“The world is open to us, and this is very important”: RUDN represents Russia at the UNWTO General Assembly in Samarkand
“Of course, this is an outstanding event. We spoke with representatives of international departments of universities and national travel agencies, as well as tourism ministers. All representatives of the governing bodies are willing to meet halfway, they exchange contacts, and immediately send letters by mail. This would have been impossible to imagine 20 years ago — establishing contact at lightning speed,” Elizaveta Kolotova, PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Tourism and Hotel Business at the Institute of State Biology and Technology of RUDN University.
At the opening, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, came out with the following initiatives:
- Develop a global safe tourist code;
- Develop green tourism and create a global green tourism laboratory;
- Develop inclusive tourism infrastructure;
- Make 2025 the year of inclusive tourism, and adopt a corresponding declaration;
- Create a council of historical cities for tourism to increase the flow of tourists to cultural heritage;
- Create a global media campus bringing together travel journalists and bloggers, as well as hold media forums around the world.
IHBiT professors agreed on practice sites of RUDN students at enterprises in Uzbekistan, cooperation with tour operators from Samarkand, Tashkent and Bukhara, discussed exchange programs for students and teachers, as well as joint scientific projects with representatives from the Gambia.
“Countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia are open to dialogue. They are interested in teachers and students’ exchange, joint scientific projects, strengthening and developing tourism. The world is open to us, and this is very important,” Ekaterina Kalygina, senior lecturer at the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management at the Institute of State Biology and Technology of RUDN University.
For reference:
The UNWTO General Assembly is held every two years and determines the vector of tourism development for several years to come. The organization was created in The Hague in 1925, as the International Congress of Official Tourist Associations (ICOTT). It was renamed as the World Tourism Organization in 1974, receiving the status of a specialized agency of the UN in 2003, after which it began to be called UNWTO. The headquarters is located in Madrid. Secretary General — Zurab Pololikashvili (Georgia). The UNWTO includes 156 states. The current session in Samarkand is an anniversary one: it was held for the 25th time.
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