✒️ Q: Your candidacy for the position of Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) was recently announced. What is the process from now until the selection of the Secretary-General?
Indeed, Greece is vying for the position of Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). This decision was significantly influenced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose encouragement and support honor me greatly. This is not only a major challenge for me personally but also for Greek tourism, Greece as a nation, and its international presence overall.
Of course, nothing can be taken for granted, and the road ahead is long. The timeline for the procedures will be set in the coming days by a decision of the UNWTO Executive Council, which will meet in Colombia, where I will also participate. Subsequently, candidacy dossiers will be submitted. In the spring of 2025, a vote will be held by the Executive Council members at the UNWTO headquarters in Madrid. Following this, the UNWTO General Assembly, scheduled for October 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will confirm the election with its decision.
✒️ Q: What are our advantages in pursuing this position, and what would having a Greek at the helm of the UNWTO mean for Greece’s global tourism profile?
Greece is among the top tourism markets in Europe and globally, particularly post-COVID-19. This alone justifies the prestige and influence of Greece within the UNWTO. However, Greece’s bid for the Secretary-General position is a natural extension of the leading role Greek tourism plays. This is evident in terms of key metrics (arrival volumes, revenues, tourism’s contribution to the national budget, etc.) and the quality of hospitality we offer to millions of visitors each year.
Our main advantages are:
1️⃣ Greece’s dominance in the Southeast European and Mediterranean tourism markets.
2️⃣ Our internationally recognized success in managing crises that heavily impact tourism, such as COVID-19, wars, and migration.
3️⃣ The progress Greece has made in recent years to make tourism more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
4️⃣ Greece’s strategic geographical position between Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
5️⃣ The deeply rooted spirit of hospitality, innovation, and creativity that defines us as a nation.
On a personal note, my election as UNWTO Secretary-General would provide Greece with an unparalleled opportunity to enhance its global image further. It would attract better investments in tourism, improve access to resources and expertise, and facilitate strategic alliances with other countries. A Greek leader at the UNWTO would also mean more active participation for Greece in shaping the organization’s decisions and plans for tourism’s future.
✒️ Q: What is your personal vision for leading the UNWTO?
My vision for a new, dynamic UNWTO centers on sustainability and leveraging modern digital tools to enhance the traveler experience. My strategy for revitalizing the UNWTO is based on five key pillars:
1️⃣ Promoting Sustainable Development – By implementing sustainable policies across the global tourism sector in all dimensions: environmental, social, and economic.
2️⃣ Establishing Centers of Excellence – To foster competition among national tourism organizations and develop beneficial practices.
3️⃣ Innovation and Digital Transformation – Using advanced digital tools (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Big Data analysis) to better understand tourists’ needs while supporting sustainable growth.
4️⃣ Transparency and Good Governance – If elected, I will prioritize establishing an ethical and accountability framework for the UNWTO, including term limits for top leadership and restructuring the organization’s financial management.
5️⃣ Education and Workforce Development – The UNWTO must lead in renewing and expanding the professional workforce in tourism, offering broader training programs in collaboration with universities and specialized institutions worldwide.
✒️ Q: What do you consider the biggest challenges facing global tourism in the coming years, and what strategies can address them?
The core challenge for global tourism is balanced development. This entails sustainability and progress within a circular economy framework, with minimal environmental impact. It also means ensuring that profitability does not take precedence over the human experience.
Achieving these goals requires bold, long-term, and global strategies. While these may seem abstract or overly idealistic, they are not. My team and I are already developing a comprehensive strategic plan for the UNWTO’s future, which I regularly discuss with key stakeholders, governments, and private sector leaders in global tourism.
✒️ Q: You served as Greece’s Minister of Tourism in 2019, during one of the most challenging periods for the sector. What was the most valuable lesson from reopening Greek tourism, and are there practices Greece implemented that could inspire the UNWTO?
Greece was the first country to reopen its tourism sector safely during the pandemic, earning praise and awards from the international community. This achievement created an invaluable legacy. The pandemic initially devastated tourism, but we turned the crisis into an opportunity through hard work, creativity, and unity between the public and private sectors.
Our management of the pandemic could serve as a case study for crisis response. Many of the solutions we devised in Greece could be adopted by the UNWTO, but the most valuable takeaway is the Greek mindset: the greater the challenge, the more innovative the solutions.
✒️ Q: You recently attended the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. What were the insights for tourism in Europe and Greece for 2025?
From my tenure as Minister of Tourism, I know the importance of WTM as a global tourism trends observatory. This year, the industry voiced concerns over ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, but despite these challenges, global tourism remains on a steady upward trajectory.
The desire to travel and explore remains strong worldwide. Meanwhile, institutional tourism organizations are increasingly focused on integrating cutting-edge technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, to provide better services at all stages of the travel experience. Sustainability and digitalization were also major topics of discussion, reinforcing my optimism for the future of global tourism.
Interview with Niki Papazoglou for Insider.gr • 11.11.2024
