Ms. Esencan Terzibasoglu has been working in the UNWTOsince 2001 as the responsible person for supervising and running the programme initiatives in the area of tourism destination management, which is relatively a recent concept and activity concerning tourism governance at national and particularly at regional and local levels. ”Quality” has recently been integrated in the same programme which mainly focuses on destination quality as a parameter for competitiveness. The programme (department) mainly supports the UNWTO members in their efforts to develop effective governance models/structures, improve the efficiency and performance of the DMOs, identify and address the strategic priorities of the destination and devise a product portfolio in line with market trends, needs and interests. The programme also provides guidelines and practical tools to improve the quality of visitor experience all through the tourism supply chain and builds knowledge on the basic factors of destination competitiveness.
She studied “urban and regional planning” in the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey and worked 25 years in the public sector in Turkey and abroad where she held senior management positions in tourism master planning, tourism investment policies and legislation , site planning and conservation of cultural heritage sites, vocational tourism training, international relations and in tourism promotion and marketing ( 8 years as the Director of the Turkish Tourism Office in Madrid, in charge of Spain, Portugal and South America before joining the UNWTO).
During her various posts in the public sector, she also contributed as an international expert to some research projects and initiatives conducted by international organizations such as UNEP, particularly on “sustainable tourism development and management” in the Mediterranean coastal zones. In the meantime she contributed to various technical committees under the umbrella of several intergovernmental organizations such as WTO (UNWTO), UNEP, UNESCO, HABITAT, OECD, MEMMTA and likewise. Along with her duties and responsibilities in the Organization, she is often invited to give lectures and/or technical presentations at conferences, seminars and at academic institutions.
She speaks fluent Turkish, English and Spanish.