The Philippines elected as Vice President of the UN Tourism General Assembly anew

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Reaffirming its commitment to global tourism cooperation and diplomacy under the Marcos administration, the Philippines, through Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, has been reelected as Vice President of the 26th General Assembly of the United Nations Tourism and Chair of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific from 2025 to 2027.

Presiding over the 56th Meeting of the UN Tourism Commission for East Asia and the Pacific (CAP) on Tuesday (April 15) at the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Frasco formally expressed the Philippines’ intention to submit its nomination for these esteemed positions, with the country’s candidatures uncontested.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘜𝘕 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,” enthused Secretary Frasco in a press briefing after the 56th CAP together with UN Tourism Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili and Indonesian Tourism Minister Her Excellency (H.E.) Widyanti Putri Wardhana.

Meanwhile, Secretary Frasco conveyed gratitude to the Commission members for their confidence and support extended to countries from the Asia-Pacific region.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘜𝘕 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢-𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.” the DOT chief said.

As may be recalled, the Philippines was elected to the same positions during the 55th Meeting of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for East Asia and the Pacific in Cambodia in 2023. Following this historic election, the country successfully hosted the 36th CAP-CSA and the inaugural UN Tourism Regional Forum for Gastronomy Tourism last June 2024, bringing together over 600 delegates from more than 40 countries in Cebu.

The forum showcased the talents of esteemed Filipino chefs, resulting in the Cebu Call to Action on Gastronomy Tourism, which underscored the Philippines’ leadership following its election as Chair of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific.

Japan and Fiji have submitted their candidacies as Vice-Chairs of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific (CAP).

Meanwhile, Laos has been nominated as a member of the Credentials Committee.

For the specialized committees, the Republic of Korea has been nominated for the Committee on Tourism Online Education.