The Diplomat
The Secretary General of UN Tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili, was present throughout FITUR 2025 with the aim of “boosting accessibility and growth in the sector through investment and innovation”. Coinciding with the opening of the fair, the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary, reaffirming “its commitment to peace and understanding.” Pololikashvili, at the closing of the event, highlighted “the collaboration with FITUR in promoting innovation, sustainability and resilience.”
“As UN Tourism celebrates 50 years, FITUR is meeting for the 45th time. Together, we have helped shape global tourism, building bridges between the public and private sectors, promoting dialogue and cooperation, and advancing shared priorities,” said Pololikashvili.
Throughout this edition of FITUR, UN Tourism held numerous working meetings with high-level representatives from the public and private sectors, including the Ministers of Tourism of Brazil, Celso Sabino de Oliveira; Guatemala, Harris Whitbeck; and Spain, Jordi Hereu. Also in attendance were business leaders such as the executive president of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), Sergio Díaz Granados, with whom a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to advance regional brand visibility.
The UN investment guides
In the context of the fair. UN Tourism presented the latest additions to its growing portfolio of “Tourism Doing Business” Investment Guides. The new publications focus on the investment landscape of Guatemala, Panama and also Brazil, a FITUR 2025 partner country and president of the organization’s Board for this period.
Making tourism more accessible to all
In line with its commitment to making tourism accessible to all, UN Tourism organized a special side event at FITUR in collaboration with the ONCE Foundation, the European Network for Accessible Tourism and ILUNION Accessibility.
The event, “Accessible Tourism: Harnessing the Benefits of Inclusive Destinations for Businesses and People,” highlighted the most inclusive destinations and offered an assessment of the challenges still facing the sector with a particular emphasis on infrastructure and the use of innovation to improve accessibility.
Affiliate Members Network
During FITUR 2025, UN Tourism also welcomed new members to its network of collaborators at its “Affiliate Members’ Corner,” held in the context of the fair and with the goal of advancing in “traveler segmentation. The program evaluated key growth areas and other areas of potential for destinations seeking to diversify their tourism offerings.
In addition, during this edition of the fair, UN Tourism signed new Memoranda of Understanding with Affiliate Member CIFFT (Publicidad Audiovisual de Turismo) as well as with FRIPOTUR Nayarit, focusing on the potential of sports tourism.
