The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Egypt are organizing the 5th Global Summit on City Tourism: “Cities: Local Culture for Global Travelers” on November 1-2 in Luxor.

During the summit, UNWTO will launch the Mayors for Tourism Initiative, the organization said in a press statement of which MENA obtained a copy.

Tourism has become a central component of the economy, social life and geography of many cities in the world and is ideally positioned to seize the opportunities provided by urbanization. Yet many challenges are emerging, including the need to effectively manage the growth of tourism in many cities around the globe, the UNWTO said.

The 5th Global Summit on City Tourism: “Cities: Local Culture for Global Travelers” will discuss city tourism trends and debate themes such as sustainable development, spatial organization and rejuvenation, innovation in city tourism, cross-cultural behavior, and new business models or the so-called ‘sharing economy’.

Within the framework of the conference, UNWTO will officially launch the City Tourism Network, a forum offering participants an opportunity to learn the objectives and main lines of action of the network. The City Tourism Network is composed of key stakeholders from the public and private sectors working towards policies to encourage the sustainable development of City Tourism on local, national and international levels. In particular, the new initiative “Mayors for Tourism” will be presented, aiming to gather mayors and decision-makers from cities around the world to discuss and collaborate on tourism issues. The Mayors for Tourism Initiative aims to promote the important role of tourism as a driving force for socio economic development in cities, and prioritize the sector in the urban agenda.

The summit will be preceded by the 104th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council, taking place in Luxor on October 30 to November 1.

Source: MENA