World Tourism Day – Year of Tourism and Rural Development

World Tourism Day is celebrated each year on 27 September. World Tourism Organization has named 2020 as the year of Tourism and Rural Development.

The day of 27 September was declared International Tourism Day in 1979 by the World Tourism Organization. This celebration took place for the first time in the entire world in the year 1980.

Starting with the twelfth session in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 1997, the UNWTO General Assembly chose to name a host country each year to act as the Organization’s partner in the anniversary of World Tourism Day.

Beginning with the fifteenth session in Beijing, China, in October 2003, the assembly chose the next geographic plan to be followed for World Tourism Day festivities: 2006 in Europe, 2007 in South Asia, 2008 in the Americas, 2009 in Africa, and 2011 in the Middle East.

UNWTO has named 2020 as the Year of Tourism and Rural Development. This year is an opportunity to promote the potential of tourism to create jobs and opportunities. 

Tourism and Rural Development are more connected than ever as the global tourism sector faces up to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism in rural areas offers essential opportunities for recovery. This connection helps in supporting rural communities facing the pandemic’s economic and social impacts.

The UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said:

Tourism helps rural communities hold onto their unique natural and cultural heritage, supporting conservation projects, including those safeguarding endangered species, lost traditions, or flavors.

The main purpose of World Tourism Day is to raise awareness among the worldwide community of the value of tourism and its social, cultural, political, and economic value.

The WTO defined Tourists as following

Persons traveling or staying in places outside the area of their permanent residence for not less than twenty-four (24) hours, but not more than one year consecutively, for recreation, business, or other unrelated of the exercise of an activity remunerated in the town visited.

We all should enjoy the statute of tourists, regardless of the health problems that we have or the financial difficulties. We should also be aware of the importance of tourism in the sustainable development of any country.

Therefore, I wish you a lovely day to understand more intense the value of this day.