With this new brand, the Organization reaffirms its status as the United Nations specialized agency for tourism and a global leader in tourism for development, driving social and economic change to ensure that “people and planet” are always at the center From Stage.
To achieve this goal, United Nations Tourism engaged the services of Interbrand, the world's leading branding agency. Interbrand successfully translated the Organization's renewed vision for tourism into a new visual identity and brand narrative.
This involved changing the name of the Organization from UNWTO to United Nations Tourism. At the same time, a new brand narrative was meticulously crafted, which aligns perfectly with the mission and core priorities of UN Tourism. This narrative revolves around three main messages: the UN as a global altruistic organization, the notion of connecting humans around the world, and the concept of proactivity and movement.
By moving away from acronyms, United Nations Tourism adopts a more accessible stance and capitalizes on its strengths: the "UN", which means authority, and tourism, a simple concept that everyone can identify with. This change has been endorsed by the members of the Organization, highlighting their united support for the profound transformation and reinvention of United Nations Tourism in recent years, as it has become more agile, visible and increasingly closer to its Member States, partners and the sector as a whole.
With 160 Member States and hundreds of private sector affiliates, United Nations Tourism is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and regional offices in Nara (Japan) covering Asia and the Pacific, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) for the Middle East, as well as as future regional offices. for America (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Africa (Morocco). Its priorities focus on promoting tourism for sustainable development in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Global Goals. UN Tourism promotes quality education, supports decent jobs in the sector, identifies talent and drives innovation and accelerates climate action and tourism sustainability with:
Member States, both as recipients of their services and assistance and as active stakeholders in the Work Program of the Organization.
Individuals, specifically travelers and local communities, whose lives thrive thanks to the empowerment of the economy through tourism.
Private, semi-private and public organizations, all committed to the work of United Nations Tourism, including their data and ideas, events and products.
Zurab Pololikashvili, UN Secretary-General of Tourism, said: “As society advances, the tourism sector, like many other sectors, needs to transform to serve as a catalyst for prosperity on a universal scale. Improving the well-being of people, safeguarding the natural environment, stimulating economic advancement and fostering international harmony are key objectives that form the core essence of United Nations Tourism. The organization takes on the role of driving a sustainable force that is now fundamental to many economies.”
Borja Borrero, CEO of Interbrand, said: “UNWTO's transition to UN Tourism marks an important new phase for the organisation. The revised nomenclature offers several advantages, including simplicity, better understandability, better readability and memorability. It also serves to clarify the agency's sphere of influence within the global tourism industry. The new brand elements are the basis of a distinctive and proprietary image, one that is direct, identifiable and relevant to diverse audiences.”
The new expression of the brand is not only limited to words and messages, but also expands into a reinvented visual discourse. UN Tourism has a new design language based on its symbol. “Bringing the world closer” is the new slogan that inspires the concept of a Pangea shaping a human figure in action. This dramatic evolution of ancient globe symbols reflects the Organization's emphasis on the dynamic nature of tourism and putting people first.
Beyond the symbol, the rebrand also includes a revamp of the entire visual system, which is now based on a grid of geographic coordinates intended to help people navigate the brand's touchpoints, both online and offline, such as events, websites, reports and social networks. Channels and campaigns. This system unlocks a rich universe of elements including images, fonts, colors and pictograms, all designed to personalize social media campaigns, events, posts and videos.
The new brand will be gradually rolled out across all UN Tourism touchpoints over the coming months, starting with digital channels such as the website, social media accounts and newsletters, followed by physical spaces such as offices and events. , and items such as reports and stationery.