Executive Summary

The new Secretary-General of UN Tourism, Shaikha Al Nuwais, visited Switzerland from April 13-14, 2026 for her first official visit in her new role. Martin Saladin, Vice-Director of SECO, received her in Bern. The visit took Nuwais to Zermatt, where she delivered a keynote speech at the "Connect Switzerland" event, and to Andermatt to present the "Best Tourism Village" award. The focus was on deepening bilateral cooperation between Switzerland and UN Tourism, particularly on the project "Climate change and the future of snow-based mountain tourism."

People

Topics

  • UN Tourism and international cooperation
  • Sustainable mountain tourism and climate change
  • Best Tourism Village award program
  • Swiss tourism policy

Clarus Lead

The visit signals Switzerland's strategic importance as Vice-Chair of the Programme and Budget Committee of UN Tourism and underscores the growing role of climate adaptation in international tourism. While global winter destinations suffer from lack of snow, Switzerland is positioning itself as an innovation driver for sustainable transformation models in mountain tourism – a topic with direct impact on the future competitiveness of alpine regions.

Detailed Summary

The multilateral project "Climate change and the future of snow-based mountain tourism" is initiated by Switzerland and implemented by UN Tourism. Participating are the member countries Andorra, France, Austria and Slovenia, the FAO Mountain Partnership, and the Graubünden University of Teacher Education as research partner. The project aims to create a report that consolidates best practices for the transformation of winter destinations and identifies proven adaptation strategies.

In parallel, Nuwais recognized UN Tourism's Best Tourism Village Programme, which promotes rural tourism development. Andermatt received the award in 2022; Valendas was named Switzerland's winning village in 2025 and received the certificate personally from the Secretary-General. UN Tourism is a specialized agency of the United Nations with headquarters in Madrid, which aims to promote international tourism. Multilateral cooperation at this level is considered central to the further development of Swiss federal tourism policy.

Key Statements

  • Shaikha Al Nuwais visited Switzerland for the first time as the new UN Tourism Secretary-General, signaling the priority of bilateral relations.
  • The Swiss climate project for mountain tourism addresses a key challenge for alpine regions and is supported by five countries and research partners.
  • Switzerland is using its position as Vice-Chair in the UN Tourism Budget Committee to shape sustainability standards in international tourism.

Critical Questions

  1. Evidence/Data Quality: What specific metrics and data sources are being used in the report on "Climate change and the future of snow-based mountain tourism" to measure transformation success?

  2. Conflicts of Interest: To what extent could economic interests of the participating tourism destinations influence the objectivity of best-practice recommendations?

  3. Causality/Alternatives: Will the report also examine scenarios in which winter destinations fundamentally change their orientation (e.g., summer tourism, year-round offerings) rather than only optimizing snow security?

  4. Feasibility/Risks: How will the best practices identified in the report be practically implemented in countries with different economic capacities (Andorra vs. France), and who bears the financing responsibility?

  5. Source Validity: What role do commercial actors (ski resort operators, tourism associations) play in data collection, and how is their interest-dependence controlled?

  6. Independence: What independence does the Graubünden University of Teacher Education have as a research partner, particularly given Graubünden's economic dependence on winter tourism?

Sources

Primary Source: Switzerland Strengthens Cooperation with the UN Tourism Organization – news.admin.ch, 14.04.2026

Verification Status: ✓ 14.04.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Check: 14.04.2026