Secretary General with the mayor of Gruyères during his visit to the village on February 2022

The Secretary- General visited Gruyères, recognized as one of the 44 Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO in 2021, where he commended the commitment to harnessing tourism, to promote and protect cultural and gastronomic heritage, and support jobs and local businesses. Alongside the visit – a first to one of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO – the delegation also met with Eric Jakob, Ambassador of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), whose brief includes tourism policy, as well as with Martin Nydegger, CEO of Switzerland Tourism. The meetings offered the UNWTO leadership a chance to welcome Switzerland’s recent decision to lift almost all restrictions on incoming tourists, setting an example for other countries to follow.