The following hotels will offer special rates to delegates for a limited number of rooms.

Hotel Marriott Auditorium **** (meeting venue)

Link for online booking with special rates
Avenida de Aragón 400. 28022 Madrid
Tel.: +34 91 400 44 00

Hotel Meliá Castilla ****

Poeta Joan Maragall, 43. 28020 Madrid
Tel.: +34 91 567 50 77

Hotel Eurostars Madrid Tower *****

Paseo de la Castellana 259-B. 28046 Madrid.
Tel.: +34 91 334 27 00                  

Madrid Airport Suites Affiliated by Meliá ***

C. de Lola Flores, 4-17, 28022 Madrid
Tel.: +34 913 29 70 50
Contact e-mail: asier.varela@melia.com
Promo code: MEL-UNWTO

Hotel Madrid Chamartín Affiliated by Meliá ***

Calle Mauricio Ravel, 10, 28046 Madrid
Tel.: +34 917 33 34 00
Contact e-mail: miriam.ramiro@melia.com
Promo code: MEL-UNWTO

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin

Conditions of entry to Spain relative to health measures

The requirements for entry to Spain, according to country of origin, can be found here.

Climate neutrality

The UNWTO Secretariat is calculating its GHG emissions since 2009, and the Organization is climate-neutral since 2015 for its facilities and activities. The Secretary-General would like to encourage all GA participants to apply to offset mechanisms, notably those proposed by transport companies.

Working languages

The documents for the Assembly session will be available in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Simultaneous interpretation in these five languages plus Chinese will be provided at the plenary sessions.

Working documents

In compliance with the United Nations system’s environmental protection policy, please note that no hard copies of the working documents will be distributed at the venue of the event. Delegates are kindly requested to bring with them copies of the documents they need. The documents will be posted here. Delegates will also be notified by e-mail.

Assembly Daily

UN Tourism News – General Assembly Special Edition, is the official publication accompanying the UNWTO General Assembly, giving visibility to proceedings and key milestones.

Produced in English, it is featured prominently on www.unwto.org, it is also distributed electronically to Member States, Affiliate Members, partners and UNWTO’s global media database.

Given its status as a global reporting vehicle on the Assembly, this publication remains as a fixed feature for future reference on the UNWTO website.

Each of the four issues of the Daily will include a journalistic account of

• Key outcomes of the previous day’s meetings;
• Main decisions reached;
• Meetings and events to be held during the day of publication and key items of discussion;
• Interviews and statements with delegates and experts;
• A selection of pictures after each day and
• Link to the official site with audio-visual material of the Assembly and its numerous side events and meetings.

This publication represents a key partnership opportunity for Member States, Affiliate Members, and other partners. It strengthens the overall outreach of UNWTO and allows partners to gain international visibility among key tourism stakeholders, the media and the general public.

UNWTO will be filming proceedings and sharing via social media channels and that by being part of the General Assembly, delegates automatically give their consent to this.

For enquiries, please contact comm@unwto.org

In light of the currently evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related worldwide restrictions of gatherings, the access to the venue of the session is limited to the Head of Delegation plus 2 persons.

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin

Related news

2021 UNWTO Tourism Video Competition Winners

The best examples of destinations harnessing the power of tourism for sustainable development have been celebrated in the 2021 UNWTO Tourism Video Competition.

24th UNWTO General Assembly: Tourism United, Resilient and Determined

Over the course of three days, the 24th session of the UNWTO General Assembly underscored global tourism’s commitment to restarting around the shared pillars of sustainability, innovation and solidarity.

UNWTO Calls Against Blanket Travel Restrictions

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of the United Nations calls out against the introduction of blanket restrictions on travel, as witnessed in recent days. This call echoes the concerns raised by UNWTO Members during the 24th UNWTO General Assembly (30 November–3 December).

UNWTO Points Tourism towards a Greener, Inclusive Future at General Assembly

Innovation, youth empowerment and tourism and rural development took centre stage as Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez Pérez-Castejón joined UNWTO for the third day of its General Assembly in Madrid.

UNWTO Announces List of ‘Best Tourism Villages’ 2021

The best examples of villages embracing tourism to provide opportunity and drive sustainable development have been celebrated at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in Madrid.

UNWTO Members Support Leadership and Back Plan for Tourism’s Future

The Member States of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have strongly aligned themselves behind its leadership and vision for the sector. Coming together for the 24th General Assembly in Madrid, Spain, Members from every global region approved the Organization’s Programme of Work and endorsed key initiatives designed to build a more a resilient, inclusive and sustainable tourism.

UNWTO General Assembly Gets Underway in Madrid

Tourism leaders from every global region have arrived in Madrid for the 24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly. Ministers of Tourism will be joined by representatives of international organizations and from across the private sector for the first truly global tourism meeting to be held since the start of the pandemic, with innovation, education and investments high on the agenda.

Spain to Become Centre of World Tourism for Three Days

More than 500 delegates from around the world, including Ministers of Tourism of UNWTO Member States, international organizations, as well as leaders from the private sector and civil society, will participate in the meeting of the supreme governing body of this specialized agency of the United Nations.

24th General Assembly to Put Innovation and Education at Heart of Tourism’s Restart

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will hold the 24th General Assembly in Madrid, Spain, from 30 November to 3 December 2021. The General Assembly is UNWTO’s main gathering and the platform for Member States to approve UNWTO’s programme of work and budget for the coming biennium (2022-2023).

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin

The 24th session of the General Assembly will feature the 5th edition of the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the relevance of multimedia communications within the new reality. The ongoing shift towards digitalization, changing viewer and user habits and the consolidation of mobile-first strategies have all accelerated since the pandemic broke. In addition, destinations around the world are preparing to restart tourism committed to seizing tourism’s unmatched contribution to people and planet.

The competition will feature two categories:

• Exceptional Stories of Tourism Resilience: This category looks for remarkable examples which showcase the importance of the human aspect of tourism as a sector and with a positive social impact that generates optimism and opportunities for all.
• Tourism Promotion and the Decade of Action. This category looks for remarkable examples of how Member Countries are linking their promotional videos either directly or indirectly to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through references to one or several of the 17 Global Goals.

One winning video will be chosen per region for both categories. This is an opportunity to position tourism as a key recovery sector to grow back better, stronger and building resilience.

Member States are encouraged to submit videos for both categories. Affiliate Members are encouraged to submit videos for the “Exceptional Stories of Sustainable Tourism” category.

The winners of the 5th edition of the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition will be announced during the 24th session of the General Assembly.

Exceptional Stories of Tourism Resilience

Tourism Promotion and the Decade of Action

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin

The 43rd UNWTO Affiliate Members Plenary Session will take place on 30 November  in Madrid as the first official activity of the General Assembly. The Plenary Session is the most important governing structure of the Affiliate Members and offers them an ideal setting to share initiatives and debate on the annual Programme of Work.

This year, the Affiliate Members Plenary Session will be held in the framework of the General Assembly, which provides the Affiliate Members with the opportunity to participate in the sessions of the General Assembly and other relevant events and activities, contribute to the UNWTO Programme of Work along with the Member States, hold bilateral meetings with high-level public sector representatives in order to discuss public-private cooperation issues, and be updated on the UNWTO’s overall activity.

On this occasion, the agenda of the Affiliate Members Plenary Session will focus on the following priority topics:

• Joint Affiliate Member actions for tourism recovery;
• Review of the Programme of Work 2021 and proposals for the Programme of Work for 2022-2023; and
• Approval of the revised Legal Framework of Affiliate Membership.

In addition, the 43rd Plenary Session will take place prior to the election of the new Board of the Affiliate Members. Therefore, the Affiliate Members who will be presenting their candidatures will have an ideal opportunity to network and promote their candidatures a few days before the voting phase.

For further information, please contact the Affiliate Members Department: am@unwto.org

Related links: AM Corner “We are Affiliate Members”

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin

On 2 December, the Thematic Session on “Building for the Future: Innovation, Education and Rural Development” will focus on how to harness the contribution of digitalization, MSMEs, education and policy to drive inclusive recovery through tourism and leave no one behind.

1. Launch of the UNWTO Digital Futures Programme for SMEs created to accelerate economic recovery of the tourism sector by supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Travel Tech and Mobility Startups to unleash digital technologies to create jobs and enhance future resilience in the linkages of the tourism value chain post COVID-19. The goal of the Programme is to digitalize 20 million SMEs by 2024.
2. Restarting tourism through Innovation & Education for future generations: This session will focus on how innovation can foster inclusion and support destinations resiliency and competitively and will include case studies presenting the 4 winning startups from the UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition and 4 UNWTO Member States sharing insights on the impact of entrepreneurship on rural communities, offering insights and inspiration to stakeholders and destinations.
3. 2021 Global UNWTO Students' League: This session will showcase how youth and the future tourism leaders of our sector are a powerful asset when creating sustainable solutions to build back better, as well give the audience an inspiring insight into their thoughts, through a debate with Ministers about the tourism, its future and their future within it. To get to this session, the winning Students of the 2021 Global UNWTO Students' League—from ages 11 to 29—have previously competed in the League to give their best sustainable ideas on how to address the Challenges set for this year: ‘Rural Development through Tourism’ and ‘Plastics Pollution’.
4. Policies to Foster Tourism for Rural Development: This Ministerial session will focus on how to develop effective policies for rural development through tourism including whole of government approach, financing, national/local policy coordination and public-private partnerships.
5. Official Announcement Ceremony of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO:  villages recognized as “Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO” in the first edition of the initiative (pilot) will be announced.

For any enquiries about the session, please contact: Addaia Arizmendi aarizmendi@unwto.org

share this content

•   Share this article on facebook
•   Share this article on twitter
•   Share this article on linkedin