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Have you ever gazed out of an aircraft window at a mountain range, city, island or small cluster of lights in the middle of a desert and asked “I wonder what that is down there? Who lives there? What mountain range am I flying over?” The Hidden Journeys Project, run by Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), aims to answer these questions and enliven the flying experience by providing interactive guides to air travellers about the parts of the world they fly over from departure to arrival.

Tourism experts from international organizations, United Nations agencies and the tourism public and private sector have outlined how green innovation in tourism can drive sustainable development by reducing costs, boosting revenue, creating jobs and improving resource efficiency (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 June).

Ministers of tourism and high-ranking officials meeting at the 93rd session of the UNWTO Executive Council have highlighted the role of tourism in addressing continuing challenges in the world economy, from a slowdown in growth to global unemployment (Madrid, Spain, 12-13 June). “On this occasion, I would like to underscore the role of tourism as a creator of jobs in today’s difficult situation, especially among younger populations who find themselves unfairly denied access to the labor market,” said His Royal Highness Prince Felipe of Asturias, Spain, opening the 93rd session of the UNWTO Executive Council.

Tokyo is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, pushing Luanda, Angola, down to second position, according to Mercer’s latest Cost of Living Survey. Osaka is in third position, up three places from last year, whereas Moscow remains in fourth and Geneva in fifth positions. Singapore and Zurich share sixth place, up two and one places respectively since 2011. Ndjamena, Chad, drops five places, but Hong Kong retains its ninth place.

At the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL)/UNWTO Silk Road Think Tank, 170 future hospitality leaders presented innovative strategies for how ten UNWTO Member States can maximize their positioning as Silk Road destinations (Lausanne, Switzerland, 4 June 2012). A panel of judges consisting of EHL management, UNWTO officials and Member States representatives selected the three winning student teams who developed the most outstanding strategies for Azerbaijan (first place), the Altai Krai region of the Russian Federation (second place) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (third place). The winning team will visit Altai Krai later this year to work with the local government to develop a comprehensive Silk Road tourism strategy for the region.

Lausanne, Switzerland – IMD business school, a Switzerland based global leader in executive education, has released the results of its yearly World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY). Countries are evaluated and ranked in the WCY in terms of how efficient they handle their economy and human resources to boost their wealth.

Wellington, New Zealand - Less than a month before world leaders meet at a major environmental summit, a new report warns that New Zealand is failing to protect some of its iconic species and habitats following a series of broken promises made at the Earth Summit 20 years ago.

Visa facilitation is central to stimulating economic growth and job creation through tourism. The G20 can have a particularly important role to play in this respect. G20 economies could boost their international tourist numbers by an additional 122 million, generate an extra US$ 206 billion in tourism exports and create over five million additional jobs by 2015 by improving visa processes, according to preliminary research by UNWTO and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) presented on the occasion of the T20 Ministers’ Meeting.

The two-day meeting, Partnering with the Media in Challenging Times, is the second in UNWTO’s series of conferences on the relationship between tourism and the media. Organized in collaboration with the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA), and with CNN as media partner, the conferences aim to increase awareness of tourism among the mainstream media and forge closer relations between the two.

The UK will only welcome an additional 330,000 international visitors as a direct result of hosting the London 2012 Olympics, reveals research at WTM Vision Conference London. Euromonitor International Head of Travel and Tourism Research Caroline Bremner told senior travel industry delegates, at the event organised by Reed Travel Exhibition’s World Travel Market, the UK will welcome 29.4m international visitors this year, a 2% increase on 2011, or 588,000.