World Trade Centers Association - WTCA

Short History

The modern concept of World Trade Center was first introduced in 1959 by David Rockefeller, who was the Chairman of the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association at the time. David Rockefeller applied to New York Governor and City Council, telling them about his vision to build a project that would serve as the gathering place for all state agencies and industrial players with a view to improving international trade, and also offered to name it World Trade Center. The authorities welcomed his vision and decided that the project would be financed and built by the Port Authority of New York.

The project of the Port Authority of New York was endorsed in 1961, a young man, named Guy Tozzoli, who is the President Emeritus of WTCA today, was appointed to conduct and complete the project. Under the leadership of Guy Tozzoli, the project was developed into a extensive international trade center, featuring business information services, a trade institute and a range of other business services. Many business players across the world recognized the benefits of this concept and began to develop projects to build a world trade center in their own cities or territories.

The first formal meeting of the World Trade Centers Association was held in Tokyo in 1970 with 16 representatives from 7 countries in attendance and Guy Tozzoli was elected as the first Chairman of the Association. During the meeting, the legal structure and by-laws of the Association were formulated. Today, with its more than 300 members in more than 100 countries, the World Trade Centers Association is one of the leading organizations, promoting and steering international commerce.

World Trade Centers Association

Purpose and Mission

The purpose for which the World Trade Centers Association was established is to promote international commerce and ensure commercial integration among countries with assistance from the World Trade Centers across the world. The Association refuses political approaches of any nature.

Mission:
  • Encourage the expansion of world trade.
  • Promote international business relationships and understanding among nations.
  • Foster the increased participation in world trade by developing nations.
  • Create and encourage mutual assistance and cooperation among members.
  • Promote and further the concept and services of the World Trade Center.
Benefits of WTCA Membership:
  • Eligibility to participate in training programs intended to provide guidance on the development and management of World Trade Centers.
  • Individual consultancy services.
  • Uninterrupted exchange of information and networking with other World Trade Centers.
  • Cooperation with other World Trade Centers.
  • Access to global programs created by WTCA (WTCA Online, Trade Card, WTC University, etc.)
  • Participation in regular and special meetings.
  • Right to use the World Trade Center mark and logo.
  • Opportunity for global publicity.
  • Opportunity to offer solutions for international trade issues.
Major Services Offered by World Trade Centers:
  • Trade information services.
  • Guidance for in-bound and out-bound trade missions.
  • Display and exhibit services.
  • Office lease services.
  • Conference and meeting facilities leasing services.
  • World Trade Center Club membership services and other relevant services.
  • Trade education services.
  • Simultaneous interpretation and office services.
  • Technology-based trade support services ( website, online services, etc.)
  • World trade library.
  • Accommodation at hotels within the World Trade Center.

Major World Trade Centers and Their Business Segments

Today, there are nearly 300 World Trade Centers across the globe and a major portion of them are engaged in the real estate and trade fair industries. They lease out their business centers under long or short-term contracts. In addition to that, they also operate hotels within their building complex. Some World Trade Centers offer trade fair services on the vast trade fair grounds.

On the other hand, there are also other World Trade Centers with smaller budgets and smaller facilities, providing other trade services that World Trade Centers normally offer, such as trade information services, trade missions, translation and office services, and club membership. The Dubai World Trade Center is one of the leading World Trade Centers in terms of trade fair services. Its trade fair ground, currently under construction on a dessert area of 3,000,000 sqm, will be the world’s largest once completed. Also, other World Trade Centers like Moscow, Seoul, Ekaterinburg, Rotterdam, Brussels, Bahrain and Taiwan are also noteworthy developments, built as part of large-scale development projects and, just like in Turkey, featuring business centers, trade fair grounds and accommodation facilities.

Some other World Trade Centers, like those particularly in the US and or those in Antwerp, Paris, Cologne, London, Athens and Trieste, that lack the necessary resources for such large-scale development projects, tend to offer other WTC services, building club membership schemes and trying to stand on their own feet from membership fees.

By-laws :

The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) is governed by a Board of Directors, consisting of 25 Directors, pursuant to its By-laws. The President is elected by the Board of Directors and holds a permanent Director’s seat on the Board. Directors are elected by the full-members of WTCA for a term of four years.

WTC Istanbul’s General Manager Haluk KANCA was elected Board member of WTCA during the 41st General Assembly meeting held in Beijing between 10 and 13 October 2010. In June 2011, he was elected to the Executive Committee of WTCA. He is the first Turkish national ever been elected to WTCA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee in WTCA’s history.