Alessandra Priante

Director of Europa, UNWTO

Alessandra Priante is the Director of Europe at the UNWTO, the UN agency devoted to tourism which promotes sustainable and responsible tourism globally. After being Chief of multilateral international relations (UNWTO, OECD and EUROPE) and tourism policy issues for the Italian Ministry of Food, Agricultural and forestry policies and tourism which recently acquired tourism competences from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. She has also actively participated in the research and analysis work behind the preparation of the National Strategic Plan for Tourism 2017-2022, approved at the beginning of 2017.

She holds a first degree business graduate at the top Italian business University, Università Luigi Bocconi, an Executive MBA at Luiss Guido Carli University and an International Master in Audiovisual Management. She successfully merged her strong experience in corporate finance and M&A operations, developed within international investment banks in her initial job posts, with her cultural expertise, joining since 2002 the Italian Ministry of Culture – Direction for Cinema, with the task of restructuring public finances for the culture sector. As a major output, she created the first public RSU in the audiovisual sector, focused on the design, set-up and implementation of the most important sector reforms. As a firm believer in the importance of international networks and in the power of lobbying, she has created has been part and at times initiated various international think tanks and also represented Italy in all international and European Institutions devoted to culture. As an expert also of the Middle East area, she has been appointed in the years 2010-2015 Government Envoy to the Middle East (UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrein, Kuwait) in the role of Italian Diplomatic Cultural Representative for the Gulf Area, with the task of taking care of promoting Italian culture and education.

In line with her academic preparation and research attitude, Alessandra has published numerous sector publications and books and teaches culture management and international audiovisual analysis at some of the major Universities in Italy for post-graduate students.

Alessandra is a cinéphile and a trained musician. She loves art and culture, her Country and her family.