The University of Tourism and Managemen in Skopje officially became a member of the Knowledge Network of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The University of Tourism and Management in Skopje officially notified that its application for membership in the Knowledge Network Programme has been accepted. This network operates within the framework of the World Tourism Organization, where UTMS is among the supporting members. "On the behalf of the World Tourism Organization, I wish a warm welcome to the University of Tourism and Management in Skopje, as a new member of the Knowledge Network within UNWTO,. I am confident that your membership in the network of knowledge will enhance our community as a unique and powerful network that contributes to the development of the tourism sector, and we count on your active participation in the further development of our activities, " as it is written, among other things, in the letter from the Executive Director of UNWTO, Marcia Favilia, addressed to the Chancellor of UTMS Ace Milenkovski. Mr. Favilia also stated that the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, the Director of the Knowledge Network Eundzhi Tae and Mr Favilia himself, expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with UTMS, with a hope for productive relations in the future.
The realization of this supreme knowledge network membership comes after a recent visit to Madrid, by the delegation of the University of Tourism and Management in Skopje, headed by the Chancellor Prof. Ace Milenkovski, PhD and the Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Assistant Professor Saso Gramatnikovski, PhD, where in the Headquarters of UNWTO, on 01.02.2013 a meeting with the director of this program Mrs. Eundzhi Tae, the UNWTO’s Secretary General Taleb Rifai and the executive Director Marcia Favilia, was held. During these meetings, among other things, the inclusion of UTMS, as an associate member of UNWTO and the Knowledge Network Programme has been discussed. Hence, it is noteworthy to mention that this aspiration was realized in less than ten days.
The membership in this network of knowledge, that operates and collaborates with over 130 institutions from 48 countries in the world, is not only a matter of prestige, but also a great benefit for the University of Tourism and Management in Skopje, because through this program UTMS will be able to collaborate with many top world universities and other scientific institutions in the future, while exchanging relevant research and tourism development studies. The Knowledge Network within UNWTO is actually a bridge that fills the gap between the knowledge generators and those with the capacity to apply this knowledge in the practical work.
In this regard, the University of Tourism and Management in Skopje and the Faculty of Tourism are already working on the development of appropriate programs in the field of tourism, which should be consistent with the programs of the members of the global knowledge network, which will represent a new strategy for tourism development.