UN Tourism will choose its new president on Friday at meeting 123 of its Executive Council, there are five candidates who aspire to be in charge of the General Secretariat of the organization during the next four years (2026-2029), including Mexican Gloria Guevara.
The election for this new mandate also aspires Muhammad Adam (Ghana), Shaikha al Nowais (United Arab Emirates), Habib Ammar (Tunisia) and Harry Theoharis (Greece), who to win need at least 18 votes in favor of the 35 members.
The proposal of a new name must then be revalidated in the General Assembly of UN Tourism, in November in Riyadh.
Initially there were six candidates, since also the current general secretary, Georgian Zurab Pololikashvili, aspired to a third mandate much discussed by his opponents, until the withdrawal of the support of his country, which will support the candidate Emiratí.
Spain and other 19 countries, all of them council members, ask for an interim mandate, between June 1 and December 31, which would mean the anticipated exit of Pololikashvili, who they say that he has practiced “an unacceptable violation of impartiality and professional ethics that is expected of an official of the United Nations system”.
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Applicant profiles
With more than 35 years of experience in the public and private sector, the Mexican Gloria Guevara, former Secretary of Tourism of Mexico, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, the largest private tourism organization in the world) and advisor to the Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia.
Guevara, who in a recent press conference said to have the support of more than 200 leaders in the sector, proposes that UN Tourism work as a platform that facilitates access to international resources.
For his part, Harry Theharis was Minister of Tourism of Greece from 2019 to 2021 and Vice Minister of Finance in 2023-2024, and affirms that his priority as Secretary General will be the reform of the organization to guarantee greater transparency and accountability, with strict supervision and measurable results.
The candidate for United Arab Emirates, Sheikha al Nowais, urges a “deep and urgent” reform of governance to prevent an organization “aimed at serving many” becoming another “that reflects the priorities of a few.”
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The race to lead UN Tourism is completed with the candidacies of Muhammad Adam, which is presented by Ghana and was the ambassador of his country in Spain from 2021 to 2024, as well as Habib Ammar, of Tunisia, currently executive director at the Ministry of Tunisian transport.
With EFE information
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