Global Travel & Tourism industry unite to do MASSIVE GOOD
Innovative travel-related fundraising initiative will help finance health care for the world's poor
Sydney, 24 September 2009: Leading representatives of the Global Travel and Tourism Industry joined today, for the first time ever, to declare their support for a new ambitious global health initiative, MASSIVEGOOD. The project was created by the Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health, and will allow travellers to give a ’micro-contribution’ every time they purchase travel services, which will go towards fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries. The initiative has the potential to raise up to $1 billion in additional funding for global health during its first four years of operation. “We pledge, by supporting this initiative, to encourage our industry to help raise funds to treat the sick in the poorest of our world’s countries,” affirms the declaration signed by major travel industry representatives. The announcement was made on the first day of the UN General Assembly, during a meeting of the Task Force for Innovative Finance for Health, spearheaded by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, representing the industry at the announcement, stated: "As the leaders of an industry that is central to the global economy, generating almost one out of every ten dollars spent in the world and employing 220 million workers, we recognize this responsibility." Leading representatives of the global travel and tourism industry joined in signing a declaration of principles committing their support to the Millennium Foundation and the launch of MASSIVEGOOD. Signatories included the World Travel and Tourism Council; Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport, which represent the leading Global Distribution Systems (GDS), managing the world’s airline reservation networks; leading online travel agent Opodo; American Express Business Travel and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, as travel management supporters; Voyageurs du Monde as a leisure travel agent supporter; Mondial Assistance as Call Center partner and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.. The initiative, baptized today as MASSIVEGOOD, will seek to raise additional needed funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, through a WHO-hosted organization, UNITAID. “The biggest crisis the world is facing is the glaring inequalities in access to health care between the rich and the poor,” Dr. Philippe Douste-Blazy, Chairman of the Millennium Foundation, United Nations Under-Secretary and Special Advisor for Innovative Finance for Development, stated. “The Millennium Foundation has been privileged to have such supportive and active partners in this endeavor, without which the project could never have had such overwhelming success,” added Dr. Bernard Salomé, the Foundation’s Managing Director. The technology solution for MassiveGood was developed by Amadeus, and can be integrated into all GDS systems and embedded in the regular booking system for airline tickets and other travel reservations. As a result, MASSIVEGOOD will make it easy for everyone who travels to make a small ($2) micro-contribution through a simple click each time they book their reservation, whether online or through an agent. This is the first major fundraising initiative launched by the Millennium Foundation, whose mission is to mobilize new sources of innovative funding to achieve the three health-related Millennium Development Goals agreed to by the United Nations in 2000: to treat and fight life-threatening diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; to reduce childhood mortality; and to improve maternal health. Notes to the editors
FACTS:
• Malaria kills 1 child every 30 seconds - $2 can treat 2 children against malaria.
• Tuberculosis kills 1 person every 15 seconds - $24 can cure 1 adult of TB.
• HIV/AIDS kills 1 person every 13 seconds – 40€ can treat 1 child for a year.
• Every 3 seconds, a child under the age of 5 dies in low-income countries.
• Every minute, a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth.
• The travel and tourism industry’s different sectors (air, hotel, car rental and train) together account for 9.4% of the world’s GDP (about $5,800 billion) and 8% of global employment (220 million jobs worldwide).
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Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories – Distribution & Content, Sales & e-Commerce, Business Management and Services & Consulting.
Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters & marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (Operations – data processing centre) and regional offices in Miami, Buenos Aires and Bangkok. At market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations through 69 local Amadeus Commercial Organisations covering 217 markets.
The company is majority owned by WAM Acquisition, whose shareholders are BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. Amadeus employs over 8,570 employees worldwide, representing 105 nationalities.
More information about Amadeus is available at: http://www.au.amadeus.com
About Millennium Foundation
The Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health ("Millennium Foundation") is a Swiss not-for-profit organization created in 2008 whose mission is to create a sustainable source of needed additional funding to achieve the three health-related Millennium Development Goals agreed to by the United Nations in 2000: to treat and fight life-threatening diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; to reduce childhood mortality; and to improve maternal health. To achieve its mission, the Millennium Foundation aims to inspire and empower citizens to join a global movement of solidarity dedicated to reducing the glaring inequalities in access to health care between the rich and poor. The initial focus is the creation of MASSIVE GOOD, an innovative fundraising solution that makes it easy for all those who travel to make micro-contributions aimed at saving lives by fighting life-threatening diseases among the world’s most vulnerable populations. For additional information, visit: http://www.millennium-foundation.org.
About Mondial Assistance
International leader in Assistance, Travel Insurance and Personal Services, today the Mondial Assistance Group counts more than 9 817 employees who speak 40 different languages and work throughout the world with a network of 400,000 service providers and 180 correspondents. 250 million people, or 4% of the world’s total population, benefit from its services, which the Group provides on all five continents. Mondial Assistance is a member of the Allianz Group.
About Sabre Travel Network
Sabre Travel Network, a Sabre Holdings(R) company, provides the most comprehensive end-to-end solutions for corporate and leisure travel. The Sabre(R) GDS is the foundation for these solutions, providing a ready-built efficient marketplace that connects travel suppliers, including hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels, with more than 55,000 travel agency locations. Currently, Sabre collectively handles over 70 percent of the BTN 100 bookings.
Key brands of Sabre Travel Network include GetThere(R), for corporate travel reservation technology; Nexion(R), a host agency; SynXis(R), for hotel reservation management, distribution and technology services; E-site marketing, specializing in online business solutions exclusively for the hospitality industry, TRAMS(R), mid- and back-office solutions and marketing services for travel agencies; and TRAMS ClientBase Marketing Services, a marketing promotions services for leisure travel agencies.
Sabre Holdings connects people with the world’s greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com.
About Travelport
Travelport is one of the world's largest travel conglomerates offering broad based business services to companies operating in the global travel industry. Travelport is comprised of the global distribution system (GDS) business that includes the Worldspan and Galileo brands; GTA, a leading global, multi-channel provider of hotel and ground services; IT Services and Software, which hosts mission critical applications and provides business and data analysis solutions for major airlines. With 2008 revenues of $2.5 billion, Travelport operates in 160 countries and has over 5,500 employees.
Travelport also owns approximately 48% of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW), a leading global online travel company. Travelport is a private company owned by The Blackstone Group, One Equity Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures and Travelport management.
About UNITAD
Established in 2006 under the auspices of the United Nations, UNITAID is an innovative finance mechanism that operates an international drug purchase facility aimed at lowering the price and accelerating the availability of high quality drugs and diagnostics to patients in need. With initial backing of the governments of France, Brazil, Chile, Norway and the United Kingdom, UNITAID is currently supported by 29 countries through a national levy on airline tickets or direct governmental contributions. UNITAID receives over 70% of its funding from a tax on airline tickets, which is currently implemented in seven countries. Through these sources, UNITAID expects to raise $370 million annually by the end of 2009. Visit www.unitaid.eu for more information.
About World Travel & Tourism Council
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world's leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 220 million people and generating over 9.4 per cent of world GDP.
