Travel advisories on WTO agenda

TRAVEL advisories, trade liberalisation and health in international travel were the main issues addressed by the World Tourism Organisation's (WTO) quality support and trade committee on April 15 when it met for the first time under the new chairmanship of Portugal. There are a number of continuing concerns about travel advisories, including the lack of geographical specificity and the nature of the threat, consultation with the affected country, updating of the advisory, and inconsistencies amongst advisories issued by different states. The WTO said that travel advisories must be managed in such a way as to maximise the protection of travellers and minimise the impact on travel, trade and development. (Lucy Siebert)