Russia now is a member of the Committee of Affiliate Members of UNTWO

During the seventeenth session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNTWO), Russia became a member of this intergovernmental tourism industry organisation, which counts 153 members.

The elections took place on 27 November 2007, during the European Travel Commission's summit. Four candidates were originally expected to be selected to join the Executive Council of UNWTO. Aside from Russia, France, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Romania and Slovenia also qualified for their place. Before voting took place Vladimir Strazalkovskiy, Chief Negotiator for Russia, and Director of ‘Rostourism', made a speech.

Overall Russia and Italy received the most votes (25), France – 19 and Kazakhstan gained 16. This means that from 2007-2011, Russia will assist in making the most important decisions for the tourism industry.

Russia has already been part of the Executive Council (2001-2005) and was even twice elected as its Chairman. During this period, the UN made a decision to include the World Tourism Organization in its specialised agencies list. During the same period, Russia, in co-operation with France and Spain made prime corrections to the UNWTO Statutes, which raised the organisation's status in the tourism industry.