By Eleni Alexaki
Six candidates, including Greece’s former Minister of Tourism, Mr. Haris Theocharis, are running for the leadership of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism). Success requires the support of 18 of the 35 countries voting.
The current head, Zurab Pololikashvili, who is running for another, third consecutive, term, faces strong candidates, including former Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theocharis and former Mexican Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara, who has garnered the public support of more than 100 representatives of major international hotel chains such as Hilton and Hyatt. The other three are Tunisian Habib Ammar, former Minister of Tourism, Ghanaian diplomat Mohammed Adam and Ms. Saiha Al Nowais from the United Arab Emirates who comes from the private sector and her family owns hotels.
The selection for the election of the new UNWTO Secretary General will take place on 29-30 May at the Organisation’s headquarters in Madrid.
Under the slogan “Reform for Transformation, Unity for Development”, Mr Theocharis had officially announced his candidacy for the post of UN Tourism Secretary General during the FITUR international tourism exhibition in Madrid.
Harris Theocharis officially nominated as UN Tourism Secretary General
With the announcement of the six persons who will contest the position of Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, the candidacy of Haris Theocharis, as the representative of Greece, was formally formalized.
Mr Theocharis, former Minister of Tourism, Deputy Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the South Sector of Athens of the New Democracy, is a strong contender for the leadership of UN Tourism, based on his successful management of the health crisis during the initial and most difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, Greece had pioneered pioneering methods of health protection in tourism, managed to be one of the first countries to return to normal operations in the industry and won praise and major awards for this achievement.
On the other hand, Mr Theocharis proposes a plan for a radical reorientation and restructuring of the UNTWO. With a vision of transparency, accelerated green growth, digitisation and the adoption of sustainability practices across the entire spectrum of tourism operations.
The strategy of Mr Theocharis’ candidature, as it goes without saying, is about the universal dimension and the role that the UNTWO can play as a branch of the United Nations Organisation – hence the name “UN Tourism”.
However, the eventual election of Mr Theocharis to the highest administrative position of the Organisation will, in fact, be of multiple benefit to Greece. With Harris Theocharis as head of UN Tourism, the prestige of our country as a “leading player” in the global tourism market will be strengthened even more.
On the occasion of the official announcement of the nominations for the position of Secretary General of the UNWTO, Mr Theocharis said in a message that “today the six final candidates for the position of Secretary General of UN Tourism were announced.
The announcement continues: “I believe we are at a fortunate juncture. We are privileged to have a broad and dynamic group of candidates. They represent different geographical regions, genders, generations and experiences. And each of us brings our own unique perspective on the future. Addressing my chosen co-candidates, I must first of all thank them all for taking the decision to step forward and contest the leadership of the UNWTO. I also thank them for their courage and for their commitment to contribute to the common good. The road ahead is not easy, but it is worth it. I wish everyone good luck and hope that in the end the candidate’s vision and programme will prevail and be the best possible for the future of global tourism.”
Pololikashvili seeks new mandate
The UN Secretary General of Tourism assured that despite being in the middle of the election process, he has not changed his portfolio and remains focused on pending projects. He also stressed that his strategy will maintain focus on three pillars: education, sustainable tourism and investment.
In this context, he underlined the success of the “Best Villages in the World” campaign, which has already attracted 250 municipalities from five continents. “Thanks to this initiative, we are helping these regions to attract innovation and investment – we are also helping them to get on the map and become more widely known,” he said.
The Secretary General explained that the aim of this project is to attract 500 villages and create a digital marketplace where these municipalities can share their products. “It is a process that requires time, patience and money,” he said.
Pololikashvili also defended the project for regional offices launched during his term of office. “We will soon open offices in Rio de Janeiro and Rabat, and two years ago we opened an office in Riyadh. These offices allow us to have a stronger local presence and daily interaction with the region,” he added.
