At the 68th meeting of the European Commission of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) held in Sofia (Bulgaria), Ukraine was elected to chair this body.

The presidency of the Commission for the European Region opens up new opportunities for Ukraine to cooperate with EU countries and the world at a professional international level.

"From the first days of russia's full-scale invasion, the UNWTO has stood by Ukraine. In particular, in April last year, the General Assembly suspended russia's membership in the organisation, becoming the only UN body to revoke russia's membership.

Now our common goal is to fully integrate the Ukrainian tourism industry into the European environment. I am confident that our experience will play a key role in shaping the new architecture of European tourism with Ukraine's unique place in it," commented Mariana Oleskiv, Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine.

Ukraine will hold the presidency of the European Commission for two years.

In general, the UNWTO consists of six regional commissions - Africa, America, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, South Asia and the Middle East.

The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) was established in 1975 as a specialised UN agency aimed at promoting responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Ukraine has been a full member of the WTO since 1997.

On April 27, 2022, the UNWTO General Assembly suspended russia's membership in the organisation by a majority vote.