On 19 May, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean launched a new partnership with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), holding a virtual meeting between PAM Secretary General and Ms Alessandra Priante, Director of UNWTO Regional Department for Europe.
The discussion focused on the current phase of Covid-19 pandemic, in particular the economic recovery and the tourism sector, which contributes to 11.3 % of total GDP, 11.5 % of employment, 11.5% of exports and 6.4% of capital investments in the whole Mediterranean region. In this regard, tourism is a key pillar of Mediterranean national economies, and is one of the most affected sectors, and recovery approaches need to be addressed by all countries in a very coordinated and harmonized way.
UNWTO is monitoring the situation and elaborating policies and recovery guidelines to support individual national and regional activities in a coherent manner. PAM will assist UNWTO in disseminating them to its members.
Additionally, PAM will participate in and contribute to the new UNWTO-led research project on the Mediterranean, as the cooperation is further strengthening. In the wake of this new partnership, it is envisaged that a high-level representative from UNWTO will attend the forthcoming PAM meeting on economic recovery, organized by the PAM Economic Panel on Trade and Investments, which will tentatively take place on 8 July, as well as another PAM meeting on Cultural Heritage as engine of Tourism.
PAM and UNWTO will formalize their cooperation by signing an MoU in the near future.