I am delighted to send greetings to the eighteenth session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization.

As the United Nations specialized agency for the promotion of sustainable tourism, the UNWTO has important contributions to make to the world's efforts to respond to the global economic crisis and deal with other global challenges.

As reflected in your debates on the Roadmap for Recovery, your efforts to make tourism more sustainable can help the world address climate change, achieve the Millennium Development Goals and build a greener economy. I hope your voices will be heard as negotiators seek to seal a deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

Tourism is among the major socio-economic phenomena of our times, and rightly occupies an important place on the United Nations agenda. I wish you every success in your deliberations.