The OpenTravel Alliance participates in World Tourism Day -Supports Partnership with UNWTO

The OpenTravelAlliance (OTA), the travel industry's leading specifications publication organization, participates in the global celebration of World Tourism Day on September 27, 2006.

“Tourism Enriches” is the central and straightforward theme of the day, and it highlights the impact of travel and tourism on all aspects of culture. Countries and travel organizations worldwide will mark the day to increase awareness of the importance of travel to the world's economic and cultural health.

Mr. John Turato, Chairman of the OTA and AvisBudget Group, will join international travel and tourism leaders in Lisbon, Portugal, for the official activities to celebrate the day.

“One of the aims of the Tourism Enriches initiative is to link individual tourism entities to the larger community of international tourism,” said Mr. Turato. “OTA's mission, to create specifications that allow data to move between travel entities, speaks directly to that goal for this campaign. It gives OTA great satisfaction to be a full partner of the UNWTO and support this very important event.”

The OTA and UNWTO joined forces earlier this year to strengthen the common language for electronic travel interactions around the world. Together they will seek to involve an increasing number of stakeholders and to extend the scope of the existing XML standards.

According to the UNWTO, international travel and tourism is the worlds largest export earner, and employs millions of people around the world. Monies generated help fund new infrastructure and technologies, and provides governments with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues every year.