UN Tourism promotes responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism, emphasizing its role as a driver of economic growth and inclusive development.
Who are the Heroes of the UN-Tourism Executive Council
- Heroes in the upcoming election are delegates, such as tourism ministers, who can vote independently from outside influence, such as backroom deals by their foreign ministry. Such heroes resist corruption and favoritism and put travel and tourism interests first. Such heroes will feel no shame for their honest vote. Heroes understand their vote is shaping their legacy, the future of tourism, and the economy behind it. They are committed to their country and those countries they represent as trusted members of the UN-Tourism Executive Council. Heroes are also candidates who stand up for tourism with a global mindset.
- Crooks are in for themselves, and the future may judge
- Followers can easily be convinced and manipulated and are immune to the needs of the sector they may represent in their country or region. Their vote and interest are usually not independent and intelligent.
Current Candidates competing to become UN-Tourism Secretary General in 2026
The next Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), now known as UN Tourism, will be chosen from six candidates, including the incumbent Zurab Pololikashvili. Front runners are Gloria Guevara Manzo (Mexico) and Harry Theoharis (Greece)
Zurab Pololikashvili (Georgia):
The current Secretary-General is seeking a third term, which, according to all other candidates and many others, is a manipulation of the UN system designed to share the leading position and a two-time maximum term.
He said, “UN tourism is leading the way forward in growing investments into the tourism sector. We serve as the bridge between investors and destinations, and we guide investments where they will have the biggest impact on making tourism more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.”
What results besides conferences, statements, and reports can he show based on his words?
Gloria Gueavars (Mexico)
- Gloria Guevara Manzo (Mexico): Former Minister of Tourism for Mexico and ex-CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
Harry Theoharis (Greece):
Former Greek Tourism and Finance Minister during the COVID crisis, and former member of the Sustainable Tourism Panel in Saudi Arabia under HE Ahmed bin Aqil al-Khateeb, the Minister of Tourism for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Harry Theoharis and Gloria Guevara’s Connected in Saudi Arabia on Sustainable Tourism
Harry Theoharis and Gloria Guevara were members of the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) under the leadership of Gloria Guevara, when she was a former top advisor of HE Ahmed bin Aqil al-Khateeb, the minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia. They are both seen in this photo:
Habib Ammar, Tunisia
- Habib Ammar (Tunisia): Former Tunisian Minister of Tourism. Mr. Ammar told an eTN reporter he had no comments because the Foreign Ministry of Tunisia is in charge.
Shaikha Al Nowais (UAE):
A private-sector executive from the Rotana Group family. She has not yet agreed to an interview with eTurboNews, but issued a press release last week, when she spoke at the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, Sheikha Al Nowais, candidate for Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), underscored the critical role of private sector leadership in shaping the future of global tourism.
Ambassador Muhammad Adam (Ghana):
The UN-Tourism Secretary General Election Process:
- The UNWTO Executive Council will vote by secret ballot to nominate one candidate (May 28-30, 2025).
- The full membership will confirm the nominee at the General Assembly in November 2025 in Riyadh.
Key Considerations:
- International Collaboration and Sustainability: Guevara’s experience in the private sector and international collaboration are key strengths, as are her impressive number of private and public sector endorsements.
- Technological Innovation and Sustainability: Theoharis’s focus on these areas and his urgent call to reform and perform or fade into irrelevance are timely.
- Institutional Strengthening: Pololikashvili’s focus on continuing initiated projects, which he tries to sell as strengthening the organization.
- Regional Dynamics: Africa is fielding two candidates but also voiced endorsement for both Guevara and Theoharis. Latin America is rallying behind Guevara. Theoharis recently spoke at the European Union, while Guevara gained good support in a less united Europe.
- Gender Representation: UNWTO has never been headed by a woman, and Guevara’s candidacy could address this.
- Private Sector Support: UNWTO has affiliated members in the private travel and tourism industry. A candidate familiar with how this sector works and their needs may have an advantage.
A United Stand against Pololikashvili by competing candidates for UN-Tourism Secretary General
The third term of the current secretary-general, Zurab Pololikashvili, has raised more than one eyebrow. Gloria Guevara and Harry Theoharis are competing in speaking up and openly questioning the legitimacy of Polikashvili’s candidacy and why the three other candidates have remained neutral so far. Is this another manipulation attempt by Pololikashvili to get more candidates into the race to increase his chances?
Pololikashvili’s consistent manipulation of the UNWTO System since 2017, including changing the name from UNWTO to UN-Tourism to hide some of the dark activities, has made UN-Tourism an authoritative organization.
Pololikashvili Criminal Investigations
Pololikashvili has made the news in a major criminal probe in Spain. His involvement in the probe involved Air Europe and underworld figures, some behind bars. He used his diplomatic network to appoint a questionable character as a Georgian diplomat.
Changing the rules during COVID to assure his re-election.
Pololikashvili tried to get him appointed for a third term at the previous UNWTO General Assembly without an election, but he failed. A request from Chile on the sidelines, unnoticed by many delegates attending the Uzbekistan General Assembly, allowed Pololikashvili to compete in a third term for Secretary General.
Pololikashvili is ignoring and not even commenting on the letters presented by two previous secretary-generals, who now want him out.
Pololikashvili is promising positions in UN-Tourism and regional Centers.
Pololikashvili is opening regional centers that cost host countries $3 million without transparent accounting. Such centers had been promised to countries that promised to vote for him in the upcoming UN-Tourism Executive Council election. Rumors of substantial kickbacks may be closing in on some ministers. Pololikashvili’s purpose is to get re-elected and make participating ministers (delegates) dependent on him, and one should come to a more conclusive conclusion when following the money.
It’s not fully clear what the benefit of such a center in a digitally global world would be. Saudi Arabia invested $5 million in UNWTO and opened a regional center in the Kingdom several years ago. No important activities are reported.
Is Pololikashvili using UN funds to campaign?
Pololikashvili has been seen visiting and promising UN-Tourism Executive Council member countries. He has been using UN-Tourism funds to travel and campaign, including for others who joined him.
Pololikashvili’s family vacation in the Maldives and his luxury real estate retreat, which he now owns in the Dominican Republic, are only two of his surprising personal achievements, considering the salary the UN-Tourism is paying him. One only has to follow the money.
The Chinese PLUS Role?
Pololkashvili was a guest at The Boao Forum, an international political and economic gathering through which the Chinese Communist Party seeks to expand its global influence. It was held on Hainan Island between March 25 and 28.
Sources tell eTN, that China is actively campaigning for Pololikashvili, using its investment and lending power in developing countries.
The OBJECTIVE Newspaper in Spain reported that former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been intensifying his lobbying efforts to support Georgian Zurab Pololikashvili’s candidacy.
Pololikashvili has counted among his friends Begoña Gómez, wife of PM Pedro Sánchez, broker Víctor de Aldama, and Javier Hidalgo, former CEO of Globalia (Air Europa).
The two met last week at the Boao Forum, organized by Beijing and seeking to become an Asian-style Davos Forum. There, Zapatero introduced him to the highest echelons of the Chinese communist regime. Zapatero has all doors open in China.
At the same time, Zapatero’s meetings in Spain with Chinese business leaders and politicians intensified in recent months. “We must remember that in China, business leaders are politicians,” explained the sources consulted. They cite as an example the meeting he held in Boao with Song Hailiang, secretary of the CCP of China Energy Engineering Corporation, the Asian giant’s state-owned energy conglomerate.
The African vote in Morocco, Ghana, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia will be key to Zurab’s survival in office. According to THE OBJECTIVE, Zapatero has already begun working to secure that support thanks to China’s influence. Bulgaria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Zurab’s native Georgia represent an “almost certain” vote, and so does Iran.
Their public agendas at the China meeting did not overlap, and they did not participate in any event together, nor was the Chinese organization photographing them together. However, according to business sources who confirmed to THE OBJECTIVE, the two met away from the spotlight.
Pololikashvili was accompanied by former FC Barcelona president Joan Gaspart, who has been an advisor to the Georgian for years and a good friend of the socialist leader.
