The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It has 159 member countries, of which 33 are elected to the Executive Council for a term of four years. Lithuania has been a member since 2003, and was first elected to the Council in 2017.
On April 17, Economy and Innovation minister Aušrinė Armonaitė presented Lithuania’s candicacy to become an executive council member of this organization for 2023-2027 to more than 30 ambassadors residing in Lithuania. Tourism is a field that encourages economic growth, international cooperation and employment, said the minister. Lithuania is ready to promote tourism on a national, regional and world level. As an Executive Council member, Lithuania is also ready to help meet the challenge of creating a tourism ecosystem for the most appealing region in Europe.
Five World Tourism Organization (WTO) member nations will be elected for the 2023–2027 term at the 68th European Region Commission meeting taking place this year in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 31 to June 2.
Meeting with the ambassadors, the minister spoke about the high points of tourism in Lithuania, as well as the country’s economic status, investment environment and innovations.
Despite the decline in tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the war in Ukraine, Lithuania is once again attracting tourists. In 2022, accommodation demand grew by 55%, and tourism is recovering more rapidly than forecasted. Last year, Lithuania attracted nearly 4 million tourists, 1.1 million of those being from foreign countries, mostly from Latvia, Poland and Germany. Top tourism destinations last year were South Korea and Israel, noted the minister.
At this time, eleven countries have applied for membership to the Executive Council: Lithuania, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czechia, Italy, Israel, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
