The Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expressed its continued support for secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili. Meeting in Madrid, its members nominated him to continue leading the United Nations specialized agency for four more years.
At the end of the 113th session of the Executive Council, held as a hybrid event in Spanish capital, members voted in person and in secret for who they wanted to lead the UNWTO from 2022 to 2025.
Incumbent Pololikashvili won 76 percent of the vote in a process which saw the Kingdom of Bahrain also put forward a candidate for the position, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.
Pololikashvili had based his campaign for re-election on both the progressive institutional and policy reforms undertaken during his first term and on his clear leadership of global tourism throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Executive Council’s recommendation will be carried forward to the 24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly, due to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, towards the end of the year.
