UN Tourism announced the addition of 39 new entities from the private sector to its growing network of Affiliate Members with 7 of them from the Middle East. The 7 new Affiliate Members from the Middle East are: Amsa Hospitality Company (Saudi Arabia), Batterjee Medical College (Saudi Arabia), IFP Qatar (Qatar), Ishraq Hospitality (United Arab Emirates), Jordan Hotels Association (Jordan), Jordan Restaurant Association (Jordan) and New Perspective Media FZ LLC (United Arab Emirates)
The new members combine a wide range of profiles with diverse backgrounds and types of business: 3 Destination Management Organization (DMOs), 14 for-profit companies, 10 associations and NGOs, and 7 education and research institutes, and 5 others. In terms of geographical distribution, the newly admitted members come from all the regions: 6 from Africa, 10 from the Americas, 3 from Asia and the Pacific, 13 from Europe, and 7 from the Middle.
“The integration of these new leading entities reflects our ongoing efforts to strengthen the Affiliate Membership and create a diverse and inclusive network capable of significantly contributing to the UN Tourism mission. We remain committed to enhancing Affiliate Members’ satisfaction and fostering a sense of belonging through effective, mutually beneficial, win-win engagement in the Organization’s key activities and projects,” said UN Tourism Director of the Affiliate Members and Public-Private Collaboration Department, Ion Vilcu.
Governments and National Tourism Administrations are increasingly partnering with UN Tourism to promote Affiliate Membership in their own countries to further invigorate their local tourism sectors and to have their leading entities connected within the largest network of its kind in tourism, which currently includes a total of 500 entities.
Under the current admission procedure, the candidatures were submitted for consideration and approval of the Executive Council after being previously reviewed and endorsed by the Committee on Matters related to Affiliate Membership (CMAM), during its 5th meeting that took place on 6 June. These candidatures are the results of the implementation of the expansion strategy of the Affiliate Membership, aiming at improving the quality and geographical balance of the Affiliates network.
The admission of these new members was endorsed during the 121st Session of the Executive Council, which took place in Barcelona, Spain, on June 10-11.