Bartlett elected to UNWTO executive council

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has been elected to represent the Americas region on the executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for 2023-2027.

The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

The United Nations officially recognises the World Tourism Organization as the appropriate body to collect, analyse, publish, standardise and improve the statistics of tourism to promote integration within the sphere of the United Nations’ system.

Bartlett said he was honoured to have been elected to sit on the prestigious decision-making council, which is third in the organisational hierarchy of the UNWTO behind the general assembly and regional commissions.

“This is a great achievement for Jamaica and the Americas region,” said Bartlett. “Colombia was also voted to sit on the executive council, adding a strong Caribbean perspective and discourse to the UNWTO which has 159 countries as member states,” he added.

The executive council’s task is to take all necessary measures, in consultation with the United Nations’ secretary general, for the implementation of its own decisions and recommendations of the general assembly and report thereon to the assembly. The council meets at least twice a year.

The term of office of members elected to the council is four years and elections for one-half of the council membership are held every two years. Spain is a permanent member of the executive council.