The Georgia Government official said on the Georgia News Agency Interpressnews this morning: “Zurab Pololikashvili’s candidacy for the position of Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization was presented by the Georgian government, but was later withdrawn by its own decision. Claims that the candidacy was withdrawn due to another specific candidate are mere speculation. We also confirm that Georgia will support the candidate nominated by the United Arab Emirates for the position of Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization,” reads the statement released by the Government Administration.
The current frontrunner, Gloria Guevara, said this is good news for multilateralism and fairness. The Georgia government statement further said that the Republic of Georgia will support the candidate for the United Arab Emirates, Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais.
The world hasn’t heard much about the UAE candidate since she launched her mostly quiet campaign, and she has not yet responded to questions by this publication.
The first initiative against manipulations by the now-former candidate for the 2026 run for UN-Tourism was launched by the World Tourism Network in 2021. It resulted in an open letter by the former UN-Tourism Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rifai. Professor Francesco Frangialli, the Secretary-General before Rifai, joined in later.
Also, Dr. Walter Mzembi, who only lost the bid for Secretary General due to manipulation, was part of this WTN advocacy campaign, along with two of his opponents in the 2017 election: Madam Dho from Korea and Alain St. Ange, who is currently running to become the president of the Republic of Seychelles, and Mohamed Faouzou Déme from Senegal, Lucky George, from Ghana, Prof. Geoffrey Limpan from Belgium, and many more.
Industry professionals worldwide, government officials, and media partners, specifically eTurboNews, openly and quietly supported this initiative.
Juergen Steinmetz, chairman and founder of the World Tourism Network and publisher of eTurboNews, said: “Justice has prevailed, and UN-Tourism is back on a promising path thanks to the final step taken by the Government of Georgia. I am sure the Republic of Georgia can be trusted to have delivered its official letter to the UN-Tourism headquarters in Madrid.”
He cautioned: ” Based on information known to our advocacy team, Georgia must send an official letter to UNWTO. A press release is not enough.”
He continued: “In today’s divided world, tourism is an ambassador of peace, prosperity, and can set global trends. While endorsing Gloria Guevara due to her track record, experience, and wide support from governments and the private sector, the World Tourism Network will support any candidate ready to lead this new chapter of UN-Tourism. eTurboNews is ready to provide its voice to any remaining candidates, since this election is now becoming a democratic and fair process.”
“World Tourism Network’s mission is to support small and medium-sized businesses in world tourism, and it is ready to work with any administration in UN-Tourism that accepts democracy, multilateralism, and fairness.
The World Tourism Network was launched in 2020 in Berlin, Germany, and currently has close to 30,000 members, mostly SMEs in tourism and governments, and 133 countries. More information on membership www.wtn.travel/join
The latest advocacy campaign by WTN is called Trump Tourism. More information can be found on trumptourism.com
