UNWTO plays a central role in promoting the development of responsible and ‎sustainable tourism, paying particular attention to the ‎interests of developing countries.‎

The Organization encourages the implementation ‎of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, with a view to ensuring that member ‎countries, tourist destinations and businesses maximize the positive economic, ‎social and cultural effects of tourism and minimizing its ‎negative social and environmental impacts.‎

UNWTO is committed to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, primarely ‎toward reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development.‎
In order to establish its central role in the field of tourism, the Organization maintains effective collaboration with the appropriate organs of the United Nations and its specialized agencies. In this connection, the Organization seeks a cooperative relationship with and participation in the activities of the United Nations Development Programme, as a participating and executing agency.

Its membership includes 161 countries and territories and more than 370 Affiliate ‎Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations ‎and local tourism authorities.‎ ‎ Therefore, UNWTO is the only UN international body representing the public and private sector in all parts of the tourism industry and in its work realize public-private partnerships. More on www.unwto.org

The Draft Programme of Work of the World Tourism Organization for the period 2010-2011 fully incorporates the global recommendations of the United Nations to all agencies in the system; as

• to better reflect and respond to the Members' needs and priorities;
• to respond to permanent and current issues in which the Organization has a leadership role;
• to concentrate the work in a small number of areas in order to achieve significant results that benefit the largest possible number of Members;
• to reinforce the results-based management and results-based budgeting (RBM and RBB) approaches; and
• to maintain the policy of real zero-growth budget for the 2010-2011 biennium.

Two strategic objectives of the programme of work of UNWTO in the next biennale period are improvement the tourism competitiveness in order to achieve greater success in the management and marketing in tourism industry and second is raising Sustainability in order to ensure a long-lasting development of tourism, increasing the contribution to the national economy and MDGs.

UNWTO work in Serbia is based on the UNWTO role in UN structure and UNWTO PoW.
MDGF project Sustainable tourism for rural development, will be realized in Serbia from 2010 to 2012 with crucial UNWTO role.