MADRID - GeorgiaChron -- Zurab Pololikashvili, current Secretary-General of UN Tourism will run for re-election for a new term in the period 2026-2029.

The UN Tourism Executive Council to select the candidates will be held between May 28 and 30, 2025. The Executive Council will then recommend to the General Assembly the person who will take charge of the General Secretariat in November 2025, in Saudi Arabia. The new mandate will be from 2026 to 2029.

Pololikashvili, 47, has experienced first-hand the recovery of tourism after Covid-19. This year, the recovery rate has reached 95%, comparing current levels with those of 2019, the year with the highest number of tourists in history. The reopening of China, one of the largest tourist markets on a global scale, has contributed to this recovery of the tourism sector.

Pololikashvili confirmed his decision to announce his candidacy after returning from a trip to Beijing, where he participated in the Global Tourism Economic Forum (GTEF 2024) and held various meetings with senior world officials, such as the Minister of Tourism and Culture of China. The trip was the latest in an intense agenda of work and meetings for Pololikashvili in recent months, with the aim of obtaining the support of different countries around the world.

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Pololikashvili has been Secretary General of UN Tourism since 2018 and says he now wants to run for re-election to implement measures favorable to sustainable development, promote new areas of development and promote tourism in a "time of challenges."

"Our sector gives them the opportunity to earn a living," he said. "And to earn not only a salary, but also dignity and equality.

"Tourism jobs also empower people and give them an opportunity to find their place in their own societies, often for the first time," Pololikashvili added.

Zurab Pololiskashvili has been Secretary General of UN Tourism since January 2018. Previously, he held various senior positions in the public and private sectors. After graduating university with a degree in banking, he gained extensive experience in the private sector, holding a senior position in one of Georgia's largest banks and serving as CEO of the country's leading football team, FC Dinamo Tbilisi. He was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia from 2005 to 2009,[4] and has also served as ambassador to Algeria, Andorra, Morocco and Spain.