The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) announced Wednesday that senior vice president Mark Meader signed the United Nations World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

Meader signed the agreement as part of the opening of the 4th Summit of Travel Agencies Associations at the Palau de la Generalitat in Spain during a formal ceremony that included Spanish government officials and United Nations representatives.

The Travel Agencies Associations summit runs through Friday in Valencia and will feature Meader speaking and moderating a panel of chief executive officers and presidents of global agency associations from each continent.

As the ASTA representative, Meader will discuss the topic of "Worldwide Travel Agencies: Market Trends," with each panel member sharing data from their respective markets. The hope is to spread knowledge and help build the community of travel agents around the world.

The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism was originally adopted in 1999 by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization and then officially recognized by the UN two years later.

The UNWTO's list of 10 codes applies to economic, social, cultural and environmental components of travel and tourism. The official website of the World Tourism Organization provided a full list of the tourism ethics codes:

-Article 1: Tourism's contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies

-Article 2: Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfillment

-Article 3: Tourism, a factor of sustainable development

-Article 4: Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and contributor to its enhancement

-Article 5: Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities

-Article 6: Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development

-Article 7: Right to tourism

-Article 8: Liberty of tourist movements

-Article 9: Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry

-Article 10: Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

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