Tour of airfields in the United Arab Emirates and participation in the World Travel and Tourism Council 13^th Global Summit.
April 2 - 12, 2013

Chris Armstrong, CEO of TourWrist, demonstrated a viewer app for vivid and dynamic 360 degree photography.		During the WTTC, Laura Turner Seydel, Chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation spoke on the dedication and means for giving the next generation an understanding and love for the natural world.

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Members of the race route committee toured the United Arab Emirates airfields for review of capabilities and logistics support for refueling and landing during the World Sky Race. Introductions were provided by the United States Embassy in Abu Dhabi and meetings were conducted with the senior representative for the Federal Aviation Administration for the Middle East for the United States. A series of meetings were held with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority. The race committee members toured the Al Bateen Executive Airport and Skydive Dubai. The Al Bateen Airport has hosted the Red Bull Air Races. Skydive Dubai is the center of the Federation Aeronautics International Sky Diving championships for the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East. Bothe Mr. Yousif Al Hammadi, General Manager of the Al Bateen Executive Airport and Mohammed Al Mazemi, Director of Skydive Dubai have extensive experience in working with Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the official aviation sports authority that will be officiating the World Sky Race.

The World Travel and Tourism Council held its 13th Global Summit in Abu Dhabi April 9th through 10th. The keynote speaker was President Bill Clinton. Don Hartsell, Commissioner of the World Air League was the personal guest of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai. During the Summit introductory meetings were held with Dr. Michael Frenzel chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council. The meeting with Dr. Frenzel furthered mutual interests on environmental sustainability and the impact of the World Sky Race on global tourism.

During the Summit an agreement with TourWrist was reached which covered collaboration, software support and hardware development for documenting the World Sky Race in advanced 360 degree high resolution photography. This 360 degree perspective is cutting edge photography that allows the viewers to see as if they were in the center of a sphere looking in any direction and it will provide a spherical look of the world as seen by the sky teams. According to Don Hartsell, Chairman of the World Air League, “This is an exciting development that will add to the grandeur in documenting the WSR by providing interactive 3-dimensional participation by viewers as we go around the world. Essentially, this is photography without any frame or boundary. With this perspective, it will be a very exciting way for children and the world to see the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.” Chris Armstrong, CEO of TourWrist, “We are pleased to be involved in this historic race which will provide a unique means to document the world.”