The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agencyentrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, having its headquarters in Madrid, Spain. It is the leading international organization in the field of tourism, which promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers the sector leadership and support in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism research and knowledge. It encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism[1] to maximize the contribution of tourism to socio-economic development, while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards eliminating poverty and fostering sustainable development and peace worldwide.
As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
UNWTO focus is on Sustainable Development, Competitiveness, Innovation & Digital Transformation, Ethics, Culture & Social Responsibility, Technical Cooperation, UNWTO Academy, and Statistics.[2]
The official languages of UNWTO are English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian.
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism stood at an all-time high: 1 out of 10 jobs worldwide depended on tourism and international tourism arrivals reached 1.5 billion in 2019.
Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, UNWTO conveyed the Global Tourism Crisis Committee to guide the tourism sector as it faced up to the COVID-19 challenge.