These six airlines now serve more than 100 departing flights a week from the terminal and airport officials predict Terminal 2 will account for about 15% of the passengers departing HKIA by te end of this year.
“Terminal 2 complements the facilities and services in Terminal 1, and gives us vitally important room to grow,” says Stanley Hui, CEO of Airport Authority Hong Kong. “In the months ahead, Terminal 2 will serve an even larger number of airlines and departing passenger traffic.”
In addition to offering passenger check-in services, Terminal 2 operates as a multi-modal hub where air, land and sea transport converge seamlessly. Each day, Terminal 2’s coach station serves over 6,000 passengers, who board buses to local hotels and 70 mainland destinations.
In 2009, an automated people mover will connect Terminal 2 to the new SkyPier which will receive ferries from the Pearl River Delta.
October 10, 2007
Thai lands at Hong Kong’s Terminal 2
ICAO sets 2010 deadline for e-passports
All states should embrace machine-readable passports (MRPs), or e-passports, by 1 April 2010 in order to improve security and safety at airports, claims the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
ICAO secretary-general, Dr. Taieb Cherif, says the technology “improves the overall national security of states in the fight against terrorism and criminal mobility. With the introduction of this infrastructure, we are witnessing the beginning of a new era in travel document verification and authentication.” He claims it will also support more efficient border control procedures.
Dr. Cherif says ICAO will support states’ plans to issue machine readable travel documents and will help to ensure standards and best practices are followed to establish and maintain confidence in the systems.
“I encourage those states that require assistance with their machine readable travel documents or electronic machine readable travel documents to contact the ICAO Technical Co-operation Bureau and see how they can benefit from its proven track record.”
ICAO estimates that up to 120 states have begun the process of introducing MRPs. Of these, around 50 states have included biometric details in their specifications.
ICAO is working with donor states, international organisations and other United Nations offices to support those states with insufficient resources to introduce MRPs by the deadline.
UK to switch taxes from passengers to flights
“It is right to tax emissions, not passengers. That means reflecting a combination of aircraft type and distance flown,” says EasyJet CEO Andy Harrison. “However, the reform should not be used as an excuse to further increase the burden of tax on passengers. EasyJet, for example, already covers its carbon costs more than four times over.”
British Airways says, “Our share of Air Passenger Duty (APD) revenue for the government is now £400 million (US$815.6 million) a year. With this money, the government could offset our entire CO2 emissions four times over.”
Ryanair says the reformed APD would be “just another tax on ordinary passengers from government ministers swanning around on private aircraft. This Labour government lied when it proposed to spend the £1 billion raised from doubling APD on the environment. Not a penny has been spent on the environment and they are back stealing more from ordinary passengers going on holidays.”
Airbus Orders Jump To 854 After Strong September
Airbus has reported 854 plane orders to the end of September versus 226 at the same point last year.
The Toulouse-headquartered company posted 141 orders in September versus just four in the same month a year earlier.
Thirty-six deliveries in September lifted the total for the first nine months to 330 from 320 at the same point last year.
US rival Boeing had 329 deliveries for the same period, its web site showed.
Boeing had 893 net orders as of October 2, subtracting 10 order cancellations.
Airbus uses gross figures which do not reveal how many plane orders were cancelled.
Wizz Air Orders 50 Airbus A320s
Wizz Air, a leading budget airline in eastern and central Europe, signed a deal with Airbus to buy 50 narrow-body A320 aircraft, the companies said on Wednesday.
Wizz Air, which is expanding its 70 route European network, also has an option to buy 25 additional A320's by 2016, they said in a presentation.
"The new deal increases the total order made by Wizz Air for A320 to 82," the companies said.
The 50 new planes are to be delivered in 2011-2014, while the option covers the period 2014-2016.
The total value of the order is USD$3.5 billion based on listed prices, but airlines usually receive a discount to the official price.
Boeing Says 787 On Track For May 2008 Delivery
Reuters - Boeing said on Monday it still expected to deliver its first lightweight 787 Dreamliner aircraft on time by May 2008, despite delays to its test flight schedule.
"It is still our objective to meet that May 2008 delivery but in doing that we have had to compress our flight-test schedule," Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President for Marketing, told reporters.
"It is an aggressive schedule but we believe we can do it."
Tinseth said the plane was still set for its first test flight between mid-November and mid-December after a three month delay due to a shortage of bolts and problems programming the flight control software.
The plane must complete 1,300 flight-test hours and 3,700 ground-test hours between the first flight and certification of the plane, Tinseth said, describing the schedule as "challenging".
The first 787 is due to be delivered to Japan's All Nippon Airways.
Boeing, which competes with Airbus for the title of world's biggest plane maker, is forecasting 28,600 new aircraft worth about USD$2.8 trillion will be bought over the next 20 years on the back of rising demand for passenger travel and air cargo.
Tinseth, speaking on a visit to Australia, said Boeing now expected 580 planes worth USD$73 billion would be bought in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific by 2026.
Boeing upped its forecast from 440 planes worth USD$60 billion previously due to rapid growth in low-cost airlines which were bumping up orders for single-aisle planes.
He said fuel prices were expected to remain volatile, although Boeing's 20 year forecast assumed they would moderate over the next 20 years.
October 06, 2007
Four Seasons Hotels strenghten its position in Egypt with fourth property
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts further reinforced its committment to the Middle East region by opening Four Seasons Alexandria, its fourth property in Egypt earlier this year. This opening brings the total number of Four Seasons properties in the region to nine.
“We are very excited to have opened the Alexandria property,” says Cesare Rouchdy, Senior Director of Marketing Four Seasons Egypt.
“We believe this is an important addition to our portfolio both here in Egypt and in the region as a whole. This property complements our other two city Hotels in Cairo and our Resort in Sharm El Sheikh, and is already reaching maximum capacity on a regular basis,” he adds.
Four Seasons Cairo at the First Residence was the group’s first foray into Egypt. Opening in May 2000, the property set a new standard in luxury in the country’s capital. Capitalising on the success of its Cairo property, Four Seasons then opened its first resort in the region in Sharm El Sheikh, overlooking the Red Sea. The third chapter in the Four Seasons story in Egypt, is the Nile Plaza property in Cairo, which opened in 2005.
At Least 19 Killed In Congo Plane Crash
At least 19 people died when a Russian-made cargo plane crashed and exploded on Thursday in a busy area of Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, officials said.
Seventeen passengers and crew on the Antonov 26 aircraft belonging to Congolese airline Africa 1 were killed when it came down on several houses in the Kingasani neighborhood, shortly after taking off from Ndjili Airport.
One father found the bodies of his young son and daughter crushed by a wall. Debris from the crash was widely scattered over neighboring streets and buildings.
"There has been heavy damage. Two houses have been completely destroyed," deputy Health Minister Ferdinand Ntua said at the crash site. "There are a lot of dead but for the moment we have no figures."
Air travel is notoriously dangerous in Congo. In 1996, at least 350 people died when a Russian-built Antonov 32 cargo plane ploughed through a crowded market in central Kinshasa, in the former Belgian colony's worst air disaster.
The Africa 1 aircraft was carrying 14 Congolese passengers and three Ukrainian crew, according to the plane's manifest.
"All the members of the crew and passengers are dead," a rescue official said.
An eye witness saw at least six corpses pulled from the wreckage of the plane as Red Cross and firemen joined family members picking through the devastation.
The stench of burning debris and jet fuel filled the air. Police struggled to hold back around 1,000 onlookers.
An airport security official who arrived quickly at the crash site said fire fighters had initially struggled to reach the wreckage in the crowded shanty town.
"There are at least four houses burning, the airplane is burning... There's a lot of smoke and flames, everybody in the houses must be dead," he said.
A spokesman for the 17,000-strong United Nations mission in Congo (MONUC), the largest in the world, said it had dispatched a rescue team and firefighters to the scene.
Ageing planes in Congo suffer from a lack of maintenance and spare parts but they are often the only way to transport people and goods across the vast central African country that is slowly recovering from a 1998-2003 civil war.
Eight people were killed in early September when another Antonov cargo plane overshot the runway and caught fire while landing in the eastern Congolese town of Goma.
Congo, a country the size of West Europe with only a few hundred kilometres of paved roads, has one of Africa's worst air safety records and was dubbed an "embarrassment" by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) last year.
Africa 1 is on the European Union's airline blacklist. All airlines certified by Democratic Republic of Congo authorities -- except for Hewa Bora Airways -- are banned from the EU.
Concorde Parts Under Hammer In French Auction
Reuters- Hundreds of components of the Concorde supersonic airliner, from headsets to toilet seats, are attracting strong bidding in a French auction which relives the era of luxury travel at twice the speed of sound.
Most of the 60 pieces sold on the auction's first day attracted around five times the asking price.
The Anglo-French aircraft was withdrawn from service in 2003 after ferrying the rich and famous across the Atlantic for 27 years at speeds up to 2,625 kph.
The auction runs until Monday in the French aviation capital of Toulouse where the sleek, droop-nosed aircraft was assembled in cooperation with Britain.
Items being sold to raise money for a museum include a pair of toilet seats weighing 5.8 kilos and available for auction prices starting at EUR400 euros (USD$567) each.
For the same asking price, collectors can bid for a Concorde pilot's headset.
A laminated cockpit window panel went for EUR3,100, 10 times the asking price, at the start of the auction on Friday.
If space is not a problem, the auction includes a couple of one-tonne Concorde landing gears on which the bidding starts at EUR2,000 - EUR3,000 -- wheels not supplied.
Among the most symbolic items for the plane's many fans, however, will be a "Machmeter" weighing just over a kilo and offered at a suggested price of EUR1,500 - EUR2,000. The instrument's dial recorded Concorde's speed as it slipped through the sound barrier, known as Mach 1.
"This sale has really got people carried away and we really welcome that because it is the last sale of Concorde accessories that will ever be organized," said auctioneer Marc Labarbe.
Designed in the 1960s, Concorde's cockpit instruments may look old-fashioned compared to the digital read-outs in modern passenger jets, but the plane's performance remains unmatched.
The plane carried 100 passengers and 9 crew at speeds up to Mach 2.2, almost three times the cruising speed of a Boeing 747.
The Mach number is the ratio of an aircraft's speed to the speed of sound.
Of the 20 Concordes built most are in museums or on display at London and Paris airports.
Concorde was suspended from service following its only crash outside Paris on an Air France flight in July 2000. It made only a temporary comeback before being withdrawn in 2003 as the two operating airlines cited heavy operating costs.
China's plane ambitions take off
By Michael Bristow 
BBC News, Beijing
China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) is probably not a name that has executives at Boeing and Airbus quaking in their boots.
But the Chinese aircraft maker is currently assembling a regional passenger jet that it hopes will establish China as a major plane manufacturer.
The ARJ21 - which stands for Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century - is due to have its first test flight in March next year.
China believes this could be the start of a trend that will see the country build its own jumbo jets in the near future.
AVIC I, a state-run consortium based in Shanghai, says the regional plane is China's first independently developed passenger jet, although it will have engines made by US firm General Electric.
The plane, a model of which was on display at an aviation trade show in Beijing last month, has been primarily built for the Chinese market.
It has also been designed to cope with the high temperatures and high altitude runways it will encounter in China's western regions.
State-run media report that 71 ARJ21s, which will initially have 70 to 90 seats, have already been sold to domestic airlines, such as Shanghai Airlines. Other deals are pending.
These aircraft will be delivered from the end of 2009. A slightly larger version of the ARJ21, with 150 seats, will be produced later.
Expanding market
There will certainly be demand for more aircraft from China. In its latest forecast, Boeing said China would require 3,400 new planes worth about $340 billion over the next 20 years.
It expects China's domestic market to grow nearly fivefold by 2026, which will make it slightly larger than today's intra-North American market.
"Over the forecast period, China will have the fastest-growing market, making it the largest market outside of the US for new commercial airplanes," Boeing said.
With an expanding market, China is keen to develop its own manufacturing industry for passenger aircraft.
Li Zhiyong, from AVIC I's marketing and sales department, said: "At the moment, all aircraft that fly in China are made abroad so, sooner or later, China must produce its own planes."
But he added that the ultimate aim was to sell the ARJ21 abroad.
The firm already appears to have had some success. There are reports that Lao Airlines is considering buying two of the jets, becoming the plane's first foreign customer.
But, speaking at the Aviation Expo/China 2007, Mr Li said the most important hurdle had yet to be overcome.
"We have to get test flight licences from either Europe or the United States. This will allow us to sell the plane abroad more easily," he said.
Building expertise
AVIC I obviously hopes its plane will be a commercial success, but China does not hide the fact that the project has another role - to give technicians experience for future, larger projects.
"This is a big project for them," says Tom Ballantyne, of Orient Aviation magazine based in Hong Kong. "They are really hoping this will kick off airline production in China."
Earlier this year, the Chinese government confirmed that it wanted to build its own jumbo jets by 2020.
It believes it now has the expertise, and economic strength, to build a large passenger plane.
China also appears to think that, as one of the world's largest nations, it ought to have its own aircraft manufacturing industry.
"A home-made large aircraft may inspire the nation like the country's manned spacecraft program," said Liu Daxiang, from AVIC I's science and technology development department.
Mr Ballantyne agrees that China should be able to produce jumbo jets in the coming decades, but he says it might be difficult persuading airlines to buy the planes.
"One of the problems in China is that even Chinese airlines do not want to buy China's own planes," he said.
Boeing and Airbus, it appears, are not going to face any serious Chinese competitor any time soon.
September 29, 2007
Hoteliers Protest Against Low-Budget Andaman Tourism
Reuters - Hundreds of tour operators and hotel owners in the Andaman islands protested on Thursday against a scheme to fly budget tourists to the islands, saying it had stopped wealthier travelers from visiting.
India recently allowed all level of government employees to use their leave allowances to fly to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the remotest part of its territory, as it tried to boost the tourism-dependent economy following the catastrophic tsunami of 2004.
Many low-wage workers jumped at the chance to take their first flight and visit the islands' famed beaches, forests, coral reefs and tribal cultures -- a perk once reserved for only senior state employees.
But islanders working in the tourism industry say crowds of cost-conscious tourists are straining resources without generating much income.
"They visit the Andamans for at most a day and go back hardly spending any money," said G. Bhasker, general secretary of the Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
"Agents are blocking tickets in bulk, preventing up-market tourists who are genuinely interested in visiting our islands."
Hundreds of protesters chose World Tourism Day to shout slogans outside the tourism directorate in Port Blair, the archipelago's capital, and threatened further protests if the government did not listen.
The island's chief secretary promised to look into their complaints.
Authorities expect more than 150,000 tourists will visit the islands this year, but some estimate that around 80 percent of those are low-wage state employees.
Etihad takes off to Singapore and Brisbane
Dubai: Etihad Airways has launched its new three flights-a-week service to Singapore and Brisbane.
Flight EY470 took off on schedule yesterday morning from Abu Dhabi airport bound for Brisbane via Singapore. Singapore is Etihad's fifth destination in Southeast Asia after Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
Brisbane is the airline's second destination in Australia following the highly successful Sydney route started in March this year.
"Demand has been great for the new flights to Singapore and Brisbane with the seat factor for both destinations approaching 70 per cent in economy class and 65 per cent in business class for the month of October," the airline said.
James Hogan, Etihad's chief executive, said: "Etihad continues to expand its global flight network offering our customers frequent connections to many of the world's most popular destinations.
"The UAE is building strong commercial and cultural ties with Singapore and the Australian state of Queensland and the new Etihad flights will give these ties a significant boost."
Other new destinations launched in 2007 include Dublin and Milan as well as the southern Indian cities of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
Etihad is operating a two-cabin Airbus A330-200 on the new flights. The aircraft is configured to carry 262 passengers, with 22 in business class and 240 in economy.
Flight EY470 will operate every Friday, Sunday and Wednesday, departing from Abu Dhabi at 10.05am and reaching Singapore at 9.35pm. The flight will depart from Singapore at 10.50pm and arrive in Brisbane at 6.20am the following morning.
Flight EY473 will operate from Brisbane every Saturday, Monday and Thursday departing at 11.25am and arriving in Singapore at 7.05pm. The flight will depart from Singapore at 8.25pm and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 11.59pm.
Engine Fire Forces Jet Back To St Louis
Reuters-A fire in one of two engines on a Chicago-bound American Airlines MD-80 jet forced the plane to return to St. Louis Airport on Friday, officials said.
None of the 137 passengers and five crew members on board was injured, an airline spokesman said.
Flight AA1400, bound for Chicago's O'Hare Airport, took off at 2:12 p.m. EDT, and was back on the ground within 30 minutes, American Airlines spokesman Mary Frances Fagan said.
"It had a left-hand engine fire that occurred after take-off. The aircraft returned to Lambert International safely. No one was hurt, and the passengers were evacuated on stairs," Fagan said.
Firefighters put out a small fire in the engine after the plane landed, Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea said.
Demand for business jets soaring in Middle East
Dubai: The Middle East business aviation market is flush with "active buyers" of business jets, a customer survey by global aerospace giant Honeywell revealed.
The 16th Annual Business Aviation Outlook gave a bullish outlook for the private aviation market and said the region encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa "again ranks as the area with the highest purchase expectations".
Industry-wide, Honeywell Aerospace said deliveries of business jets would exceed 1,000 for the first time in 2007, up from 861 in 2006. So far, sales are up more than 12 per cent compared with the same period last year. In 2008, deliveries are expected to top 1,300.
Yesterday, Airbus' corporate jet division reported similar findings. It said it won a 36 corporate jet sales this year, setting a record.
The Honeywell survey highlights the growing importance of developing markets, while expectations of corporate jet sales in the United States declined slightly,
ICAO Opposes EU Emissions Plan
Reuters - The International Civil Aviation Organization has passed a resolution opposing a European Union plan to include foreign airlines in its emissions trading system, the UN body said on Friday.
"A resolution was adopted which said... that emissions-trading schemes are fine, but they should not be applied to the aircraft of foreign countries without mutual consent," Jeffrey Shane, the undersecretary for policy in the US Department of Transportation told reporters in Montreal.
He said that during recent ICAO meetings, about 42 European governments took "a formal reservation" from that wording.
"They did not want a clause that said, 'ICAO urges states not to apply emissions trading to foreign aircraft without mutual consent'."
The ICAO is a United Nations body created in 1944 to promote the development of civil aviation around the world.
The United States has opposed the plan to include foreign airlines in the EU's emissions trading scheme and pushed the ICAO to let individual countries decide the best way to manage greenhouse gas emissions from their airlines.
The EU Commission plans to include flights into and out of the 27-nation bloc from 2012 in its emissions trading scheme.
Environmentalists say the airline industry must contribute more to reducing greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.
Shane said that all ICAO member states recognize the importance of emissions trading "as one of many tools for addressing emissions from aircraft."
He also that the ICAO will create a "very high-level group" tasked with coming up with an action plan on reducing the aircraft emissions.
September 28, 2007
Bush seeks answers to airport congestion
US President George Bush met yesterday (Thursday) with transportation secretary Mary Peters and acting FAA administrator Robert Sturgell to discuss how to reduce congestion at the country’s key airports. "There's a lot of anger amongst our citizens about the fact that they're just not being treated right," admits Bush. "We've got a problem. We understand there's a problem and we're going to address the problem."
Airport delays in the US rose almost 20% between October 2006 and August 2007, compared with the same period a year before and nearly half of the delays occurred in the Philadelphia-New York corridor.
Transportation Department officials are reportedly considering a plan to make airlines pay a premium to use congested airports at peak times – mainly the afternoon and early evening. However, industry experts suggest any congestion pricing policy would simply lead to higher ticket prices for passengers.
"The bottom line is that there is not much we can do once an aircraft leaves the gate and enters onto the taxiway. At that point, we come under the control of an antiquated air traffic control system," says Bob Reding, an executive vice-president at American Airlines.
Dublin signs T2 contracts: work starts next week
Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has signed seven major construction contracts to allow work to start next week on T2, the new passenger terminal at Dublin Airport. The contracts, which have a combined value of Euro 180 million (US$254 million), were awarded following a major international tender process and cover areas such as concrete, steelwork, cladding and logistics.
The T2 project is a key element of the DAA’s Euro 2 billon (US$2.8 billion) Transforming Dublin Airport programme, which will improve, expand and modernise the passenger facilities at the airport.
“We were pleased with the level and quality of interest in this hugely important project and we are very happy that we have got the right skills at the best price,” says DAA Chief Executive Declan Collier. “We look forward to working in partnership with each of these seven contractors to deliver some of the key elements of T2.”
These first seven contracts represent the initial tranche of 17 separate construction packages that comprise the overall T2 project. The project includes a 75,000m² terminal building, a 24,000m² departures pier and a wide range of other airport campus upgrades. Each contract was tendered separately. The new terminal will cost Euro 395 million, while the overall T2 project has a price tag of Euro 609 million.
Collier says that this multipackage approach would allow T2 to be delivered on time and on budget. “We are focused on delivering T2 within a tight timeframe, and this process allows us to move at the required speed to have the project completed on target and T2 operational in April 2010.”
Bahrain to implement hand baggage rules on Sunday
On Sunday, Bahrain International Airport will belatedly introduce hand baggage regulations to bring it into line with security guidelines put in place by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) last December. Airport director Mohammed Al Kaabi says the implementation in Bahrain was delayed in keeping with the huge incoming traffic after the summer vacations. Under the new rules, all passengers traveling from or transiting through the airport will have to undergo extra security screening for liquids, gels and aerosols. Prescription medicines, accompanied by prescriptions, will be the only exceptions.
Lounge replaces jail for SFO arrivals
San Francisco International Airport has opened a holding lounge for international travelers who arrive with incorrect travel documents. The lounge will enable them to wait in comfort for a return flight instead of in jail, say airport officials. James Kosciuk, of US Customs and Border Protection, claims the holding facility is the first of its kind in the country and could serve as an example for other airports. He adds that around 520 people each year arrive at the airport with incorrect documentation. About 200 are immediately put on return flights, and the others were previously held in jail until a flight could be arranged.
World Tourism Day 2007 praises the role of women in tourism
On the occasion of World Tourism Day 2007 hosted by Sri Lanka in Bentota, a Think Tank was held on this year’s theme "Tourism Opening Doors For Women" and its inter-relationship with the UN Millennium Development Goals. Under the Chairpersonship of H.E. Mrs Nilofar Bakhatiar, a group predominantly of women who have played prominent roles in Tourism around the world discussed:
- The importance of women in the tourism sector.
- Improving the role of women in tourism.
- Accentuating the role of women particularly in developing countries.
The need for AWARENESS CREATION about the opportunities for women and their concerns amongst general policy makers and amongst women themselves.
Creating APPROPRIATE POLICY FRAMEWORKS FOR WOMEN/S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT with tourism as a primary component so that the sector is integrated into mainstream policy making.
The requirement not only to open doors, but to MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR WOMEN TO GO THROUGH THEM, including good training development programmes, targeted information, decent and equal pay, good career development, family support structures and frameworks for ensuring self-respect.
The PARTICULAR OPPORTUNITIES presented by agro tourism, ecotourism, health and wellness, and the creative sector.
The importance of GETTING THE DIVERSE PRIVATE SECTOR ACTIVELY INVOLVED AS WELL AS NGOs AND THE MEDIA; with a fundamental requirement for the Public Sector to put in place and implement legislation for equal opportunity, equal pay and fair working conditions. In respect to the latter, note was taken of the need to address unreasonable working hours particularly for women with families.
The value of SHOWCASING WOMEN with fulfilling jobs at all levels, as well as those showing leadership and career progression.
The timeliness of this discussion in relation to broader action on gender equality and of UNWTO, WITH THE SUPPORT OF UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), CHAMPIONING THIS ISSUE, as well as the importance of carrying this forward into a defined programme and action plan.
The DANGER OF SELF-DELUSION in considering primarily the beneficial aspects of tourism and women while ignoring the darker side of exploitation, harassment, abuse and marginalization.
The significance of INCREASED ACCESS TO CREDIT FACILITIES to encourage women entrepreneurs, and the proven reliability of women in meeting the conditions.
The absence of RELIABLE INFORMATION at a global, regional and national level, and the importance of such information for effective decision making & monitoring.
Against this background the following conclusions were reached:
- To initiate a UNWTO – UNIFEM annual report on the state of Women in Tourism.
- To make this an ANNUAL FORUM and to establish a broader biennial worldwide conference.
- To foster a NETWORK of activists, ambassadors and advocates to support the work of the UNWTO Special Advisor on Women in Tourism, and the establishment of a TASK FORCE to develop a draft Programme of Activity. To put in place a DATA COLLECTION system including desk research, case studies and alignment with the Tourism Satellite Account where feasible.
- To expand the website www.tourismgender.com into a PORTAL for gathering and presenting information, and serving as a framework for continuing focus; as well as a resource pool for gathering and sharing.
- To develop with partners an AWARENESS CAMPAIGN aimed at the industry, governments, media and women themselves, as well as the creation of a global AWARDS SCHEME.
- To strongly urge UNWTO and its Member States to take affirmative action within their power to actively involve women, from all social, economic and cultural spheres, into strategy, policy and operational decision making.
- To urge UNWTO to emphasize these issues within the framework of its Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. World Tourism Day 2007 is an occasion to celebrate women’s achievements in the tourism sector and stimulate continuous action in support of UN’s 3rd Millennium Development Goal: Promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment through to 2015 and beyond.
