Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – According to Minister of Tourism Simonida Kordic, tourists today address the same challenges as those shaping the tourism environment, which is why their involvement in policy-making is essential.

Kordic, who chairs the Commission for Europe at UN Tourism, opened a high-level international investment forum on tourism in Dushanbe, alongside UN representative Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy and UN Tourism’s Regional Director for Europe, Cordula Wolmuther.

The event was organized at the invitation of the Government of Tajikistan and UN Tourism.

Addressing representatives of the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, senior government officials, hotel chains, and investors, Kordic noted that the Forum comes at a crucial moment for global tourism, which has already reached pre-pandemic levels according to projections.

“This recovery is not simply a return to the past – it is an opportunity to reassess and redefine tourism’s role in our economies and societies. Tourism is not a luxury industry, but a vital and unique sector with its own rules and dynamics, where governments, businesses, and consumers, i.e. tourists, are closely interconnected and strongly influence one another,” Kordic stated.

She concluded that government’s priorities, business interests, and tourist expectations collectively shape the reality of the tourism industry.