UNWTO has celebrated the 10th edition of the Global Tourism Economy Forum by strengthening its status as the bridge between tourism’s public and private sectors.
Convening around the theme of “Destination 2030: Unlocking the Power of Tourism for Business and Development”, the landmark edition of the Forum brought together representatives from governments, destinations and business. With UNWTO’s newly-released data showing a return to 82% of pre-pandemic levels of international arrivals, the Forum focused on ensuring tourism transformation advances hand-in-hand with the sector’s rapid recovery.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The Global Tourism Economy Forum is set to be the world’s premier platform for cooperation between Governments and the private sector in the area of tourism for development. We are proud to be part of the 10th edition of the Forum and are highly encouraged by the shared determination of all participants to build a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism sector that works for everyone.”
Against the backdrop of GTEF 2023, UNWTO further advanced its work around investments and tourism, bringing its expert insights to inform high-level discussions in Macau. The 2nd World Tourism Investment & Financing Conference, organized by the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) and the Ivy Alliance in collaboration with UNWTO, provided a platform to explore the biggest challenges and opportunities for tourism investments, both in China and globally.
Within the one-day Conference, UNWTO hosted a special partner session on “Redefining Tourism Investments: from private equity to venture capital acceleration”. UNWTO opened the stage, framing discussions around its vision for a new investments framework, which includes rethinking promotion and tax incentives for investors into the sector.
“Today more than ever, investing in education, innovation, technology and empowering youth through an entrepreneurial mindset need to be part of the public-private cooperation to assure the sustainable growth of the sector,” says UNWTO executive Director Natalia Bayona.
