The United Nations Tourism Secretary-General candidate, Mr. Harry Theoharis, disclosed on Saturday that Ghana’s thriving tourism sector and the entire African continent stand to benefit from a $100 billion investment agenda designed to unlock tourism’s full potential for sustainable growth and prosperity.
The investment agenda, which is Mr. Harry Theoharis’s vision, seeks to attract 100 million visitors and create 10 million new jobs for the continent by 2030.
The Independence Square in Accra symbolises Ghana’s journey to freedom. | Photo by Z Sarpong
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), he said his vision and agenda would be built on four strategic pillars after meeting the Tourism Minister and visiting the Presidency.
He mentioned investment, financing, regenerative growth, connectivity and mobility, workforce, and innovation.
He said out of the six candidates, which had a Ghanaian, Muhammad Adam, a career diplomat, he (Theoharis) was the only person to have mentioned his agenda for Africa and appealed to African member states of the UN Tourism to elect his candidature for the position come November 2025.
Mr Theoharis, who is an MP in the current Greek Parliament, said he aimed at creating investment partnerships, multilateral funding, and innovative public-private partnerships to accelerate large-scale tourism infrastructure development under the investments and financing pillar.
He is seeking to position Africa as a global leader in eco-tourism, cultural tourism and digital transformation to ensure that tourism growth benefits local communities while preserving the environment that falls under the regenerative growth pillar.
“On the connectivity and mobility pillar, I intend to revolutionise travels between Africa, the Middle East and Europe through enhanced air connectivity, seamless visa policies and smart border solutions to increase tourist arrivals and intra-African travels,” the Candidate said.
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He said that under the workforce and innovation agenda, one million African tourism professionals would be trained, and the investment agenda would support youth entrepreneurship, Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration, and smart tourism technologies in the industry.
Mr Theoharis said his agenda would thrive on collective action, unity, cooperation, and transparency with member states. He added that he would work extensively with Africa’s tourism sector ministers, financial institutions, and global CEOs, amongst others.
“In the case of Ghana, I will work with the Minister to create a plan for tourism development, which will be for five years and will be vigorously monitored. We shall purposefully engage development banks because they love to see a coherent plan and the private sector,” he noted.
The core values of UN Tourism are promoting sustainable and responsible tourism that benefits local communities and the environment while contributing to economic growth and social development.
The current Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, was elected by the 22nd Session of the UN Tourism General Assembly and began his term on January 1, 2018. He would have his term expire on 31 December 2025.
According to Article 22 of the UN Tourism Statutes, it is therefore incumbent on the General Assembly to appoint, on the recommendation of the Executive Council, the Secretary-General for the period 2026-2029 at its 26th session to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 7 to 11 November 2025.
According to a note sent to member states by UN Tourism and accessed by the Diplomats, six candidates are officially running for the post. The candidates are Muhammad Adam of Ghana, Shaikha Al Nowais of the United Arab Emirates, Habib Ammar of Tunisia, Gloria Guevara of Mexico, Harry Theoharis of Greece, and Zurab Pololikashvili of Georgia, the current Secretary-General.
