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The headquarters of the UN World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is located in:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — Madrid, Spain
Detailed Solution
The World Tourism Organization, now known as UN Tourism (it was called UNWTO until it rebranded in January 2024), is the specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters is in Madrid, Spain.
The organisation grew out of the International Union of Official Travel Organisations (IUOTO), set up in 1925 (and formally in 1947). The World Tourism Organization was established in 1975, when its statutes came into force, and it became a specialised agency of the UN in 2003. It has about 160 member states, along with associate and affiliate members from the private sector, educational institutions and tourism associations.
Its main functions are to:
- Promote tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability.
- Provide policy guidance and statistics on tourism; it publishes the World Tourism Barometer.
- Promote the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (1999).
- Help countries use tourism to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on 27 September, the date on which the statutes of the organisation were adopted in 1970. India celebrates National Tourism Day on 25 January.
Headquarters of some other UN agencies:
Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Paris, France: UNESCO.
Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and World Food Programme (WFP).
Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and UNIDO.
Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP and UN-Habitat.
Montreal, Canada: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
London, UK: International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Bern, Switzerland: Universal Postal Union (UPU).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Geneva hosts the WHO, ILO and WIPO.
- ✗Paris hosts UNESCO.
- ✗Rome hosts the FAO, IFAD and WFP.
Quick tip
Remember: UN Tourism (UNWTO) = Madrid; World Tourism Day = 27 September; UNESCO = Paris; FAO = Rome; WHO = Geneva; IAEA = Vienna; UNEP = Nairobi; ICAO = Montreal.
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International Economic Organisations — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of International Economic Organisations, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers international economic and financial organisations: the IMF, the World Bank group, the WTO, the Asian Development Bank, the New Development Bank, the AIIB, OPEC, the OECD and groupings such as the G20, along with their headquarters, founding and functions. Questions usually ask where an organisation is headquartered, when it was set up, and what it does. For example, the IMF and World Bank were created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, the WTO replaced GATT in 1995, and the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS countries, is headquartered in Shanghai. Practise the international economic organisations questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.