UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION - ABOUT UNWTO

The World Tourism Organization is the UN agency entrusted with the promotion and development of tourism. It is the only such organization exclusively devoted to Tourism and serves as a global forum for tourism policy and issues. Mission

Through tourism, UNWTO aims to stimulate economic growth and job creation, provide incentives for protecting the environment and heritage of destinations, and promote peace and understanding among all the nations of the world.

Background

• UNWTO became an executive agency of the United Nations Development Department (UNDP) in 1976 and a fully fledged UN agency in 2003. It recently chnaged its name to UNWTO.
  Its predecessors are:
• The International Union of Official Tourist Publicity Organizations set up in 1925 in The Hague. This became the International Union for Official Tourism Organizations (IUOTO) after World War II when it moved to Geneva. IUOTO was renamed the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in Madrid in May 1975.

Membership:

Full Membership
(open to all sovereign States) currently stands at 142.

Associate Membership
(open to all territories not responsible for their external relations) stands at 7.

Affiliate Membership
(open to a wide range of organizations and companies working either directly in travel and tourism or in related sectors including educational and research institutes) stands at over 350. Affiliate membership requires endorsement by the country in which the headquarters of the applicant is located.

• In 2003, the Committee of Affiliate Members (CAM) – designed to promote exchange between both the public and private sector - was reorganized into three categories: the Business Council, the Education Council and the Destination Management Task Force.
• IH&RA has traditionally held one of the vice-chairs of the UNWTOBC. The WTOBC Chairman is seconded by Kazuaki Saiga Vice-President for Industry Relations of JAL and by Ahmed El-Khadem, Chairman of of the Egyptian Tourist Authority & IH&RA former NACE member.
• André Vallérand, Special Advisor to the Montreal Tourist Board, chairs the Committee of Affiliate Members; Carlos Romero is CEO of the Affiliate Members, Carlos Vogeler, an IH&RA Industry Supporter is the Chairman of the Affiliate Members.

Structure

• General Assembly
  • The supreme organ of the World Tourism Organization. It meets every two years to approve the budget and program of work, and to debate topics of vital importance to the tourism sector. Every four years it elects a Secretary General.
  • It is composed of voting delegates representing Full Members and Associate Members. Affiliate Members and representatives of other international organizations participate as observers.
• Executive Council
  • The Executive Council is WTO’s governing board, responsible for ensuring that the organization carries out its work and sticks to its budget.
  • It meets twice a year and is composed of 26 members elected by the General Assembly.
  • Associate Members and Affiliate Members participate in Executive Council meetings as observers.
• Regional Commissions
  • WTO has six regional commissions - Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
  • The commissions meet at least once a year and are composed of all the Full Members and Associate Members from that region.
  • Affiliate Members from the region participate as observers.
• Committees
  • Specialized committees of WTO members advise on management and program content. These include: the Program Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, the Statistics Steering Committee, the Environment Committee, the Quality Support Committee, and the Education Centers Network.

Secretariat
The Secretariat of approximately 80 staff plus 2 representatives in Osaka, Japan, is led by Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli.
Headquarters: Madrid, Spain

Funding
WTO is primarily financed by Members’ contributions (90%) with the remainder coming from UNDP (United Nation Development Program) support costs, investment income and sales of publications and electronic products.

Fields of activity

• Statistics and market research - harmonizing statistics in the field of tourism, promoting the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA)
• Education and training - improving the quality of tourism education,
• Environment and planning - promoting sustainable tourism,
• Tourism safety and security - campaigning against child sex tourism
• Co-operation for Development
• Communications and Documentation
• Quality of Tourism Development
• Regional Activities...

Relationship with IH&RA

The IH&RA is a long-standing affiliate member and has been involved in the following areas of WTO activities: TSA - Tourism Satellite Account - and macro-economic treatment of hospitality; market research; Code of Ethics for the Tourism Industry, combating child sex tourism; taxation; quality of tourism; safety & security; environment.

Key contacts:
Mr Francesco Frangialli, Secretary General.
Mr Taleb Rifai, Deputy Secretary General
Mr. Geoffrey LIpman, Assistant Secretary General
Mr.Carlos Vogeler, Chairman UNWTOBC
Mr. Carlos Romero, CEO, Affiliate Members

Address: Capitan Haya, 42, E-28020 Madrid, SPAIN
Email: omt@world-tourism.org
Phone No: (34) 91 567 81 00
Fax No: (34) 91 567 82 18
Web site: www.world-tourism.org