Travel WORLD TOURISM DAY MESSAGE

World  Tourism  Day  (WTD)  will  commemorate  its  30th anniversary  this  year.  The celebration will be hosted by one of our  first Member States, Ghana, under  the  theme Tourism: Celebrating Diversity.

Diversity is one of the driving forces behind tourism and can allow all nations to share the numerous benefits brought about by building stronger ties with other countries. As such,  tourism  is  an undisputed  catalyst  for  building  understanding,  fostering  social inclusion and promoting higher standards of living.

This  type  of  unity  and  collaboration  is  increasingly  important  as  the  world  comes together  to  face  climate  change  and  ensure  sustainable  development,  particularly  in the  context  of  the  current  economic  crisis.  These worldwide  partnerships  allow  for  a more effective and global response to issues which concern us all.

Globalization must be understood as a means  to  improve economic collaboration and international  understanding,  but  not  at  the  cost  of  diluting  the  rich  cultural  diversity present  in our world;  in  this  respect,  travel and  tourism can and must play a key  role.

Tourism  shares  the  social  responsibility  of  promoting  the  positive  aspects  of globalization  and  as  such must  direct  these  global  networks  towards  balanced  and sustainable development. 

It  is against  this background  that over  the years WTD has become a  renowned event that  has  successfully  addressed  key,  tourism  related  global  socio-economic,  cultural and political issues.

I am  very pleased  to be  celebrating  this  year’s World Tourism Day  in a  continent as diverse as Africa, which has known how  to valorize  this diversity  through  tourism and which looks forward to achieving much in the way of sustainable tourism development.

UNWTO would like to thank Ghana for hosting this important event.

We all look forward to celebrating World Tourism Day with you!  

 

Taleb Rifai

Secretary-General a.i.

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

 

WORLD TOURISM DAY MESSAGE