Gloria Guevara, the Mexican candidate for UN Tourism Secretary General, said in a statement: “I am deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that has struck Myanmar, as well as neighboring Thailand and other affected regions. My thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to all the victims of this tragic event.”
Harry Theoharis, the Greek UN Tourism Secretary-General Candidate, went public today on X, expressing his support for the people in Myanmar, following the devastating and deadly Earthquake: “Our thoughts are with the people of Myanmar during these difficult times.”
Surprisingly, the current Secretary General of UN-Tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili, was silent.
Instead, Zurab is spending UN-Tourism funds attending a high-profile event in China to get votes for his controversial third-term bid as UN-Tourism chief.
He tried to convince Chinese tourism leaders to overcome the hurdles to his candidacy and vote for him again. Zurab’s controversial FIRST term was sealed at the UNWTO General Assembly in Chengdu, China, in 2017, when Zimbabwean candidate Walter Mzembi voluntarily made room for Zurab Pololikashvili against a promise Zurab Pololikashvili never kept.
In the current campaign, Zurab Pololikashvili has made many, often questionable, promises to member countries of the Executive Council, again, desperate to get their vote in May.
Harry Theoharis posted to X: Disasters of such unimaginable scale, caused by natural events like earthquakes, underscore the critical importance of international and global solidarity.
At the same time, the tragedy faced by our fellow human beings in Myanmar highlights the urgent need for enhanced cooperation in the field of resilience, both in general terms and specifically within the tourism sector.
Myanmar is an emerging tourism market in the broader Asia region, with a remarkable increase in international visitors, particularly over the past two to three years. Our collective duty—especially through institutional frameworks such as UN Tourism —is to stand by Myanmar. We must offer all possible support to protect the local tourism sector, visitors, workers, and businesses.
We must also remember our ongoing responsibility to strengthen tourism’s global resilience to future natural disasters.”
Gloria Guevara stressed in her statement that we must stand together and support those in need in times of unimaginable loss. I join the global community in calling for unity and a collective effort to provide urgent humanitarian relief to the affected communities, including the public and private sectors.
This disaster also highlights the critical need for enhanced resilience in the face of future natural calamities, particularly in sectors like tourism, which are vital to many nations.
Tourism resilience is key for the sector to support any country going through such challenging times.
