Will UNWTO change forever this month? …the Saudi way

Saudi Arabia launches $4 billion Tourism Development Fund
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World Tourism politics may change forever this month- the Saudi Way. The fine print gives it away, and the voting proposal is on the table.

The 24th UNWTO General Assembly met in Madrid Spain in November 2021 after a controversial re-appointment by its Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Saudi Arabia and Spain were determined to make UNWTO a more flexible, progressive, and transparent organization within the global world of tourism politics. They jointly proposed a powerful task force to do exactly this. In return, Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambition to move UNWTO headquarters from Madrid to Riyadh.

Specifically, Saudi Arabia with its money, determination, and influence was on a mission to reinvent world tourism. Today organizations that are the movers and shakers in tourism have “regional headquarters” in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Such organizations include UNWTO and WTTC.

The influence on travel and tourism in Saudi Arabia grew tremendously during the COVID pandemic. When countries were in trouble because of tourism during COVID they turned to Saudi Arabia and help was on its way.

No country in the world stepped up with its money and a fresh mind like the Saudi Kingdom.

At the same time, questions are asked about the political motive for the kingdom to freely spend billions of dollars on international tourism.

Saudi Arabia hired name-brand consultants, attract brand names to its shores, and paid to attract top events.

Woman Equality? A woman vice minister of tourism and a woman top advisor to the most influential minister of tourism in the world, HE Ahmed Al-Khateeb are only some of the moves from Riyadh.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has not been shy in the political world to go against the interests of the United States and other western allies. They remain conservative on changing issues that western countries see as dangerous violations of human rights.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia didn’t stop becoming a more open society in its own style. Just a few years ago western tourism was not even allowed in the kingdom.

Arabian hospitality is a model to the world, and Saudi Arabia has been standing up for this, teaching many other countries a thing or two.

UNWTO members are now called to decide on changes for UNWTO and world tourism.

An important decision will be on the table at the UNWTO Executive Council meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco later this month. If approved, it would seal the influence tremendously Saudi Arabia will gain in the world of global tourism, but also keep Spain and the UNWTO Secretary-General as co-pilots, and UNWTO member states in charge. The task force is reporting directly to the General Assembly.

It is surprising however to see the UNWTO Secretary-General in the co-pilot seat of a task force since the task force is reporting to the General Assembly and not the Secretary-General.

According to eTurboNews Sources, this change has been aggressively pushed by Zurab’s legal team. The source agreed this move is unusual and was not part of the idea to help steer UNWTO in a more independent way.

UNWTO letter

At the same time, such changes may very well improve the way UNWTO could better function in servicing its mandate for global tourism.


In its resolution agreed to the creation of a Redesigning Tourism for the Future Task Force which would, among other things, reinvigorate UNWTO and improve its working methods. 

How it will work?

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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