World Tourism Day has been observed by the United Nations World Trade Organization internationally on the 27th September of every year ever since 1980. It is also the anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on 27th September 1970, regarded as a milestone in global tourism.

The objective of the day is to raise awareness on the role played by tourism in fostering brotherhood within the global community, and how it actually influences social, political, economic and cultural values all over the globe. The theme for World Tourism Day 2019 would be “Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future for All”. India is playing host to this year’s World Tourism Day. Here are some of the salient points of World Tourism Day 2019:

1. Need for pushing new tourism and travel policies all over the world to create fresh jobs for the youth, especially women.

2. Jobs in tourism should be generated as it’s also a reflection of the impact of information and technology on the travel sector.

3. Though tourism can provide millions of job all over the world, it is highly understated. Figures show as much as 10 percent of the total jobs worldwide to have been generated by this evergreen sector.

4. Notably, India was chosen among the various countries of Asia because it abounds in a myriad of cultures, languages, traditions, arts, cuisines, history and even ethnicity.

In 2017 and 2018, the theme of the World Tourism Day was “Sustainable Tourism” and “Tourism and Digital Transformation” respectively.

In 1997, it was decided by the UNWTO General to select a host country every year to partner with the organization’s initiatives in the observance of World Tourism Day. But it was only in the 15th session of the organization held in Beijing, China in 2013 that the following of geographical order was decided for celebrating Word Tourism Day thereafter.