State Secretary for Tourism, Lukrecija Đeri and Assistant Minister for Tourism Renata Pindžo attended the 99th Session of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations (UNWTO) in Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan.
During their stay in Uzbekistan, from 1 to 4 October, the delegation of the Republic of Serbia participated in the debate on “Tourism and Culture: Creating New Models of Partnership”, in addition to attending the 99th Session of the Executive Council of the UNWTO.
In the past, the Republic of Serbia has been very active when it comes to regional initiatives in creating cultural tourist routes.
The cultural and historical heritage is one of the most important resource bases for the development of tourism which are defined in the Strategy for the Development of Tourism in the Republic of Serbia.
The Secretary General informed the Executive Council of the UNWTO on the figures when it comes to international tourism in 2014, and the expectations for 2015. He talked about the orientation of tourism development at a global level, the financial situation of the UNWTO and the implementation of the general work program for the period 2014-2015.
Preparations for the general work program for the period 2016-2017 were discussed, in addition to the UNWTO activities as a specialized organization within the United Nations system.
The activities of the Working Group for official development assistance, the activities of the Committee for Programme and Budget, Information and Communication Technologies in the Secretariat of the UNWTO, new members and applications for membership, as well as the election of the President and two Vice-Presidents of the Executive Council of the UNWTO were all discussed.
The Republic of Serbia was elected member of the Executive Council of the UNWTO at the General Assembly in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October 2009.
At the 20th session of the General Assembly in 2013, our country was elected for the second time as a member of the Executive Council of this prestigious UN organization specialized in tourism.
The successful cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the World Tourism Organization, as well as an enviable reputation that our country enjoys as a member of the Executive Council of UNWTO in the second term (for the period 2013-2017) is based, in addition to cooperation on joint projects with other Member States, on the cooperation in the field of thematic routes, which will promote the cultural and natural heritage of our country.
