Soni to chair UNWTO Executive council meeting

New Delhi, Oct 13 (UNI) Union Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni will chair the 84th session of United Nations World Tourism Organisation's (UNWTO's) Executive Council Meeting being held in Madrid, Spain, during October 14-15.

She left for Madrid early this morning and would return to New Delhi on October 16.

A Study conducted by tourism experts on global imbalances and tourism growth would be presented in the UNWTO Executive Council Meeting, which would highlight the steps that could be taken by member states for promoting tourism in the current economic scenario.

The Executive Council would also be presented with a summary of the findings of the Working Group entrusted with studying the facilitation of tourist travel to make seamless travel a possibility.

The UNWTO is a specialised agency of the United Nations and the leading international organisation in the field of tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. It plays a central and decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the interests of developing countries.

The Executive Council is UNWTO's governing board, responsible for ensuring that the Organisation carries out its work and adheres to its budget. It meets twice a year and is composed of 30 Member countries elected by the General Assembly. As the host country of the UNWTO's Head Quarters, Spain has a permanent the seat in the Executive Council. The Executive Council meets between sessions of the UN General Assembly and takes all administrative and technical decisions as may be necessary.

India was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Executive Council at the 82nd meeting of the UNWTO Executive Council held at Cartagena de Indias, Colombia in November 2007.

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