Zurab Pololikashvili, a native of Georgia, has been the Secretary General of UN-Tourism for two terms since 2016. This term will come to an end on December 30, 2025, unless the Secretary General Elect, Madam Shaikha Al Nowais from the United Arab Emirates, is NOT confirmed by the upcoming General Assembly in Riyadh later this month.
Zurab has been fighting for an illegal third term against all odds, changing rules and manipulating as he did during the first two elections that earned him the title of UNWTO Secretary General. Rumors are increasing. Zurab has not given up on this idea, even after his native country abandoned him due to numerous questionable activities during his term.
Zurab’s 2016 contender, Dr. Walter Mzembi from Zimbabwe, who has evidence of manipulation in Zurab’s election, is currently incarcerated in a Harare prison without charges, after Mzembi returned to his country after receiving an “invitation” from Zimbabwe’s president, shortly after Zurab visited that country earlier this year.
In a surprise election of the Executive Council of UN-Tourism in Madrid in May this year, Shaikha Al Nowais from the United Arab Emirates was nominated to succeed Zurab as of January 1, 2026. This nomination has to be confirmed by the full General Assembly, and many members may question the surprise nomination this candidate received.
As this publication alleged before the March nomination, Zurab has been working hard to pave the way for a lack of confirmation for her contender in the UAE. He is not alone in this effort, since many countries were completely surprised by this unexpected nomination of the UAE candidate by the UN-Tourism Executive Council.
If Zurab still has a chance for a third term, he needs a new citizenship and a new country to nominate him in Riyadh if Shaikha is not confirmed. According to insiders, Zurab has been pushing for this non-confirmation along with some countries that did not believe the surprise nomination by the UAE candidate at the Madrid Executive Council meeting was above board.
Zurab’s closest ally during this entire process has been his good friend, The Hon. David Collado, Minister of Tourism for the Dominican Republic.
It’s alleged that Zurab has already received citizenship in the DR or will become a fellow countryman of David Collado shortly. Zurab apparently already owns a beach villa in the Dominican Republic, which he purchased after he was involved in questionable deals during the COVID-19 crisis.
Minister of the Americas
To seal his friendship with the minister even deeper, the UN-Tourism Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, awarded the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, The Hon. David Collado, the recognition “Minister of the Americas” as an institutional mention, underscoring his ‘visionary and transformative’ leadership and his contribution to consolidating tourism as a driver of development in the region.
Zurab’s Third Term Candidate Announcement
Suppose a new election for Secretary General is announced at the UNWTO General Assembly in Riyadh. In that case, Zurab wants his friend David Collado to nominate him as a candidate for Secretary General under the Dominican Republic flag.
The distinction for the minister was announced in Santo Domingo and presented to Minister David Collado by Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of UN Tourism, during an international meeting on tourism cooperation. The meeting was also attended by Morena Valdez , Minister of Tourism of El Salvador, Angie Duarte de Melillo , Minister of Tourism of Paraguay, and Mateo Estrella, Minister of Tourism of Ecuador, Jaime Miyaki, Director of Technical Cooperation of UN Tourism, and Oscar Rueda, Director of Tourism of the Latin American Development Bank (CAF).
UN Tourism officials told media that: “Regarding the nature of the recognition, it is exceptional, as this award is not formally institutionalized within the organization—that is, it does not have a specific regulation or an established jury—and, for the time being, it is not possible to confirm whether its eventual granting will be extended to authorities from other continents.”
The Dominican Republic, as Chair of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for the Americas, organized a Discussion on Sustainable Tourism Policy and Strategy for the Dominican Republic, with the support of UN Tourism. Tourism ministers from the Americas, international authorities, sustainability experts, and representatives from the private and academic sectors participated in the event.
The Dominican Republic received 8,592,694 visitors between January and September of this year, representing a 2.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to official data.
A Lost Important Motion by Czechia
If there is no confirmation for Shaikha Al Nowais in Riyadh, it can only be hoped that the Czech Republic’s ignored motion to appoint someone other than Zurab to steer this organization through this storm will be approved.
