Unwto News

Global tourism falls 8 percent, says UNWTO
Tourism worldwide is suffering a harsher contraction than expected, according to new figures from The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
3rd annual Ministers’ Summit announced for November 2009
The 3rd annual Ministers’ Summit will be held on 11 November 2009 in London by UNWTO and the World Travel Market (WTM). This key gathering of travel & tourism stakeholders will serve to assess the effects of the economic crisis on the industry and provide new solutions to overcome current challenges.
Global tourism down 8%, says UNWTO
International tourism fell 8% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2008, according to the new edition of the thrice-yearly UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.Arrivals fell to 247m arrivals, but the tourism body estimates that the rate of decline is expected to ease during the remainder of 2009. Current market conditions mean that international tourism is now forecast to decrease by between 4% and 6% in 2009.

Geoffrey Lipman, Assistant Secretary General, UNWTO @ WTTC 2009
Breaking Travel News interviews Geoffrey Lipman (UNWTO) is Assistant Secretary General and Spokesperson of the UNWTO, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
IH&RA expresses concerns over swine flu
Commenting on the current developments regarding the swine influenza outbreak, Dr. Ghassan Aïdi, President of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association “IH&RA” informs on the importance of the safety and well-being of the hospitality industry and confirms that the IH&RA is working closely together with the Tourism Emergency Response Network “TERN” partners, the United Nation World Tourism Organization “UNWTO”, the World Health Organization “WHO” and sharing views on the matter on continuous basis. Dr. Ghassan Aïdi also said, this ensures first that the special situation of the hospitality industry is taken fully into account in “WHO” considerations and that the industry is able to provide the best and most accurate advice to travelers, limiting the impacts on the travel and tourism industry.
UNWTO place tourism and travel in global stimulus packages
As a result of the challenges posed by the global economic crisis and the upcoming G20 meeting in London, UNWTO stresses that tourism and travel can play an integral role in any stimulus package and the shift towards a green economy. Tourism is a massive creator of jobs, as well as being a leading services export for developing economies.
Time for positive travel action
As well as addressing the challenges that a deteriorating world economy will bring to the travel and tourism industry, the key message in the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer is that times of crisis often lead to the biggest opportunities.The industry is under no illusions that the course of 2009 will enforce wide-scale strategic re-thinks and many tough decisions will have to be made. But what is just as certain is that the industry is a highly-resilient sector and will eventually return to strong growth.
UNWTO: 2007 arrivals break new record
The year 2007 has exceeded the expectations for international tourism with arrivals reaching new record figures close to 900 million.
UNWTO: Global tourism up over 4% in 2006
Preliminary results for the first four months of 2006 point to some 236 million international tourist arrivals worldwide, or 10 million more than in the same period of 2005.
UNTWO, OTA aid digital divide
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) are joining together to strengthen the common language for electronic travel interactions at the recently concluded ITB travel show in Berlin.