Delegates from across 120 member states of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) have called for a closer relationship between the tourism industry and air transport policies during a general debate at the recent 20th session of the UNWTO Assembly.
The meeting in Zimbabwe focused on issues such as visa facilitation, the need to make airports more visitor friendly, taxation, open skies policies and the impact of low cost airlines, with members calling for measures and initiatives to increase connectivity.
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According to the UNWTO, more than one billion tourists crossed international borders during 2012, over half of who travelled by air to their destinations.
The organisation, responsible for sustainable and universally accessible tourism, has named connectivity, visa facilitation and fair taxation as its priorities and is working on addressing these issues with the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The UNWTO is also in talks with the ICAO about issues related to climate change, the modernisation of aviation regulations and the development of convergent rules for traveller and enterprise protection.
During the assembly, incumbent secretary general of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai was re-elected for a second term. The confirmation follows the decision by the 95th session of the UNWTO Executive Council in May 2013 to recommend Rifai as a nominee for the post for the period 2014-2017.
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