World tourism organization as a global forum in the sphere of tourism policy

Abstract

 The article reviews the activity of the World Tourism Organization as a global tourism policy forum. The author considers major stages in the World Tourism Organization's evolution and development, its structure and tasks with regard to elaboration and implementation of global tourism development policy. The author also considers its key projects and programs. The World Tourism Organization is a leading global forum in the field of tourism policy. Its activities are primarily focused on tourism development, quality improvement, personnel training, etc. This research shows that the World Tourism Organization's approach to its own activities has undergone a fundamental change: today, the range of issues addressed by its activity extends to include not only the problems of developing tourism by itself, but also the adjacent problems of cultural heritage and world cultures, resolution of social and economic problems, fight against drugs and crime, etc. The focus of the World Tourism Organization's activity is on the development of the so-called responsible tourism.