Costa Rica Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides has been named president of the World Tourism Organization, a U.N. agency, the national tourism association said yesterday in a press release.

“This naming puts our country on the world stage, because it's the first time a Costa Rican occupies such an important post, as well as for it being the highest-profile … organization in the world tourism sector,” said a release from the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT).

Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, the tourism organization has 160 member-countries with which it aims to encourage the implementation of global tourism ethics, to ensure that travel maximizes positive economic, social and cultural effects and minimizes negative impacts on societies and the environment, according to the organization's Web site.