UN Tourism

I'm Pippa.

And today I'm joined by Patricia Duenas from Iberostar and Virginia Fernandez-Trapper from UN Tourism to explore the opportunities and challenges the tourism sector faces in embedding circular principles.

We'll discuss the white paper developed earlier this year by Circular Economy and Iberostar Hotels and Resorts in collaboration with UN Tourism, which highlights practical pathways towards a circular model and how momentum is building around this topic.

Well, welcome both to the Circular Economy Show.

It's great to have you here and great to be talking about tourism.

We need to move from, you know, beyond ad hoc initiatives into a more systemic way of approaching circularity.

Actually, you alluded to the paper a few minutes ago.

This was one of the central conclusions of the white paper released by Circle Economy and I Better Start Together with UN Tourism at the beginning of this year.

This organization represents the top travel and tourism companies worldwide.

It is probably one of the top two travel and tourism associations in the world behind the UNWTO, which is the World Tourism Organization.

And I applied to it, again, feeling that fear and doing it anyway.

A lot of people would have been intimidated because they would have thought it'd be unattainable.

More than 20 years later, Xiajian Village has been transformed from a dirty, messy and run-down place into one that is green, prosperous and beautiful.

In 2018, it was selected as one of China's beautiful leisure villages, and in 2023, it was named one of the best tourism villages by UN Tourism.

The blueprint for rural revitalization promises more than beautiful mountains and clear waters.

It is also a roadmap to better, wealthier lives for the people.

super senior, been part of like almost every position and every organization that you can think of.

So he was not just at UNWTO, he was at UNDP, SCAP, like he was part of a lot of different agencies and programs at the UN.

So at that moment, I went back to my desk, I looked him up, and that's all of the stuff I found about him.

And I remember thinking, how did I just end up in this office with this person? Like I had no clue that he worked there.

I now wish to invite the Junior Minister of Tourism of Barbados to commence the discussion.

Madam Chair, Junior Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, UN Tourism states that multigenerational travel was valued at approximately US$3.

360 billion dollars in 2024 and is projected to exceed u.s 695 billion by 2033 as a premier tourism destination barbados has something for everyone natural beauty vibrant culture storied heritage culinary experiences and warm people Different ages, different interests, one unforgettable family holiday.

Just ask Bimby because she helps every generation find their Barbados.

And she's also become a sought-after voice on how AI and shifting consumer behavior are reshifting the way people are making decisions.

She's a two-time keynote speaker at Oracle Open World and was even invited by the United Nations to speak at the World Tourism Organization.

Rick, Carol, nice to have you guys aboard.

Welcome to the show.

So this is the kickoff show of the second season of The Nordic Journey podcast, and, uh, we are now approaching the year of 2027.

UN tourism has announced that that will be the year of sus- sustainable tourism and resilience.

Therefore, we're going to start the season with a recording that is from the end of June this year, and was part of our webinar series which we do for DMOs in the Nordics, where we got a special visitor from the UN tourism, Dr. Dirk Glaesser, who is director for sustainable tourism and resilience.

So listen to his presentation and the discussions that follow.

So welcome to our June webinar of The Nordic Journey.

We have with us today a special guest from UN tourism in Madrid, Dr. Dirk Glaesser, who is, uh, director for sustainable tourism and resilience.

Isn't that correct?

That is correct.

Estos datos convierten el país europeo en el segundo más visitado del mundo después de Francia, de acuerdo con la Organización Mundial del Turismo en EU Turismo.

These data make the European country the second most visited in the world after France, according to the World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism.

Estos datos convierten el país europeo en el segundo más visitado del mundo después de Francia, de acuerdo con la Organización Mundial del Turismo en EU Turismo.

El déficit de oferta no solo se debe a que se construyen menos viviendas, sino también a que una parte del parque inmobiliario no se destina a residencia habitual, sino al alquiler turístico o de temporada.

Wonderful.

So the ministry recently celebrated Musfalt being named the world's best tourism village by UN Tourism, well outside the usual skyline and beach story when we think of UAE.

What does a win like that signal about where UAE Tourism is heading next?

It's something that we're actually very proud of.