COOPERATION WITH THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) CURRENT JOINT ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS By Patrice TEDJINI, Chief, UNWTO Documentation Resources & Archives 2Ist ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA) Sao Paulo & Ilhabela, Brazil 3-6 October 2009

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA) CURRENT JOINT ACTIVITIES MILESTONES ▪ th IFTTA Annual Conference, Malta, September 2006 UNWTO and IFTTA agreed to further cooperation on the following four aspects: ● Creation of an interactive discussion forum on topical issues related to tourism ● Establishment and maintenance of a joint multilingual glossary of legal terms applicable to travel and tourism ●Promotion of travel and tourism law knowledge, education and training ●Fostering of support for travel and tourism lawyers and professionals from developing countries to participe in travel and tourism congresses and symposia

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA)  2007 COOPERATION AGREEMENT by letter signed in August 2007 and endorsed by the UNWTO General Assembly [Resolution 530(XVII)], Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, November 2007 The Annex to the Agreement provides the Guiding Principles for the Modus Operandi of the Interactive Discussion Forum for Tourism Legislation

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT MILESTONES ▪ 2008 ▪ Setting up the Interactive Discussion Forum on Tourism Legislation ● Issues for debates related to tourism legislation within the Forum are classified in 24 priority areas ●National Tourism Administrations (NTAs) of UNWTO Member States are invited to designate one representative as a user of the Forum ● IFTTA Board of Directors designates four Members as moderators of the Forum to lead discussions ●Presentation of the Forum to the participants of the UNWTO Practicum (a three-week seminar and study tour designed for officials of NTAs organized twice a year)

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA) ▪ Establishment and maintenance of a joint multilingual glossary of legal terms applicable to travel & tourism This project which implies the integration of the IFTTA Legal Taxonomy of Travel and Tourism Terms within the UNWTO online Multilingual Glossary TOURISTERM should be considered as a permanent activity requiring on both sides time and availability in terms of human resources Project directly managed by the Translation Section of the UNWTO Secretariat

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA) MILESTONES  2009  Setting-up the Interactive Discussion Forum on Tourism Legislation ●Launching of the Forum in mid February ● Publicizing the Forum in the electronic information bulletin UNWTO in Action ● Surveying UNWTO users and IFTTA Members to specify which of the 24 priority areas and corresponding sub –forums should be developed with priority and to indicate any other subjects of current relevance to be addressed in the Forum ● Based on the findings of the survey, a consolidated list of subjects (selection among the 24 existing areas together with new proposals) thus identified by Members of both organizations as a priority to be discussed in the Forum, has been circulated in mid-September

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA) IN THE LIGHT OF SEVEN MONTHS IN OPERATION, THE UNWTO SECRETARIAT AND THE IFTTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS SHOULD WORK CLOSELY TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF THE MEMBERS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE ORGANIZATION IN THE FORUM

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO) AND THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADVOCATES (IFTTA)  FUTURE PROSPECTS ● Strengthening of the cooperation between both institutions constitutes a priority in the UNWTO Draft Programme of Work for under the Area “ Knowledge Sharing and Information Management” – which is submitted for approval to the 18th session of the General Assembly held at Astana, Kazakhstan, from 5 to 8 October ● In this spirit, the UNWTO Secretariat would like IFTTA to be part of a new project regarding the establishment of a WORLDWIDE INTELLIGENCE GATHERING SYSTEM ON LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF TOURISM with the following Strategic Objective: Provide information on new laws and regulations governing tourism, new developments on the structures and spheres of competence of NTAs, as well as on activities conducted by national parliaments and regional parliamentary organizations and associations ●As an initial step for this creation of such an information system, a Feasibility Study will be prepared early next year with the assistance of outside experts, with the view to determine the expectations of Member States and other institutional partners regarding legal information, in order to: (a) Establish guidelines for organising the intelligence gathering; (b) Propose tools for communicating the most relevant data; and (c) Identify the means to be mobilized for the execution of the project in terms of human,technical and financial resources ●Invitation for tenders to carry out the Feasibility Study will be posted on the UNWTO Website before the end of 2009