By Bisola Adeyemo
World Tourism Day is celebrated annually across the world on September 27.
It was on this day in 1970 when the United Nations World Tourism Organization were adopted which are considered a milestone in global tourism.
This year, World Tourism Day highlights tourism’s unique ability to ensure that nobody is left behind as the world begins to open up again and look to the future.
This is additional to the day’s objective to highlight the travel sector’s importance in preserving and promoting culture and heritage all around the world.
Purpose of this day focuses on raising awareness on the important of tourism in affecting the social, cultural, political and economic values of international community. In the ongoing pandemic times, and various disasters causing by climate change.
The impacts of climate change around the globe affect tourism demand directly, interfering with the choice of destination and the period of the trip, also affecting the quality of the experience, adverse perception after some extreme event and insecurity about the destination.
An additional 32 million people were pushed into extreme poverty in 2021 due to various disasters causes by climate change in least-developed countries.
Many people especially, women have been hit hardest by the global crisis caused by the pandemic and one reason for this is that they mainly work in the tourism and other sectors that were most-affected by Covid-19 spread.
The theme for World Tourism Day 2021 is “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. UNWTO has designated it such as an opportunity to look beyond tourism statistics and acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person.
According to UNWTO, World Tourism Day “is the global observance day fostering awareness of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value and the contribution that the sector can make towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The theme for World Tourism Day 2021 is “Tourism for Inclusive Growth”. UNWTO has designated it as an opportunity to look beyond tourism statistics and acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person.
In a statement, UNWTO mentioned that it, along with the United Nations specialized agency for responsible and sustainable tourism, is guiding the global sector towards inclusive recovery and growth.
“UNWTO ensures every part of the sector has a say in its future – including communities, minorities, youth and those who would otherwise be at risk of being left behind,” the statement read.
