Switzerland strengthens cooperation with UN World Tourism Organization
Bern, 14.04.2026 — The new Secretary-General of UN Tourism, Shaikha Al Nuwais, was received in Switzerland by Martin Saladin, Vice Director of SECO. During her stay, she visited Zermatt and Andermatt (Best Tourism Village). The visit provided an opportunity to further strengthen the close cooperation between Switzerland and UN Tourism, demonstrated by the ‘Climate change and the future of snow-based mountain tourism’ project, which was initiated by Switzerland.
Shaikha Al Nuwais has been Secretary-General of UN Tourism since 1 January and was visiting Switzerland for the first time in her new role. She was received by Martin Saladin, SECO Vice Director and head of the Promotion Activities Directorate.
During her visit, the Secretary-General visited Zermatt on 13 April and delivered a keynote speech at the ‘Connect Switzerland’ event organised by Switzerland Tourism in which she touched on the current state of the global tourism industry.
The visit was also themed around the ‘Best Tourism Village’ awards, presented annually by UN Tourism. In that vein, the Secretary-General then visited Andermatt on 14 April – which received its ‘Best Tourism Village’ award in 2022 – where she was accompanied by Uri Cantonal Councillor Urban Camenzind and numerous other figures from the worlds of politics and business. While there, the Secretary-General took the opportunity to congratulate last year’s Swiss winning village, Valendas (GR), and to present its representatives with the award in person.
SECO used the Secretary-General’s visit as an opportunity to further strengthen the good cooperation between Switzerland and UN Tourism. Topics included Switzerland’s role as vice chair of the Programme and Budget Committee, as well as the ‘Climate change and the future of snow-based mountain tourism’ project, which was initiated by Switzerland and implemented by UN Tourism. In collaboration with the member countries Andorra, France, Austria and Slovenia, the FAO Mountain Partnership and the University of Applied Sciences of Graubünden as research partner, a report is being produced that brings together best practices for the transformation of winter destinations and puts forward proven adaptation strategies.
Based in Madrid, UN Tourism is a specialised agency of the United Nations whose purpose is to promote international tourism. The international cooperation undertaken at multilateral level through UN Tourism is of central importance to the further development of the federal government’s tourism policy.