Tourism has to be ready to participate in the international fight to contain the effects of avian flu given the potentially serious threat it poses to the travel industry, Geoffrey Lipman, Special Advisor to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General, told the Exclusive Travel Conference in Athens.

We in the tourism sector are fundamentally exposed – both as a result of market response and potential regulatory controls on movement in affected regions, he said.

We must be prepared to respond positively to global community initiatives, while seeking to minimize exposure through good planning, informed dialogue and model response programmes.

Mr Lipman, who earlier this month represented UNWTO at the international donor conference in Beijing, where resources and funds were offered to fight the spread of avian flu, said that as the UN agency responsible for tourism UNWTO is gearing up to play its proper part in this global response.

This involves working closely with Ministries of Tourism and stakeholders in the private sector and civil society to build tourism into national preparedness programmes and to send vital messages through our communications channels.

Despite current fears about avian flu, he reassured delegates that tourism had shown incredible resilience over the past five years of almost continual crisis - from terrorism to recession – tracking the annual average growth forecasts of 4% to 5% with remarkable consistency.

During this period the luxury end of the travel market had proved to be the most resilient and the fastest growing segment. To support UNWTO in its mission to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals, he called on travel companies involved in the sector to share your successes with those in the world’s poorest countries.

In the case of Africa, tourism is among the top export earners for the majority of states and is an industry that can stimulate jobs and earnings across an economy, he said.

By helping Africa to triple its tourism export income by 2015 - compared to the current forecast of doubling – spending on tourism could also encourage investment in new infrastructure, especially in aiding health and rural improvements.