Zurab Pololikashvili will not be able to take on a third term at World Tourism Organization

19-10-23

Zurab Pololikashvili will not be able to chain a third consecutive term at the head of the Secretariat General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). However, the Georgian will remain at the helm of the organization until 2025, as he was ratified for this position just two years ago.

This was decided by a vote at the 25th UNWTO General Assembly, which is being held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) from October 16-20 and was attended by ministers and high-level representatives from 117 countries, 70 of them with ministerial-level representation.

The Executive Council of the United Nations-dependent entity has decided that an exception will not be made and he will not be allowed to exceptionally renew his position for the 2026-2029 period.

For such an exception to be allowed, Pololikashvili needed a 2/3 vote in favor; however, as reported by eTurbo News, the vote was 65 in favor, 38 against, 7 abstentions and 1 null.

It is noted that Spain may have been one of the main opponents to the renewal of the position, supporting the two-term limit is consistent, although many blame it on the support given by the Georgian at the time to move the UNWTO headquarters from Madrid to Saudi Arabia.

The proposal to submit to the highest governing body of the UNWTO the renewal of the Georgian Pololikashvili for one more term was approved by the Executive Council, held on Tuesday, by 19 votes in favor, 12 against and one abstention.

The Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosana Murillo, has avoided confirming Spain's position, "because the deliberations of the Council are secret" but has assured that, in 2005, the decision was taken to limit the terms of office to two "and Spain has to be consistent with that decision," she said in statements to EFE.

He defended that it is not a "personal matter", since Spain "appreciates the performance, dedication and commitment" of Pololikashvili, but understands that the organization should give space in its top positions to "countries not so developed and with different geographical sensitivities". "Why not a secretary from Latin America?" he asked.

Since its creation in 1975 and the location of the world headquarters in Spain the following year, the UNWTO has had six secretaries general, including the current one, of which two, both French (Robert Lonati and Francesco Frangialli), served for three terms.

Among the strategic objectives, the organization -to which the United States does not belong- seeks to incorporate new members and will give priority to the Anglo-Saxon, Nordic and Baltic states of Europe, America and East Asia and the Pacific, as well as the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean and the Pacific.

In fact, at this meeting in Samarkand, the organization welcomed Belize as a new member state, bringing the total number of member states to 160.

The UNWTO also aims to strengthen its position as a leader in tourism, which is being worked on by a group co-chaired by Spain and Saudi Arabia, together with the secretary general, and to extend the network of regional and thematic offices in different places.

Thus, it will open new regional offices in Brazil and Morocco, in addition to the two that are already active in Nara (Japan) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and is moving forward to have a greater presence on the ground in Argentina, China, India and Uzbekistan.

The Secretary General announced that the organization's first International Conference on tourism law will be held in Salamanca in November and announced that 15 countries have adhered to the International Code for the Protection of Tourists and are working to convert it into national law.

Likewise, it aspires to have the best tourism database in the world by modernizing its data panels, which currently house more than 150 statistics.