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¡¡¡¡Information Exchange: to raise awareness of sustainable tourism and its implementation, of best practices for sustainable tourism, and to problem dialogue on implementation of sustainable tourism.

¡¡¡¡Capacity Building: to develop and strengthen human resources and institutional capacities in government at national and local levels, and amongst local communities for effective implementation of sustainable tourism.

¡¡¡¡Principal Organs of WTO & Its Membership

¡¡¡¡The principal organs of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) are the:

¡¡¡¡General Assembly

¡¡¡¡The General Assembly is the supreme organ or the World Tourism Organization. It meets every two years to approve the budget and programme of work, and to debate topics of vital importance to the tourism sector. Every four years it elects a Secretary-general. The General Assembly is composed of voting delegates representing Full Members and Associate Members. Affiliate Members ýªand representatives of other international organizations participate as observers.

¡¡¡¡Executive Council

¡¡¡¡The Executive Council is WTO's governing board, responsible for ensuring that the organization carries out its work and sticks to its budget. It meets twice a year and is composed of 26 members elected by the General Assembly in a ratio of one for every five Full Members. Associate Members and Affiliate Members participate in Executive Council meeting as observers.

¡¡¡¡Regional Commissions

¡¡¡¡WTO has six regional commissions ¨DAfrica, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. The commissions meet at least once a year øåand are composed of all the Full Members and Associate Members from that region. Affiliate Members from the region participate as observers.

¡¡¡¡Committees

¡¡¡¡Specialized committees of WTO members advise on management and programme content. These include: the Programme Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, the Statistics Steering Committee, the Environment Committee, the Quality Support Committee, and the Education Centres Network.

¡¡¡¡Secretariat

¡¡¡¡The secretariat is led by Secretary general Francesco Frangialli, who supervises about 80 full time staff at WTO¡¯s Madrid headquarters. These officials are responsible for implementing WTO¡¯s programme of work and serving the needs of members.

¡¡¡¡The Affiliate Members of WTO are supported by a full time Executive Secretary at the Madrid headquarters, a position that is financed by the Spanish govern ment. An advisory Council of Affiliate Members¡¯ meets once a year to make programme recommendations to the Secretariat. The Secretariat also includes a regional support office for Asia-Pacific in Osaka, Japan, financed by the Japanese government.