| Skål is the only international organization which
brings together all branches of the travel and tourism industry.
Representing the industry's managers and executives, Skålleagues meet at
local, national and international levels in an environment of friendship
to discuss subjects of common interest.
 Shortly
after the inauguration of the first joint Swedish and French air service
between Stockholm and Paris in 1932, a group of travel men from the
French capital were invited to make an exploratory flight over the new
route. The welcome they received in Stockholm led to many pleasant
friendships.
Realizing the importance of closer relationships among those who strive
to develop and promote both national and international travel, the men
who made the flight to Stockholm were determined to found a permanent
organization whose primary aim would be the creation of goodwill and
friendship in travel and transportation circles throughout the world.
The Paris Skål Club was formed on December 16, 1932, with Rene Genestie
as President. In 1934, twelve other clubs had been formed and Florimond
Volckaert conceived the idea of uniting them into an international
organization. The Association International des Skål Clubs (A.I.S.C.)
was created on April 28, 1934, and Volckaert became its founding
President.
On April 1, 1938, the Skål Club of North America (Skål Club of New York,
No. 28) was founded.
As the first Skål Club established in North America, the New York Club
assisted and guided in the formation of other Skål Clubs on this
continent. Canada's first Skål Club was established in Montreal,
followed by Vancouver and then Toronto.
From that modest beginning, Skål now has more than 25,000
members in over 500 Clubs, spread throughout 80
countries. As in other associations of professionals (such as Rotary,
Oddfellows and Lions), most Skål activities take place within the Clubs,
but the movement also features National and Area Committees coming under
the umbrella of the A.I.S.C. (Skål
International), which has its own
Secretariat in Torremolinos, Spain.
Skål is managed by an Executive Committee of seven members, elected by
Club delegates to the General Assembly, which is held in conjunction
with the World Congress. This five-day Congress is hosted by a different
country each year, thus offering members and their companions the
opportunity of observing, first hand, the travel and tourism industry
potential of other countries.
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