International Tourism Specialist
Juan J. Luna-Kelser
Juan J. Luna-Kelser is an international tourism specialist with more than 48 years of experience advising governments, multilateral institutions, NGOs, universities, and private-sector actors on tourism policy, destination management, sustainable development, cultural and natural heritage, workforce development, and community-based tourism.
He spent thirty years at the Inter-American Development Bank, joining the Junior Professional Program in 1977 and retiring in 2007 as Senior Tourism and Natural Resources Specialist. Along the way he served as Country Coordinator for Panama and Paraguay and as loan officer for Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, leading operations well beyond tourism — water and sanitation, flood control, hydroelectric power, and public sector reform among them. In the Bank's later years he specialized in designing sustainable tourism and ecotourism operations, including PROECOTUR for the Brazilian Amazon and the second stage of PRODETUR/NE.
Since 2007 he has consulted independently for USAID, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNWTO, the IUCN, National Geographic, Solimar International, the Center for Responsible Travel, and Tourism Cares, among others. The work spans national strategies, destination assessments, master plans, workforce programs, and institutional strengthening in more than twenty countries.
A central achievement of that period was assembling and leading the expert team that developed the global baseline criteria for sustainable tourism — the foundation of what became the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and now a standard used worldwide by tourism businesses, certifying bodies, and governments.
In academia he has taught tourism policy, ecotourism, sustainable destination management, and community-based tourism at George Washington University's School of Business since 2005, and co-managed its Study Abroad International Consulting Practicum — guiding graduate teams through live consulting assignments in Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Myanmar and the Dominican Republic.
His work consistently emphasizes stakeholder participation and long-term socioeconomic benefit for communities while safeguarding the natural and cultural resources that tourism depends on.
Career
1977–2007 · Inter-American Development Bank
Senior Tourism and Natural Resources Specialist
Thirty years across the Bank, from the Junior Professional Program to Senior Tourism and Natural Resources Specialist. Country Coordinator for Panama and Paraguay; loan officer for Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Beyond tourism, led operations in water and sanitation, flood control, hydroelectric power, and public sector reform — including the multilateral programs that cleared Panama's arrears following the 1989 intervention.
2006–2010 · National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations
National Geographic Traveler Destination Scorecard Panels
Selected annually for five consecutive years to the expert panels rating global destinations on sustainability and stewardship — World Heritage destinations (2006), islands (2007), historic destinations (2008), and coastal and lakeshore destinations (2009, 2010). Across those years the panels, numbering 280 to 522 experts each, evaluated more than 400 destinations worldwide.
2007–2010 · National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations
Geotourism Ambassador
Ambassador for the Center for Sustainable Destinations, promoting the geotourism approach and evaluating international destinations. Contributed to Geotourism MapGuide projects for the Douro Valley and for San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina.
2005–present · George Washington University School of Business
Adjunct Professor & Research Scholar
Taught tourism policy analysis, sustainable destination management, ecotourism, consulting methodologies, and community-based tourism. Research Scholar with the International Institute of Tourism Studies. Co-managed the UNWTO-Themis Foundation/GWU Certified Program on Sustainable Tourism for International Cooperation and Development, training cohorts of graduates and professionals who joined the UNWTO International Volunteer Corps.
2015 · Various
Publications
*Programa de Fortalecimiento del Ecoturismo en el Estado de Guerrero*, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (2015). *Harboring Tourism: Cruise Ships in Historic Port Communities*, World Monuments Fund (2015).
Expertise
- Tourism project planning, design, formulation, implementation and evaluation
- Destination and site assessments for tourism development
- Destination management — planning, organization, policy, positioning, marketing
- Tourism product development
- Tourism workforce development — planning, training and policy formulation
- Workshop facilitation and stakeholder engagement
- Teaching, training and research
Education
M.A., Tourism Administration
Sustainable Destination Management & Ecotourism · George Washington University, 2003
M.A., Political Science
International Relations, minor in Economics · Drew University, 1976
B.A., Inter-American Studies
Political Science, minor in Economics · University of the Pacific, 1974
Short courses and seminars in management, project management, finance, and executive effectiveness through the American Management Association; GIS management through ESRI; leadership and teamwork through Personnel Decisions; and negotiation technique and strategy through Harvard University's Conflict Management Group.
Languages
- English — Fluent
- Spanish — Fluent
- Portuguese — Fluent
- French — A2 — Alliance Française
- Italian — Reading comprehension
Institutions
Inter-American Development Bank · World Bank · USAID · UNESCO · UNWTO · National Geographic · IUCN · George Washington University · Global Sustainable Tourism Council · Solimar International · Center for Responsible Travel · Tourism Cares
Associations
Global Sustainable Tourism Council · The International Ecotourism Society · Adventure Travel Trade Association · The Nature Conservancy · World Wildlife Fund · National Audubon Society · The Sierra Club · Ocean Conservancy · Chesapeake Bay Foundation