The New York State Division of Tourism is pursuing an initiative to encourage visitors to the U.S. to explore the whole of the state of New York rather than limiting their trip to its most famous city.

The International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) featured H.E. Senator Akel Biltaji, Special Advisor to H.M. King Abdullah II, Jordan as Moderator and PATA President and CEO, Mr. Peter de Jong framing this timely debate at World Travel Market.

This year World Travel Market (WTM)’s Technology & Online Travel Sector will be exhibiting some of the latest developments in the digital world with the must-have tools needed to ensure business success.

World Travel Market 2007 is nearly 2 percent larger compared to last year, welcoming 5,402 exhibitors from more than 200 represented regions and countries. There are four new countries which are exhibiting for the first time or returning after a long absence: Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino, Gibraltar and the Yemen.

The importance and influence the hotel sector plays at the heart of the travel and tourism industry is reflected by the record number of hotel exhibitors and MICE Travel Day being sponsored for the first time by the Greek National Tourism Organization. Following the success and positive feedback of last year’s hotel panel discussion, Hotels 2006 will review what has happened within the sector over the past year whilst looking at trends, opportunities and challenges to be faced in 2007.

The explosion of websites this year signals a new trend of user-generated content that is sweeping the boards, as customers have their say through blogging, debating, sharing their expertise and even uploading their own photographs. Social media, as this latest phenomenon is called, is the hottest topic to hit online travel, fueling a debate over whether businesses should allow internet users to contribute to a site rather than just read it, to widen the knowledge base and expand the content.