predictive ai are keys to the resilience of tourism destinations. Technology can bring value to almost any area of tourism, biometrics for improved and faster airport security, blockchain to run pre-flight safety checks on aircraft or e-visas and digital health passports to improve seamless travel. AI will also play a big role in crowd management, water usage and destination sustainability.
When you presented your candidacy at FITUR, you expressed your concern about the overcrowding of tourism, especially in cities. What do you propose to solve this problem? Should we introduce tourist taxes or limit access?
The massification of tourism is the tipping point at which the balance between people, place and planet is lost and without this balance, sustainable development of tourism is not possible. This can be felt in nature where uncontrolled tourism activity can have a negative environmental impact or in an urban context where large numbers of tourism can, if not managed adequately, cause inconvenience and friction with the permanent residents. Each destination has a unique context and there are a number of possible solutions for each situation. The first action I propose is that Member states should work together to regain balanced sustainable growth through projects that will more evenly distribute visitors geographically (to new and developing destinations) and seasonally. Then we should use ai and other technologies to understand and manage tourism flows globally and in each destination on a very local level. In my view charges and limitations are not long-term solutions and they do not take into account the complexity of destination management.
What are your plans for “sectoral” tourism? I mean gastronomic, wine, sports, adventure and shopping tourism.
These sectors, and others are useful to UN Tourism members in several ways. First seen individually they allow destinations to develop more focused and detailed strategic plans for each sector. This focus will make it easier to engage stakeholders to in each area and worked closely together for clearly identified objectives. The second benefit is that it allows for a more targeted segmentation of travelers and therefore more effective marketing. Finally, by having specific plans for each sector, destinations will be able to demonstrate that for tourism to grow sustainably it must move away from simply encouraging visitors to travel to a destination and focus more on how visitors interact with the destination.
