Tourexpi
With
the signing of the Collaboration Agreement between the Ministry of Tourism of
the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and UN Tourism for the opening of the first
thematic office of the Organization, the head office of the Tourism Law
Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean has been inaugurated at the
United Nations House in Montevideo, Uruguay. The ceremony was attended by His
Excellency the President of Uruguay Luis Lacalle Pou, the United Nations
Resident Coordinator in the country Pablo Ruiz, the Minister of Tourism Eduardo
Sanguinetti, Senator and former Minister of Tourism Tabaré Viera, and the
Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Ignacio Curbelo. In attendance on
the part of UN Tourism were Gustavo Santos, Regional Director for the Americas
and Alicia Gómez, Legal Counsel of the Organization, along with Julio Facal,
member of the UN Tourism World Committee on Tourism Ethics. Also participating
were the Minister of Tourism of Brazil, Celso Sabino, the Lead Tourism
Specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank, Juliana Bettini, academic
collaborators of the Observatory and prestigious jurists from Spain, Chile,
Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and other
authorities of the Americas.
The
Observatory is a project jointly developed by UN Tourism and the Inter-American
Development Bank. It will deploy a pioneering digital tool, which includes a
database, "TurismoLex", that compiles the tourism legislation of the
LAC area, as well as a virtual classroom, a community of practices and
regulatory quality indicators. The Observatory will represent an interactive
forum where the public, private and academic sectors will be able to exchange
best practices and discuss legislative trends in tourism in the region.
The
Observatory represents a valuable resource that will help governments,
policymakers and public and private entities in the sector to improve and
implement more harmonized, coherent and effective legal frameworks for tourism.
In addition, the Observatory establishes a framework for collaboration with
prestigious higher education institutions in the area to carry out studies,
technical reports and create working groups that deal with Tourism Law,
responding to the needs that States and operators in the sector may present.
With
this background, the Observatory, which will begin its operations at the
beginning of 2025, will have as its main objectives the improvement in the
quality of tourism regulations. It will also serve as a technical forum that
promotes appropriate regulation for the area, issuing reports and studies
through which the Administrations, mainly, can develop legislation appropriate
to the interests of the sector, thus facilitating regional regulatory
cooperation, improving cross-border relations and the harmonious development of
tourism legislation.
Uruguay's
proposal to host the head office of the Tourism Law Observatory for Latin
America and the Caribbean obtained the support of all Members of the Americas
region at the last meeting of the Regional Commission held last April, in
Varadero, Cuba. It was then approved within the framework of the 121st session
of the Executive Council held in Barcelona on 11 June of this year and will
subsequently be submitted for ratification at the 26th session of the UN
Tourism General Assembly.
Under
Uruguay's leadership, the Tourism Law Observatory for Latin America and the
Caribbean is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the legal landscape of
the tourism sector, addressing regulatory challenges and identifying
opportunities for growth and innovation.
Image
Credit: © UN Tourism
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