Tourism today is a trillion dollar sector involving the movement of over one billion tourists a year around the world and another five to six billion domestically.
World Tourism Day (WTD) is to be celebrated on 27 September. It is considered as the most important international observance day of tourism.
The host of this year’s official celebrations is the Maldives. The theme is: "Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future."
The purpose of World Tourism Day is to foster awareness among the international, national and regional community of the importance of tourism and its cultural, political and economic value.
The event seeks to address global challenges outlined in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to highlight the contribution the tourism sector can make in reaching these goals.
With respect to the 2013 theme for WTD, this is in line with the 2013 United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation.
September 27 is the most widely celebrated global day for tourism, and represents a unique opportunity to raise awareness of tourism’s role in water access and shines a spotlight on the sector’s contribution to a more sustainable water future.
Tourism has proven to provide environmentally sound solutions, as well as political and financial support, for the conservation and sustainable use of water resources, however more must be done.
With a record one billion international tourists traveling in a single year in 2012, now is the time to commit to a more sustainable tourism sector in order to protect our common future.
This year’s theme highlights tourism’s role in water access and shines a spotlight on the actions currently being taken by the sector in order to contribute to a more sustainable water future.