World Tourism Day: What and why?

Today is World Tourism Day. Travel is something that has always captured human fantasy. The urge to travel and explore worlds unknown is what led to the creation of the world as we know it today. From Marco Polo to Columbus and Vasco da Gama, travel was earlier associated with exploration and trade.

In the present world, travel is done for leisure. People across the world get through hours of stressful working conditions dreaming of a vacation or even a short trip to let it all out.

Why is World Tourism Day celebrated on September 27?

On this day in 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) was adopted and it was decided that henceforth, the 27th day of September would be observed as the World Tourism day. 

The UNWTO is an international body, headquartered in Spain. It aims to promote responsible, sustainable tourism that is equally accessible to all. It views tourism as a vehicle for economic growth which can also bring about more international integration. India was elected to the executive council of UNWTO in 2009. Presently, 159 countries are members of this organisation. 

UNWTO upholds the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) which is conceived as a fundamental frame of reference to guide all the stakeholders in the tourism industry across the world. It was adopted in 1999. 

Since 1197, UNWTO designates a host country for the World Tourism Day celebrations. This year, Saudi Arabia with the theme ‘Tourism and Green Investments’ is the host. India acted as the host in 2019. The social, economic, political and cultural values of tourism are propagated through such yearly programmes. 

Travel is something that cannot be considered as an isolated event in an individual’s life. Although carried out primarily for leisure, travel helps people gain perspective about lands, cultures and people different from their own. It strengthens relationships between individuals, states and nations.

(Inputs from UNWTO website)