Hereu: "The new UN TOURISM head office is an example of Spain's commitment to leading the transformation of tourism"

During a visit to the work being carried out in the building attached to the Palacio de Congresos de Madrid, and accompanied by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosana Morillo, the Director General of Turespaña, Miguel Sanz, and the Secretary General of UN TOURISM, Zurab Pololikashvili, the Minister stressed the importance of Spain continuing to host the head office of what was until recently known as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Hereu said that "with this project, Spain renews its firm commitment to the values and mission of UN TOURISM and positions us as one of the countries destined to be a benchmark for the transformation that the world tourism industry will undergo in the coming years".

The new UN TOURISM building, expected to be completed in the first half of 2025, will be a modern and functional head office with an excellent location in the heart of the financial centre and next to the renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium. With a surface area of more than 8,000 square metres, it will have an auditorium of 500 m2, an exhibition hall, offices and meeting rooms, as well as various measures aimed at energy efficiency and sustainability, such as solar panels, LED lighting or air conditioning and ventilation systems with the highest performance. The entire remodelling work, which began at the end of October 2023, is being carried out by Ferrovial for 21.4 million euros.

As the minister recalled during the visit, this is a project on which the Ministry of Industry and Tourism has worked "with a strategic vision of the future and aware of the symbolic value of Spain and Madrid continuing to host the head office of the world's leading tourism institution". Hereu congratulated all parties - the public administrations concerned and the UN agency itself - for their support in giving "a new life to this building which, together with the forthcoming renovation of the Palacio de Congresos, is destined to become an epicentre of tourism".

In addition to the work on the building that will house UN TOURISM, the renovation project for the rest of the complex, which will house a renovated Conference Centre, is being finalised. For the time being, the Ministry has already obtained planning permission and is in the process of finalising the specifications for the construction and operation concession contract. The tender for the works is scheduled to start no later than June this year.

UN TOURISM, an agency of which Spain is a founding member, has had its head office in Madrid since its creation in 1975. Since 2003, and thanks to the impetus provided by Spain, among other countries, UN TOURISM became part of the United Nations family as a specialised agency, which allowed it to establish itself as the main international institution in the field of tourism. In addition, Spain has contributed to fostering public-private partnership in the UN TOURISM sphere, giving special support to the programme of its Affiliate Members, with Spain being the country with the highest participation of public and private entities in this category of Affiliate Members. By virtue of the Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and UN TOURISM, dated March 2022, the future new head office is granted to this agency for a period of 75 years.

Spain, a global destination

Taking advantage of the UN TOURISM head office construction site, Minister Hereu wanted to highlight Spain's global dimension as a tourist destination. In 2023, our country recovered some of the most important long-haul markets for our industry, markets that are characterised by longer stays and higher spending at the destination, such as the United States, whose tourists have increased by almost 40% compared to 2022 and have spent 50% more. In addition to the US, Asian tourism is recovering well after the pandemic. The number of tourists from China increased 574% in 2023, with a 388% increase in on-destination spending. Japan - with 150% growth in visits and 128% growth in spending - and South Korea - up 140% and 115% respectively - have also seen significant increases. "All these figures show the unstoppable diversification process of our country's tourism markets, products and destinations, the result of public policies that improve quality, sustainability and, in short, promote the modernisation of our tourism offer," said the minister.

Non official translation