The Diplomat
The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, made a strong defense of multilateralism this Monday during the inauguration of the new UN Tourism headquarters at the Madrid Congress Palace, where he called for tourism based on “sustainability, inclusion, cooperation, and global responsibility.”
The event took place at the new UN Tourism headquarters, located in the Madrid Congress Palace. The former World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, now UN Tourism) established its headquarters in Madrid in 1975, in a building on Poeta Joan Maragall Street (formerly Capitán Haya Street) that had become too small for the organization’s needs. For this reason, the Spanish Government and the UNWTO signed an international administrative agreement on March 25, 2022, whereby Spain ceded Building B of the Congress Palace to the UNWTO for a period of 75 years and assumed responsibility for the building’s renovation.
The opening ceremony coincided with the first anniversary of the International Conference on Financing for Sustainable Development, held in Seville in July 2025. In this context, Sánchez warned in his speech of the need to reform the multilateral system to make it more representative, transparent, and effective, as well as to adapt institutions to respond to current challenges with greater legitimacy.
“It is not a matter of idealism. It is a commitment to pragmatism,” he stated. “Reforming multilateralism is not questioning it, it is guaranteeing its future,” he added, advocating for more inclusive leadership and highlighting the appointment of Shaikha Al Nowais as the first female Secretary-General of UN Tourism in the agency’s 50-year history. Furthermore, the Prime Minister warned that 21st-century tourism must be built “on sustainability, inclusion, cooperation, and global responsibility.”
The Madrid Congress and Exhibition Centre was inaugurated in 1970. The Centre comprises three buildings or structures (A, B, and C) and is managed by the Spanish Tourism Institute (TURESPAÑA). In 1995, a serious fire caused the collapse of Auditorium B and the adjoining rooms located on the north façade. Following the disaster, the necessary repairs were carried out to allow the rest of the building to remain operational without reconstructing the affected areas, which remain empty and unused to this day.
The rest of the building continued to operate until 2012, when a temporary suspension of activities was decided upon due to a series of technical reports that determined it did not meet the safety requirements of current regulations. The suspension ceased to be temporary and became indefinite, until all safety regulations were met.
In 2018, the then Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, pledged to expedite the renovation of the Congress Palace for its transfer to the UNWTO, and in January 2019, the government of Pedro Sánchez renewed this commitment with the support of the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council. However, the project was delayed by various circumstances, including changes in government and the pandemic, as well as some bureaucratic hurdles.
The renovation work began in late October 2023 under the responsibility of Turespaña and was carried out by Ferrovial for €24.8 million. According to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, it is “a modern and functional headquarters, with an excellent location in the heart of the capital’s financial district and next to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.”
The building has a total built area of almost 8,000 square meters and consists of a basement for facilities and parking with capacity for more than 30 cars, a mezzanine with a cafeteria and a multipurpose exhibition hall and three floors for offices, meeting rooms and meeting rooms, including an auditorium of more than 500 square meters with translation booths.
