Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #35

NEWS
Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #35
2017 Summer Edition 9
GEORGIAN AMBASSADOR SET
TO TAKE TOP ROLE AT WORLD
TOURISM ORGANISATION
Zurab Pololikashvili recommended by UNWTO Executive Council
for role of Secretary-General
WE ARE FACED
WITH SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL
PHENOMENA WHICH
ARE RE-SHAPING THE
INDUSTRY, AND IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT WE
FURTHER UNDERSTAND
AND ADAPT TO THESE
CHANGES
Zurab
Pololikashvili
Ambassador of Georgia in Spain
The 105 th session of the UNWTO Executive Council, meeting in Madrid, Spain, on 12
May 2017, recommended Zurab Pololikashvili, Ambassador of Georgia in Spain, as a
nominee for the post of Secretary-General for the four-year-period starting January
2018. The recommendation will be submitted to the upcoming 22 nd UNWTO General
Assembly for ratification (11-16 September 2017, Chengdu, China).
A former Minister of
Economic Development
of Georgia, Ambassador
Pololikashvili was responsible
in 2009-2010 for overseeing
the country’s long-term
fiscal growth strategies, for
advancing foreign trade
and investment policy
initiatives, as well as for
promoting the development
of tourism, infrastructure
and transportation sectors.
He was instrumental in
launching an innovative
policy for the development
of tourism in Georgia,
prioritising the sphere on
both the government and
private sector agendas.
During Ambassador
Pololikashvili’s tenure as
the Minister of Economic
Development, through key
policy reforms, marketing
activities, improvement
of infrastructure and visa
liberalisation initiatives,
Georgia managed to
nearly double the annual
number of international
arrivals, from 1.5 million
(in 2009) to exceeding the
2.8 million mark by 2011.
Those reforms paved the
way for sustainable tourism
practices in Georgia and
poverty alleviation initiatives,
placing Georgia among top
tourist destinations in the
region.
In his statement of policy
and management intent for
the UNWTO candidature,
Mr Pololikashvili stated:
“The tourism sector is
changing dynamically: today
we are faced with social and
cultural phenomena which
are re-shaping the industry,
and it is important that we
further understand and
adapt to these changes.
New challenges require
new approaches and the
UNWTO has to adjust to the
upcoming encounters.”
He added that in this
light, “strategic changes
need to be implemented
on four fronts of the
organisation: internal;
external; socio-economic;
and sustainability”, adding
that these undertakings
will “bring the UNWTO and
the tourism industry to new
heights of progress”.
Mr Pololikashvili says
sustainability continues to
be a vital issue: “Although
we have had considerable
achievements, the issue of
sustainable development
remains a concern. We
have to achieve a higher
level of understanding of
sustainability, and have to
exemplify that development
is not hindered by
sustainable practices or
policies, and that without
sustainability at its core, no
development is worth the
trade-off.”
Other key points of Mr
Pololikashvili’s initial
statement included
continued integration
with the United Nations,
enhancements in
technology and its effects
on tourism, and a new
dimension of support at a
local level