Paper 01: Tourism And Hospitality: Concept, Component, Status And Trends

Historical Development of Tourism and Hospitality in the World

Module 9: UNWTO

THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Principal Investigator Prof. S. P. Bansal

Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi University, Rewari

Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Prashant K. Gautam

Director, UIHTM, Panjab University, Chandigarh

Prof. Sampada Kumar Swain

Paper Coordinator
Amarkantak University ,M.P.

Dr. Jitendra Mohan Mishra

Content Writer
Associate Professor and Head,
Department of Tourism Management
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University
Prof. Jayanta Kumar Parida
Content Reviewer
Department of Commerce
Utkal University, Bhubaneswar
 Items Description of Module
Subject Name Tourism & Hospitality
Paper Name Tourism & Hospitality: Concept , Components, Status and Trends
Module Title United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO)
Module Id Module no-9
Pre- Requisites Basic knowledge about UNWTO
Objectives To study the aim and functions of UNWTO
Keywords UNWTO, Tourism, Organizations, Members

Module 9: United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

1. Learning Outcomes
2. Introduction
3. Origin and History
4. Aims and Objectives
5. Functions of UNWTO
6. Activities of UNWTO
7. Structure
7.1.General Assembly
7.2.Executive Council
7.3Committees
7.4.Secretariat
8.Members Of UNWTO
8.1.Affiliate Members
8.2.State Members
9.Regions Of UNWTO
9.1.Regional Programme for Africa
9.2.Regional Programme for The Americas
9.3.Regional Programme for Asia and The Pacific
9.4.Regional Programme for Europe
9.5.Regional Programme for Middle-East
10.Summary
 QUADRANT I
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

1. Learning Outcomes.
After completing this module students should be able to:
i. Know what UNWTO is.
ii. Understand aims, objectives and functions of UNWTO.
iii. Know different UNWTO regions worldwide.
iv. Know its members.
v. Understand the role of UNWTO in world tourism.

2. Introduction
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a specialized
agency under the aegis of United Nations Organisation and was formed in the year 1975.
Its headquarters is located in Madrid, Spain. This agency is responsible for the
“promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism”. It has 157
countries as its members and jurisdiction, 6 territories and over 500 affiliate members
across the world including the “private sector, educational institutions, tourism
associations and local authorities”.
3. Origin and History
The history of UNWTO dates back to the year 1920 when the “International
Congress of Official Tourist Traffic Associations (ICOTT)” was established at The
Hague, the Netherlands. The origin can also be linked to “International Union of Official
Tourist Publicity Organizations (IUOTPO)”, although the UNWTO states that “the
ICOTT became the International Union of Officials Tourist Publicity Organizations first
in 1934”. After the brief discontinuity during the Second World War an International
Conference was held in London that gave birth to The International Union of Official
Travel Organization (IUOTO) in the year 1947 and IUOTO was finally transformed into
an Intergovernmental organization called World Tourism Organization on January 2
1975. The headquarters was established in Madrid, Spain in January 1976. The resolution
for setting up the headquarters was already taken in the first General Assembly of the
WTO. The UN General Assembly decided to add UN before the World Tourism
Organization in order to differentiate between World Trade Organization and World
Tourism Organization. Finally, the organization was renamed as UNWTO on December
1 2005.
The UNWTO is an apex body in the field of tourism and it works with different
governments on matters relating to tourism policy issues on a global basis. It provides a
practical source of tourism knowledge and statistics for planners, researchers and
academics alike. As a leading international organization, it works for promoting tourism
as a driver of economic growth. While it offers leadership and support to the tourism
sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide, it promotes sustainable
development and environmental sustainability. This apex body promotes this
sustainability in tourism operations through enforcing The Global Code of Ethics for
Tourism. Through its interventions and promotions, the UNWTO aims to maximize the
benefits of tourism to the society and economy of nations while minimizing the negative
impacts of it.
4. Aims and Objectives of UNWTO
Through intergovernmental initiatives the organization aims at the followings:
 Promotion and development of sustainable tourism that can contribute to the
economy of countries
 Development of international understanding to bring peace and prosperity
 Development of universal respect for tourism
 Working towards protection of basic freedom and human rights of citizens
without any discrimination based on region, religion, language, race, or sex.
5. Functions of UNWTO
To accomplish the objectives, the UNWTO functions in the following six main areas:
1. Improving competitiveness in tourism industry
2. Promoting sustainable development
3. Promoting tourism for poverty reduction and development
4. Bringing up knowledge, education and capacity building
5. Creating partnership and mainstreaming
6. Achieving tourism which should be responsible, sustainable and universally
accessible.
6. Activities of UNWTO
 The UNWTO plays a vital role in development and promotion of tourism
worldwide. It, therefore, undertakes a number of projects and activities for promoting and
developing tourism, such as:
 To conduct research related to the tourism market, industry, physical and financial
planning and development, promotion and marketing, economic analysis and
techniques.
 To disseminate the data, research and study findings on various fields of tourism
to its members.
 To conduct studies about tourism trends, changes in the world economic and
social conditions and their effects on tourism.
 To conduct studies about the fluctuations in the market and preparing and
maintaining standards within tourism sector.
 To conduct courses and vocational training programmes aiming at human
resource development especially in the developing countries.
 To prepare drafts of international agreements on tourism.
 To carryout systematic collection, analysis and dissemination of statistics and
other data on various aspects of tourism.
 To function like a data source to disseminate available information related to
international, regional and domestic tourism; including statistics, legislation and
policies, facilities.
 To build a consortium of legislations, regulations and documents on all aspects of
travel of various countries.
 To work with different governments and competent specialized bodies in
simplification of formalities for international travel and to remove barriers for the
free movement between countries.
 To organize international conferences, conventions, seminars, workshops,
symposiums and meetings on contemporary aspects of tourism.
 7. Structure.
The UNWTO works through its various subsidiaries, having well defined responsibilities
fixed for such subsidiaries.

GENERAL EXECUTIVE
ASSEMBLY COUNCIL

COMMITTEES
SECRETARIAT

Fig. 1.-Structure of UNWTO

7.1. General Assembly. It is a composition of full members and

associate members. It is a congregation of members to meet on a periodic basis
of every two years to approve the amendments in policies, finalization budget
and programme for the entire period. Contemporary and relevant issues are
debated and discussed in it. The Affiliate Members and representatives of other
International Organizations attend the General Assembly as observers. General
Assembly elects a general secretary in every four years. Subsidiary organ of the
general assembly is the “world committee on tourism ethics”.
7.2. Executive Council. This works as governing board for the
UNWTO. This Council consists of full members elected by the General
Assembly at a ratio of one member for every five. Representatives such as ‘One’
of Associate Members and ‘One’ of Affiliate Members represent the issues of
their group. The Council ensures that the organization carries out its work and
adheres to its budget. Spain as the host of UNWTO has a permanent seat in the
Executive Council. The Council works in consultation with the Secretary
General and it works towards the implementation of the resolutions in the
General Assembly. The Council meets at least twice a year.
There are some subsidiary organs created by Executive Council which meet on a
regular basis to discuss the matters which fall within their jurisdictions and they report to
the Council of the same. “The subsidiary organs are : Technical Committee for
Programme and Coordination(TCPC), Committee on Budget and Finance(CBF),
Facilitation Committee, Environment Committee, Sub-Committee for the review of
applications for affiliate membership, Sub Committee on Statistics and Joint WTO-
IATA Working Party”
7.3. Committees. There are some specialized Committees of UNWTO
members and the task of these committees is to advise the Executive Council
on management and policies. The specialized committees are: The Programme
Committee, The Committee on Budget and Finance, the Committee on
Statistics and The Tourism Satellite Account, The Committee on Market and
Competitiveness, the Sustainable Development of Tourism Committee, the
World Committee on Tourism Ethics, The Committee on Poverty Reduction
and the Committee for the Review of Applications for Affiliate Members.
7.4. Secretariat. The Secretariat of the organization is consisted of the
Secretary General and the Staff Members. It is responsible for implementing
the UNWTO’s programme of work and serving the needs of members. The
responsibility of Secretary General is to carry out the general policy and work
programme of the organization as directed by the General Assembly and the
Executive Council. The Secretary General’s duty is to ensure the legal
representation of the organization. The group is led by the Secretary General
who supervises about 110 full-time staff at UNWTO’s Madrid headquarters. A
full-time Executive Director supports and assists the Affiliate Members. The
Secretariat has a Regional Support Office for Asia-Pacific in Osaka, Japan
which is financed by the Japanese Government.
Present Structure of Secretariat: The Present Structure of Secretariat
 Secretariate
THREE FOUR UNITS
SIX SECTIONS
SERVICES Technical
ONE Personnel Cooperation
General
DIVISION Administration Statistics Vocationaltraining
MANAGEMENT relation, Finance Studies Public Information
cooperation and Africans/Middle East And Publications
management Conferences And
Documents Americas/Europe Documentation And
East Asia And Technical
Pacific/South Asia Infomation

Fig. 2. Structure of Secretariat

8. Members of UNWTO.
8.1. Affiliate Members: Public and private organizations working in the
field of tourism can become Affiliate Members of UNWTO. These
organizations contribute to the UNWTO in promotion and development of
responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism. The members of the board
meet at least twice a year. The organizational structure of affiliate members
include mainly two organs such as: The Plenary: In this the Affiliate Members
are represented and it consists of all the membership with each having voice
and vote & The Board of the Affiliate Members: It is an advisory organ to the
UNWTO Secretary General. It is responsible for the alignment of its members
to the overall goals, mission and general programme. It also helps in the design
and implementation of the policies of the Affiliate Members programme.
8.2. State Members. There are 156 State Members of UNWTO
worldwide. It has 6 Associate Members and 2 Observers.
9. Regions of UNWTO.
There are six regions of UNWTO namely Africa, the Americas, East Asia, the
Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. There are different regional programmes for
different regions which are held considering mission and objectives of these regions.
9.1. Regional Programme for Africa.
` The mission of Regional Programme for Africa is to support and assist UNWTO
African members. It also helps the stakeholders to develop the tourism industry in all
spheres of sustainable development be it economic or social development. It ensures the
members get full benefit from the services provided by the organization. There are
objectives of the programme which are meant for the particular region. The objectives for
Africa region are as follows:
 To ensure the implementation of the programme within African region.
 To work as a link between the Member States and The Secretariat through which
all local, regional and national tourism needs and concerns are communicated.
 To make the African countries more competitive, it strengthens the institutional
capacity in various domains such as HRD, ICT, MARKETING AND
PROMOTION, statistics and sustainable development of tourism.
 To contribute to poverty reduction through the UNWTO ST-EP (Sustainable
tourism- Eliminating Poverty) initiative.
 To strengthen the presence of UNWTO in the region by increasing full and
affiliate membership in the continent.
States/ Members in the Africa Region.
1. ALGERIA
2. ANGOLA
3. BENIN
4. BOSTWANA
5. BURKINA FASO
6. BURUNDI
7. CAMEROON
8. CAPE VERDE
9. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
10. CHAD
11. CONGO
12. COTE D’IVOIRE
13. DEMORATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
14. DJIBOUTI
15. EGYPT
16. EQUATORIAL GUINEA
17. ERITREA
18. ETHIOPIA
19. GABON
20. GAMBIA
21. GHANA
22. GUINEA
23. GUINEA-BISSAU
24. KENYA
25. LESOTHO
26. LIBERIA
27. LIBYA
28. MALAWI
29. MALI
30. MAURITANIA
31. MAURITIUS
32. MEDAGASCAR
33. MOROCCO
34. MOZAMBIQUE
35. NAMBIA
36. NIGER
37. NIGERIA
38. RAWANDA
39. SAO TOME AND PRINCPE
40. SENEGAL
41. SEYCHELLES
42. SIERRA LEONE
43. SOUTH AFRICA
44. SUDAN
45. SWAZILAND
 46. TOGO
47. TUNISIA
48. UGANDA
49. UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
50. ZAMBIA
51. ZIMBABWE
9.2. Regional Programme for the Americas.
The mission of “The Programme for The Americas” of UNWTO is to ensure that its
members get full benefits from the transfer of technology generated by the activities done
in the region and to enhance the quality and efficiency of development. It focuses on the
needs of the local authorities and enterprises and National Tourism Administrations in the
region. Topics and courses related to the tourism industry are also discussed in seminars
and conferences.
There are two main objectives of Regional Programme for America the first one
is Technical Cooperation Programme which helps the governments in the formulation of
tourism policies and strategies, development of new product, marketing and HRD. Based
on the policy of sustainability the programme concentrates on master planning at all
levels such as founding tourism institutes, preparing marketing programmes, building
national capacity for project management, strengthening the role of parliament in
forming tourism policies and the economic measurement of the tourism. The
development of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) helps in managing all such planning.
The second one is the Sectoral Support Mission which is for shorter duration and
works on the specific request of member countries in identifying, evaluating and
describing specific technical assistance needs and provides policy advice in formation of
project proposals. Funds for such mission are released by United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) or some other bilateral or multilateral financing agencies.
State Members of Americas.
1. BAHAMAS
2. BARBADOS
3. BOLIVIA
4. BRAZIL
 5. CHILE
6. COLUMBIA
7. COSTA RICA
8. CUBA
9. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
10. ECUADOR
11. EL SALVADOR
12. GUATEMALA
13. HAITI
14. HONDURAS
15. JAMAICA
16. MEXICO
17. NICARAGUA
18. PANAMA
19. PARAGUAY
20. PERU
21. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
22. URUGUAY
23. VENEZUELA
Associative Members of Americas.
1. PUERTO RICO
9.3. Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific
This programme is restricted to the geographic region of Asia and the Pacific.
The Regional Programme for Asia and The Pacific is the operational arm of world
tourism organization. Its task is to implement general programme of work of UNWTO
within the region. It is a direct link of UNWTO through which Member States are
communicated to the Secretariat on the local, regional, and national needs and concerns
for tourism development. It has got some objectives to perform within the region:
 To bring up partnerships between private sector, government agencies and
educational institutions by organizing seminars, conferences and workshops on
contemporary tourism issues.
 To support and assist Member States for promotion, management and
development of the tourism industries so that Asia and the Pacific Region could
maintain its endeavor in growth of tourism.
 To increase full and affiliate membership of countries and private sectors in the
region.
 To promote the UNWTO ST-EP (Sustainable tourism- Eliminating Poverty)
initiatives and make endeavors towards the UN Millennium Development Goals
for the benefit of countries within Asia and the Pacific Region.
 To supply with information and news and activities of UNWTO in the region and
to its members.
 To make different plans such as tailor- made contingency plan, crisis management
plan in order to establish tourism – oriented warning system network which could
be tapped by Member States when needed.
 To establish networks of academicians, industry representatives and government
officials in the region for the production of periodical Asia-Pacific market trends
report.
State Members of the Asia and the Pacific
1. AFGANISTAN
2. ARMENIA
3. AZERBAIJAN
4. BANGLADESH
5. BHUTAN
6. BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
7. CHINA
8. COMBODIA
9. DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
10. FIJI
11. INDIA
12. INDONESIA
13. JAPAN
14. KAZAKISTAN
 15. KYRGYZSTAN
16. LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
17. MALAYSIA
18. MALDIVES
19. MANGOLIA
20. MAYANMAR
21. NEPAL
22. PAKISTAN
23. PAPUA NEW GUINEA
24. PHILLIPINES
25. REPUBLIC OF KOREA
26. SAMOA
27. SRI LANKA
28. TAJIKISTAN
29. THAILAND
30. TIMOR-LESTE
31. TURKMENISTAN
32. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
33. UZBEKISTAN
34. VANUATU
35. VIETNAM
36. YEMEN
Associate Members of Asia and the Pacific.
1. MACAO, CHINA
2. HONGKONG, CHINA
9.4. Regional Programme for Europe
The mission of the Regional Programme for Europe is to achieve greater standards of
performance in tourism governance and policy by framing sufficient contents in the
UNWTO programme of work and publications. There are two important objectives.
 To increase the participation of member states of UNWTO European region and
maximize the benefits too within the region.
  To work towards the synergy between the UNWTO and external institutions and
businesses, by making policies and strategies for governance.
Activities of European Region include the development of strategies in the context of
turbulent markets to help Member States use instruments which addresses the issues of
quality and CRM. The preparation and implementation of the programmes relates to
value addition such as novelty and innovation in the area of technology, HRD, capacity
building etc.
State Members of Europe
1. ALBANIA
2. ANDORRA
3. AUSTRIA
4. BELARUS
5. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
6. BULGARIA
7. CYPRUS
8. CZECH REPUBLIC
9. CROATIA
10. FRANCE
11. GEORGIA
12. GERMANY
13. GREECE
14. HUNGARY
15. ITALY
16. LITHUANIA
17. MALTA
18. MONACO
19. MONTENEGRO
20. NETHERLANDS
21. POLAND
22. PORTUGAL
23. REPUBLIC OF MALDOVA
 24. ROMANIA
25. RUSSIAN FEDERATION
26. SAN MARINO
27. SERBIA
28. SLOVAKIA
29. SLOVANIA
30. SPAIN
31. SWITZERLAND
32. THE FORMER YUGOSLAV OF MACEDONIA
33. UKRAINE”
Associate Members of Europe
1. MADEIRA
2. FLANDERS
3. ARUBA
Observers Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution
1. HOLY SEE
9.5. Regional Programme for Middle –East
The mission of Regional Programme for Middle-East is the regional representation for
the Middle –East and the objectives are as follows:
 To work towards fulfillment of unique and specific needs of the tourism
organizations and enterprises.
 To organize workshops, seminars, meetings and conferences on relevant issues
concerning tourism industry.
State Members of Middle East
1. BAHRAIN
2. ]ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
3. IRAQ
4. ISREAL
5. JORDAN
6. KUWAIT
7. LEBNON
 8. OMAN
9. QATAR
10. SAUDI ARABIA
11. SERIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
12. TURKEY
Observers Pursuant to general Assembly Resolution
1. PALESTINE

10. Summary.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization plays a vital role in promoting
tourism and turning it mainly into a sustainable, accessible and responsible tourism. It is a
specialized agency under the aegis of United Nations Organization and was formed in the
year 1975. It has 156 members, 6 territories and around 500 affiliate members worldwide.
The members represent countries or regions. It is the premiere tourism organization at the
global level forum for tourism working internationally more specifically for developing
countries. It has a composition of General Assembly, Executive Council, Committee and
Secretariat. These all perform tasks to ensure effective delivery system and monitor plan
of action and implementation. The UNWTO divides the world into regions including
Africa, The Americas, Asia & the Pacific, Europe and The Middle –East. Each of these
regions has evolved programmes which have specific mission and objectives to pursue.
Discussions and deliberations in such regional missions decide the implementation of
new policies in the region for the benefit of tourism industry. It works with different
governments on matters relating to tourism policy issues on a global basis. It provides a
practical source of tourism knowledge and statistics for planners, researchers and
academics alike. As a leading international organization, it works for promoting tourism
as a driver of economic growth. The UNWTO works through its various subsidiaries like
General Assembly, Executive council, and specialized Committees having well defined
responsibilities fixed for such subsidiaries. Responsibilities like ensuring the proper
implementation of the programme, strengthening the presence, focusing on the needs of
the local authorities and enterprises and various administrations. It also helps the
governments in the formulation of tourism policies and strategies, development of new
product. It plays a significant role by organizing seminars, conferences and workshops on
contemporary tourism issues.