U.N. Tourism Head to Speak at Colloquium

Taleb D. Rifai, secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization — the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism — will deliver the keynote speech at the Spring Colloquium, an annual tourism event hosted by the School.

Each year, GWSB hosts two colloquia — one in the fall and one in spring — on travel and tourism. Next month’s lecture is sponsored by the GW Tourism Alumni Network and the School’s International Institute for Tourism Studies.

Rifai will speak on the global impact of tourism. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood. The event is free and open to members of the GW community, but those who wish to attend are asked to register in advance.

“Tourism has tremendous impact on the global economy,” said Kristin Lamoureux, the Institute’s director and visiting assistant professor of tourism and hospitality management. “What we do here is look at tourism in the broadest sense: how it exists from a conservation perspective and how it impacts the global economy and, obviously, poverty alleviation.”

The Institute is a chartered research institute within the university. It was the first of its kind to partner with the WTO in developing and providing tourism education and training programs.