Goals and Points of Concern of Air Highways Magazine

Added: 06/23/2006

Launched in 1995, Air Highways Magazine emerged as a result of the publishing of a series of travel maps displaying diverse models of transportation. Thousands of copies of the magazine were distributed by the company's customers Avis Rent A Car and Best Western Hotels to their clients in North America. This resulted in the assignment by Canada's Government to create a supermap of air routes, as travelers were interested in how to get to various destinations in fast and convenient manner.

After introducing Air Highways Magazine, the World Tourist Organisation (WTO) organized the Air Highway Day event with the aim of showcasing member airports to the travel trade. This was followed by another successful event - the Air and Marine Tourism Expo. Launched jointly with ATA was also Africa Travel Magazine that is today a widely reputed entity in the field, together with the 2,400 page web site leading the pack in a number of search categories.

The main point of concern in the launching of Air Highways Magazine is that most travelers have no access to the variety of travel options available. To improve the situation, the WTO introduced Air Highways to Africa in March 2006, just like it did in North America in the early 1990s. Copies of the original Air Highways Magazine, as well as Asia Pacific edition were soon available on PDF lists. The Organization also encourages the travelers' comments for the new edition.

The launch of Air Highways Magazine was very much related to the WTO Tourism Code of Ethics. It was one of the main areas of concern when starting the magazine with the intention of protecting cultural heritage and natural environment of the earth from the continuous growth of international tourism, a Global Code Ethics for Tourism was approved by world leaders during the summit meeting in Santiago. This code sets out a ten-point blueprint for protecting the tourist-related resources and ensuring beneficial impact of the tourism and sustainability of the industry. The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is composed of nine articles that outline basic rules for tour operators, governments, tourist organizations, destinations, travel agents and travelers. The latter are required to learn about the security risks and health hazards of destinations they are planning to visit, while tourism professionals and destinations bear responsibility for repatriating travelers in case of travel service provider's bankruptcy. Both public authorities and investors are required to provide information on the environmental impact before starting tourism development projects. Other articles deal with the rights of workers in the travel and tourism industry, as well as the freedom of movement of people across national boundaries.

The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism was developed after consultation with trade associations, governments, private sector companies, labor unions and non-governmental organizations.

The WTO General Assembly held in Santiago attracted over 800 delegates from 115 nations worldwide, including 60 secretaries of state for tourism. Among items on the agenda were the release of the new sturdy published by the WTO Business Council Marketing Tourism Destinations in the Information Age and a session on Tourism and Cyberspace. Approved during the meeting was also a new program for measuring economic impact of tourism activity, known as the Tourism Satellite Account. Member nations were urged to begin implementation of the system as a means of raising awareness concerning the vital role of travel and tourism in national economies.

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