(TAN): The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day, celebrated on September 27, will emphasize on the role that tourism plays in providing opportunities outside of big cities and preserving cultural and natural heritage all around the world.
Celebrated with the theme of “Tourism and Rural Development”, this year’s international day of observation comes as communities in rural areas also struggle with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. These communities are usually much less-prepared to deal with the short and longer-term impacts of the crisis. This is due to a number of factors, including their aging populations, lower income levels and the continuing “digital divide”.
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Governments around the world look to tourism to find solutions to all these challenges and drive recovery from the effects of the pandemic. This has also been recognised at the highest level of the United Nations.
In a recent Policy Brief on tourism, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “For rural communities, indigenous peoples and many other historically marginalized populations, tourism has been a vehicle for integration, empowerment and generating income.”
For the first time in the 40-year history of World Tourism Day, the official celebration will not be hosted by a single member state of the United Nations specialized agency. Instead, nations from the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Chile joining with observer status) will serve as joint hosts. This co-hosting agreement exemplifies the spirit of international solidarity that runs through tourism and which the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has recognized essential for recovery.
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UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said, “All around the world, tourism empowers rural communities, providing jobs and opportunity, most notably for women and youth. Tourism also enables rural communities to hold onto their unique cultural heritage and traditions, and the sector is vital for safeguarding habitat and endangered species. This World Tourism Day is a chance to recognize the role tourism plays outside of major cities.”
