World Tourism Day 2019
World Tourism Day
World Tourism Day is observed each year on 27 September, with celebrations led by the UN World Tourism Organisation. It aims to promote awareness among the global community of tourism’s social, political, cultural and economic value and the potential of the tourism sector in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
It creates a unique opportunity to create awareness about tourism and its potential. Many types of events are organized all over the globe on this occasion and can help to foster mutual understanding among individuals from different parts of the world.
Host Country and Theme 2019
India, for the first time, was chosen as the host country for the observance of World Tourism Day 2019. A mega function was organized in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi over three days. Inauguration of the celebrations was made by the Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu and Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the UNWTO made the opening remarks at the event. National Tourism Awards were also presented by the Vice President.
India was chosen as it has a different geographic entity than the rest of Asia. India has different tourism choices like diverse cuisines, music forms, art, adventure places, and history to offer to tourists.
The 2019 theme for World tourism day was ‘Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all’.
Tourism is labor-intensive and is a major source of employment and creates a significant multiplier effect on employment in related sectors. It is estimated that one job in the core tourism sector creates about one-and-a-half additional or indirect jobs in the tourism-related economy. Overall tourism accounts for one in ten jobs worldwide.
Tourism is a contributor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a target in Goals 8, 12 and 14. The sector’s contribution to job creation is specifically recognized in Goal 8, target 8.9. This states: “By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products”.
New policies should be made to maximize tourism’s potential and to improve job quality and increase employment, especially for women and youth. New policies should also put in place to incorporate ongoing technological advancements.
Policies and actions should be geared towards addressing the current mismatch between tourism skills that are taught and those that tourism employers need. This requires a holistic approach to the future of work in tourism, with heightened cooperation between all actors, including the public and private sectors.
World Tourism Day- History and Significance
International Union of Official Travel Organisation on 27th September 1970 held a special assembly in Mexico City and adopted the Statues of the World Tourism Organisation. Later in September 1979, UNWTO decided to institute World Tourism Day which was first celebrated on 27th September 1980. 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. Also, September end marks the end of tourist season in the northern hemisphere and beginning of the same in the southern hemisphere. Every year this day is celebrated with a different theme. The theme of the day was "sustainable tourism", in 2017. In 2018 the theme was "Tourism and the Digital Transformation" and in 2019 the theme is "Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all".
At its Twelfth Session in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 1997, the UNWTO General Assembly decided to designate a host country each year to act as the Organization's partner in the celebration of World Tourism Day.
The main purpose of this day is to raise awareness within the international community about the role tourism plays and to show how it affects social, political, cultural and economic values worldwide. We cannot ignore the fact that Tourism is a dynamic industry and is ever growing with the present-day technological advancements and the occurrence of new tourist destinations. It has also become an important income-generating sector in developing countries.
Source: UNWTO website, Wikipedia