WTO launches action plan to unify tourism industry in crisis

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A defiant global tourism industry emerged from the meetings of the World Tourism Organization's (WTO) General Assembly which concluded in Osaka, Japan yesterday.

Talk of the current crisis in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US dominated the meetings, attended by national tourism representatives from 118 countries."WTO's first General Assembly of the new millennium has been an historic one for us. Terrorism is the direct enemy of tourism" said secretary-general Francesco Frangialli.

The WTO has released an immediate analysis of the impact, reporting that tourists are postponing holidays and switching to destinations that are closer to home. WTO also reduced its short-term forecast for tourist arrivals in 2001 from 3% growth to 1.5% growth. A strongly worded resolution expressing solidarity with the people of the US and calling for international cooperation to erradicate terrorism was adopted by delegates and sent to the United Nations.

WTO also produced an action plan to help stimulate a recovery of the tourism industry. The plan calls for the formation of a joint public-private crisis management committee that will act in three main areas: collection of real time market information on how the sector is responding; strengthening of WTO activities in the area of safety and security; and assistance to governments in rebuilding a positive tourism image (particularly for countries in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa).

The General Assembly meetings were also optimistic about long-term prospects for tourism. "Experience has shown that tourism has great resilience and great power to recover from a crisis. If travel is down one year then pent up demand will result in extraordinary growth the next year," the secretary-general said. 

• WTO is maintaining its long-term growth forecast of 1 billion international tourists by 2010 and 1.5 billion by 2020.