Greece Looks to Host 1st Conference of UNWTO Online Tourism Education Committee

Newly-appointed Greek Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki has submitted a proposal for Greece to host the first conference of the UNWTO Online Education Committee for tourism.

Created last September, the UNWTO Online Education Committee’s main objective is to provide the organization’s secretary general and the Executive Council with advice and recommendations on education matters. Among the UNWTO’s main goals is to make education a key pillar for tourism’s recovery.

Greek Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki speaking during the committee’s second meeting, held as a virtual event.

Speaking during the committee’s second meeting, held on the sidelines of the 113th session of the UNWTO Executive Council, Zacharaki highlighted Greece’s efforts in the field of upgrading distance and online learning. The deputy minister stressed the need for more postgraduate programs to be held in a digital environment; for tourism training to be upgraded continuously; and for tourism employees to be taught more skills.

In addition, she proposed for Greek universities to be included among the educational entities that cooperate with the UNWTO Online Education Committee for tourism.

The committee includes 11 countries as members and aims to promote and support distance learning networks in the field of tourism education, in particular through partnerships with internationally renowned tourism education institutions.

The UNWTO education timeline for 2021 includes creating 10 new online courses for the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, launching UNWTO scholarships for online education programs, launching the second edition of the UNWTO Hospitality Challenge.

The members of the committee comprises the following countries: Portugal and Greece as members from Europe; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as representatives from the Middle East; Chile and Brazil from the Americas; Kenya and the Kingdom of Morocco from the African continent; Iran from the Commission of South Asia; and Korea from the Commission of East Asia and the Pacific.