This year, the Tourism Ministers from 23 countries gathered at the ITB Ministers Summit organised by UN Tourism under the heading “Enhancing Investment, Ensuring Peace: Harnessing Growth, Shaping the Future”.
In its effort to facilitate collaboration between public and private sector leaders and in a landmark first, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) led this high-level ministerial discussion that focused on public-private investment and its role in promoting peace.
In opening the discussion, UN Tourism Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili underlined the benefits of tourism for driving economic growth and how it can act as a vehicle for empowerment and sustainability.
Also in attendance, Mirela Kumbaro Furxhi, the Minister of Tourism and Environment of Albania, ITB Berlin 2025’s Official Host Country, highlighted Albania’s success as a fast-growing, year-round tourist destination. She also spoke about how the country can serve as a model for public-private partnerships with its distinctive approach to responsible and sustainable preservation by placing tourism and the environment under the same ministry.
Joining the ministers, Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), described travel and tourism as a force for good, a North Star that brings people together, and a massive employer of young people and women.
With travel returning to pre-pandemic levels, the summit participants expressed their excitement at being leaders of tourism at a time when the industry is being rebuilt and reinvented through people and new technologies. They agreed that tourism and sustainability can bring peace, stability and wealth to the world by harnessing growth and encouraging a new generation of young people to join the industry. They also focused on the need for effective governance and incentives to encourage investments that drive economic resilience and benefit local communities.
Photo: © Messe Berlin GmbH
