HOLY SEE OBSERVER ATTENDS WTO MEETING IN MADRID

VATICAN CITY, JUN 3, 2003 (VIS) - Msgr. Piero Monni, Holy See permanent observer to the World Tourism Organization, is in Madrid, Spain to attend the 70th session of the Executive Council of the WTO, a two-day meeting which starts today.

The communique from Msgr. Monni's office announcing this meeting states that international tourism has suffered deeply from events linked to the September 11 tragedy, the recent war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS, which has been especially serious in several parts of the world.

"The SARS crisis," says the note, "in addition to the cost in human lives, has also blocked the flow of travellers to the areas that have been struck, rendering even more problematic the resumption of the tourist market not only for the Asian continent, but also in adjacent areas. Such problems, considered crucial for the development and future of the world's tourism industry, will be analyzed and discussed within the framework of the Madrid WTO meeting."

The Executive Council will also discuss the following topics: the process of transforming the WTO from an organization into a specialized institution of the United Nations; the need to increase sustainable tourism; the importance of developing quality in tourism and promoting ethical values; the opportunity to continually monitor tendencies in the travel sector and to prepare statistical data linked to the tourism market; preparations for the WT0's 25th General Assembly, set to take place in Beijing from October 17 to 24; and the expansion of the European Union and subsequent repercussions on tourism.

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