World Tourism Organization General Assembly Re-Elects Francesco Frangialli as Secretary-General

The General Assembly re-elected Francesco Frangialli to the post of WTO Secretary-General from 1 January 2006 until the end of 2009 on Tuesday. Mr. Frangialli was re-elected by 85 votes to 14. "I am very honoured to have been endorsed once more," he said after the results were announced. "The 85 votes in favour show there is broad support for the guidelines and management of the Organization. It would be worrisome if we were all in agreement," he stressed. His re-election came after he received overwhelming support from the WTO Executive Council when it met in Nessebar, Bulgaria in June. As has happened in the past, the General Assembly decided to follow the recommendation of the Executive Council. Mr. Frangialli joined WTO as Deputy Secretary-General in 1990 and succeeded Antonio Enr?quez Savignac ad interim from September 1996 before being elected Secretary-General in 1997. He was re-elected in 2001 for the years 2002-2005. Before moving to Madrid he was Director of the Tourism Industry in France, the most senior officer in the national tourism administration. Mr Frangialli says he is motivated by three goals in what will be his new term. 1. To consolidate what he has achieved: While the current financial situation of WTO is excellent, careful management is needed to diversify the Organization's resources and make it less dependent on contributions from member states. Remarkable progress has been made in increasing the core membership to 150 nations. But there are still gaps, he says, notably the United States and some northern European countries. 2. Building on the foundation of the major advances made: The need to maintain and strengthen the level of credibility attained with the launch of the Tourism Satellite Account; to continue the fight against the negative environmental, social and cultural effects of tourism highlighted in the Global Code of Ethics; and exploiting all the synergies now available to WTO since becoming a full member of the United Nations System. 3. Preparing for the future: His principal aim is to further extend tourism's contribution to poverty alleviation through sustainable development - the ST-EP initiative - which promises a radical advance in assistance for developing countries. "When I have achieved these three objectives I will have finished my mandate," he also said. For further information contact: Rok Klancnik, WTO Press and Communications Department T: (34) 91-567-8191 / F: (34) 91-567-8218, [email protected] www.world-tourism.org End.

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