The power of visual storytelling to highlight tourism as a force for good has been celebrated with the 2023 edition of the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition. Member States from all regions were invited to submit their videos for consideration, with jury made up of top media professionals judging them based on how well they communicate the positive impact of tourism. The competition was divided into two categories.

Tourism and the Decade of Action

For this category, submissions were judged on how well they show how the tourism sector is advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through references to one or more of the 17 Global Goals.

'Exceptional Stories of Sustainable Tourism'

Here, Member States were asked for remarkable examples which showcase the human face of tourism and make clear the positive social impact the sector can deliver for communities and individuals.

The winners were announced during the UNWTO General Assembly, taking place this week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The 2023 winners are:

Decade of Action:

  • Africa: The Gambia- Welcome to Gambia
  • Americas: Panamá - Panamá vive por más
  • Asia and the Pacific: Philippines - Tourism Heroes of Palawan
  • Europe: Georgia - Stumari
  • Middle East: Oman - Experience Oman

Exceptional Stories:

  • Africa: Kenya - Magical Kenya
  • Americas: Panama - Panamá vive por más
  • Asia and the Pacific: Philippines - Tourism Hero of Zamboanga City
  • Europe: Switzerland - My Swisstainable Journey - Ivano Künzli
  • Middle East: Egypt – Visit Esna

About UN Tourism

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

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

UN Tourism Communications Department
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UN Tourism