Ukraine's state tourism agency to become member of European travel body

KYIV. May 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The European Travel Commission (ETC) has formally invited the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (SATDU) to join in, SATDU head Mariana Oleskiv said.

"The general meeting of ETC members, heads of national tourism agencies (NTA) in Europe, issued a decision to grant membership to the State Agency for Tourism Development for at least three years on free of a charge basis. Once this period elapses, an additional decision on a standard membership will be adopted," the SATDU press service said in a statement.

ETC's main mission is to represent interests of national travel agencies of European countries, to promote European countries as a tourist location around the globe, to provide unique expertise to its members and a sustainable basis for strategic cooperation and exchange of best practices, it said.

"The decision on a complimentary membership in ETC for Ukraine is an act of solidarity on the part of European colleagues, will allow SATDU, the only official nationwide body in the sphere of tourism, to use all the resources of this organization,", the Ukrainian agency said.