The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has paid an official visit to the Canary Islands to recognize the reopening of the destination and the steps the local authorities have taken to keep both visitors and tourism workers safe as the sector restarts.

Over the past month, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) was able to hold virtually meetings of its five Regional Commissions to share responses to the challenge of COVID-19 and their plans for the restart of tourism in the wake of the pandemic.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has strengthened its partnership with Telefónica, the Spanish multinational telecommunications company. As tourism restarts around the world, Telefonica deepens its collaboration with the United Nations specialized agency to advance market intelligence in order to accelerate the sector’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19.

Against the backdrop of the re-opening of borders across Europe, a high-level delegation from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has arrived in Italy to begin a first official visit to a Member State since the COVID-19 pandemic brought international travel to a standstill.

Without strong support, the sudden and unexpected fall in tourism could devastate the economies of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has warned. Since tourism is a strong socio-economic pillar of many SIDS, the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector places millions of jobs and businesses at risk, with women and informal workers the most vulnerable.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has partnered with Wanderlust World for the launch of a new App designed to facilitate safe and seamless travel in the wake of COVID-19.

Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations. The latest research by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that 22% of all destinations worldwide (48 destinations) have started to ease restrictions, with Europe leading the way. At the same time, however, 65% of all destinations worldwide (141 destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed to international tourism.