Amr Abdel-Ghaffar is a senior official of UNWTO with over 30 years of experience in shaping tourism policies and strategies and managing development plans and projects, particularly in the Middle East, where he has served as the Organization’s Director since 1992.

During the period 1994-2005, in which UNWTO experienced rapid growth in its membership and activities, he was responsible for coordinating the preparation and implementation of six successive general programmes of work of the Organization and for introducing a new impact evaluation system. In 2006, he was assigned the responsibility of shaping the Organization’s new Risk Assessment and Crisis Management programme, developing its governance structure, systems and processes and mobilizing external financial resources for its implementation.
In 2008, he was appointed President of UNWTO’s Themis Foundation for Tourism Education and Training and entrusted with restructuring the Organization’s programme in this area. In 2012, he was designated by the Secretary-General as UNWTO’s Focal point for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and, in January 2014, he was appointed by the Secretary-General as his Senior Advisor on Tourism and Peace.

Mr Abdel-Ghaffar holds a Bachelor degree in Political Science and Economics and a Master’s degree in International Relations, from the American University in Cairo.