It was ratified unanimously by the TIA Board of Directors at a recent meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada and it will be submitted for final approval at the WTO General Assembly to be held in Beijing, China in October 2003.

�TIA has been interacting with the WTO as an affiliate member for years since the USA is such a large factor in world tourism,� stated William S. Norman, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association of America. �As the organization representing the common interests of the U.S. travel industry, it was an obvious decision for us to take our relationship to the next level by creating a Working Agreement with the WTO to achieve our common goal of increasing tourism worldwide. That has never been more important than in the context of today's uncertain economic and geo-political environment.�

WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli expressed great satisfaction about the agreement. �This document is in line with our commitment to public-private sector partnership in order to restore tourist confidence and to keep the tourism system operational. In this regard our Working Agreement with TIA has a strategic value, which will undoubtedly have a positive influence on future tourism development in the world.�

Among the common objectives shared by TIA and the WTO are to develop tourism, create jobs and to enhance peace and understanding. In working more closely together, TIA and the WTO have agreed to support and enhance each other's key initiatives where appropriate and consistent with each organization's strategic plan and resources. The Working Agreement recognizes TIA's role in uniting the U.S. travel industry under the SeeAmerica brand and marketing campaign to create new jobs and promote economic stability, as well as the WTO's role as the leading international intergovernmental organization in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism worldwide.

Key executives from both organizations will serve on a number of TIA and WTO committees. The WTO's Chief of Market Intelligence and Promotion, Augusto Huéscar, will serve on both the TIA Research Committee and the TIA SeeAmerica Marketing Committee. The WTO's Chief of Press and Communications, Rok Klancnik, will serve on TIA's Communications Committee.

TIA President and CEO William S. Norman will serve on the WTO Strategic Group and the WTO Tourism Recovery Group while Mark Hoy, TIA vice president for International Marketing, will serve on the WTO Business Council and the WTO Market Intelligence and Promotion Committee. In addition, TIA senior executives Dr. Suzanne Cook, senior vice president for Research and Technology Planning, Betsy O'Rourke, senior vice president for Marketing and Communications, Elyse Wander, senior vice president for Government Affairs & Member Programs, and Dexter Koehl, vice president for Public Relations and Communications will be actively involved in other WTO activities.

Both parties will review the agreement at the end of November 2003.

Travel Industry Association of America
TIA (www.tia.org) is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $537 billion travel industry. TIA's mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States.

Contact:
Cathy Keefe (Manager, Media Relations)
202-408-8422
ckeefe@tia.org , www.tia.org