Director of the Destination Management and Quality Programme at the UNWTO

VIP of Penang Asia Pacific Tourism Conference:

Ms. Esencan Terzibasoglu, Director of the Destination Management and Quality Programme at the UNWTO

Ms. Esencan Terzibasoglu has been working in the UNWTO since 2001 and is currently Director of the Destination Management and Quality Programme, which is relatively a recent concept and activity concerning tourism governance at national and particularly at regional and local level. "Quality" has recently been integrated in the same programme which will mainly focus on destination quality as a parameter for competitiveness.

She studied "urban and regional planning” in the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and worked 25 years in the public sector in Turkey and abroad where she held senior management positions in tourism master planning, tourism investment policies and legislation, site planning and conservation of cultural heritage sites, vocational tourism training, international relations and lastly, in tourism promotion and marketing (8 years as the Director of the Turkish Tourism Office in Madrid, in charge of Spain, Portugal and South America) before joining the UNWTO.

During her various posts in the public sector, she also contributed as an international expert to some research projects and initiatives conducted by international organizations such as UNEP, particularly on “sustainable tourism development and management” in the Mediterranean coastal zones. Besides being an official delegate in the meetings of regional and international organizations like WTO (UNWTO), UNESCO, HABITAT, OECD Tourism Committee, MEMMTA, etc., she was invited to contribute to many conferences, seminars and workshops with technical papers/presentations.

About UNWTO

Established on January 2nd, 1975 in Madrid, Spain, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) became a special agency of the UN in 2003.

The objectives of the UNWTO are to promote and develop sustainable tourism so as to contribute to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. In pursuing these aims, UNWTO pays particular attention to the interests of developing countries in the field of tourism.

UNWTO’s membership includes 157 countries, 6 Associate Members and 500 Affiliate Members. Mr. Taleb D. Rifai is Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization.