Photo. Into wilderness in Africa.
Based on information from a Press Release from World Tourism Day 2009 – ‘Tourism - Celebrating Diversity’ – Host Country – Ghana, Madrid, Spain, 11 June 2009. Website: www.unwto.org
Other than adding perspective to the role of globalization in balancing tourism influx and environmental and cultural sustainability, this year’s theme also aims to shed light on the most human side of the industry – its capacity to build understanding, foster social inclusion and promote higher standards of living.
UNWTO Secretary-General a.i., Taleb Rifai, underscores tourism’s potential as a reliable job creator and contributor to economic wealth. “There is increasing awareness of tourism’s role as a productive activity and its undisputed potential to generate employment, government income and other benefits whether directly or through induced effects in the economy. Tourism is a global industry and as such has a responsibility to make positive contributions world wide.”
This year’s host is Ghana, one of the Organization’s first member states and a key player in UNWTO’s Sustainable Tourism for Elimination of Poverty (ST-EP) programme. The Ghanaian government has scheduled a series of forums and cultural events that will stretch through the week of the 21st of September and climax with UNWTO’s Think Tank and press conference on the 27 September.
UNWTO is expecting high involvement of international tourism stakeholders from the public and private sector to participate in this event. Like every year promotional material and communication tools to commemorate Tourism Celebrating Diversity are available on our website.
Read the UNWTO World Tourism Day 2009 Message.
World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on 27 September. Its purpose is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The event seeks to address global challenges outlined in the UN Millennium Development Goals and to highlight the contributions the tourism sector can make in reaching these goals.
Contact Information:
Assistant Secretary-General & Spokesperson: Geoffrey Lipman
Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
T: +34 91-567-8178 / +34 91-567-8100 / F: +34 91-567-8218
comm@UNWTO.org - www.UNWTO.org
Addtional information
Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27. This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted. The adoption of these Statutes is considered a milestone in global tourism. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO/OMT) is a specialized agency of the United ýNations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a ýglobal forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.
UNWTO plays a central and decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, ýsustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the ýinterests of developing countries.
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