Punta del Este at the top of the World Tourism Organization

‘Destino Punta del Este’ (Destination Punta del Este), an institution comprising private and public partners, was elected by World Tourism Organization members to one of the vice-presidencies, to represent affiliated members.

This is the first time in its history that Uruguay has acceded to one of the UNWTO’s vice-presidencies. It was elected at a vote at the 20th session of the annual General Assembly, co-hosted this week in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

‘It is a great achievement, not only for Destino Punta del Este but also for Maldonado and Uruguay as a whole’, said Ramón de Isequilla, a delegate from the Municipality of Maldonado, noting also that ‘We should not only highlight this achievement, but also the large number of votes received from countries all over the world’.

Destino Punta del Este will be a member of the collegiate body that will direct UNWTO for the next two years. UNWTO affiliated members include private agents, organizations involved in tourism and also universities.

Strategic position

‘This appointment places Destino Punta del Este in a strategic position where major issues of world tourism are debated’, noted De Isequilla, who underlined that ‘the election result was no coincidence, but the result of seven years joint work by the private sector and the Municipality of Maldonado’.

He pointed out that ‘the work accomplished was seen and appreciated by the rest of the stakeholders in this activity, and this appointment is the reward. The road ahead will involve hard work, but will be very significant in positioning our country in the world’.

De Isequilla is an active member of Cipetur (an association of Uruguayan tourism journalists) and an advisor for the Municipality of Maldonado. According to De Isequilla, ‘the support of Cipetur was critical’.

Likewise, the decision-makers at Destino Punta del Este noted that ‘for the first time, an Uruguayan institution stood for election and won a significant number of votes’.

Destino Punta del Este, a mixed (public and private) institution, notes on its website: ‘The collegiate body, which Destino Punta del Este will form a part of, will direct for the next two years UNWTO’s Affiliate Members—a group comprising private agents, institutions and universities—of the United Nations agency dedicated to tourism’.

‘This appointment places the public and private partnership Destino Punta del Este in a strategic position, where major world tourism issues are debated. The appointment was no coincidence, but the result of seven years of joint work by the private sector and the Municipality of Maldonado, at the initiative of its Mayor, Oscar de los Santos.

The Municipalities of Rocha, Lavalleja and Canelones joined in the project to establish a ‘tourism governing body’, Uruguay XXI, with the support of the Uruguayan Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’.

The appointment was also seen by the Uruguayan tourism industry as ‘an achievement for the country and for Punta del Este”.

A press release by Cipetur highlights that ‘as with any important achievement, it is a result of the competence, professionalism and the huge amount of work undertaken by national and municipal authorities, as well as by Destino Punta del Este and Ramón