The discussion and Q&A; focused on security; many of the same concerns that were raised in Washington were raised in this Summit. In an effort to avoid redundancy, only new insights gained will be reported here. In particular, the group advanced the work of previous Summits in the area of communications and industry public relations.

It was generally agreed that while there has been progress in strengthening airport and airplane security measures, it is perceived that the media has focused on the negatives much more than the positives. For example, we read about how reporters from one New York City publication were able to get through airport security with knives. However, there is a sense that the many successful airport security interventions with respect to knives and other potential weapons are not receiving the same press attention.

No one at the Summit was arguing that there are not important security issues that need to be dealt with aggressively. Indeed, there are many. Instead, the group believed that the facts-discomforting ones as well as comforting ones-need to be laid out for the traveling public along with a straightforward assessment of security risks present in the air travel environment. Done correctly, travelers will be able to put the risks and rewards of travel into proper perspective and make an informed and rational judgment with regard to travel plans.

In support of this communications imperative, it was widely accepted that there needs to be accountability with respect to commitments made. The government, airlines and airports should be held to their implementation plans for new safety measures. A sort of "report card" would be useful that holds all parties' feet to the fire. We do not want to have a repeat of the PanAm 103 situation where important recommendations were never implemented.

It was strongly felt that the travel industry rather urgently needs an overall public relations campaign to reach travelers with clear, fact-based assessments of security risks and improvements against plans. Such a campaign is seen as required to shorten the amount of time it will take for the industry to recovery. A fast industry recovery will impact workers less onerously, and the number of competitors from all industry segments that survive will increase. We need to think about and seek to preserve as many competitors for the long-term health of the competitive structure of the business travel industry as possible.