Tourism has committed to embrace its unique role as a pillar of peace and understanding. On World Tourism Day 2024, UN Tourism brought sector leaders from every global region together around a common vision and commitment to building a “peace-sensitive sector”, recognizing its potential to build bridges and foster understanding.
The official celebrations in Tbilisi, Georgia, welcomed almost 500 participants from 51 different countries, including 13 Ministers of Tourism. Reflecting its firm commitment to the day and its theme of "Peace and Tourism", the host country was represented by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as well as seven other Ministers, showcasing tourism's cross-sectoral importance.
Welcoming delegates, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, stressed that "without peace, there is no tourism". He said: "I call on all of you to help build a –'peace-sensitive tourism sector', one that plays a key role in building peace and ending conflicts, provides tourism stakeholders with tools to realize this potential, promotes tourism education as peace education, and links tourism to other peace building initiatives".
Without peace, there is no tourism
Reflecting on the theme of World Tourism Day 2024, "Tourism and Peace", the official celebrations featured a Ministerial Debate focusing on what this looks like in action. Ministers representing Georgia, Uzbekistan, Sierra Leone and Bahrain, made clear how peace and security are the foundations for prosperity, providing examples from their own countries and personal travels of how tourism connects people and promotes understanding. Key takeaways include the important role of tourism in combatting disinformation and mistrust, and the essential need to ensure the benefits tourism delivers are enjoyed fairly and equally across societies.
To complement the public sector view, the day also featured a private-sector panel. The dialogue explored the private sector's potential and responsibility and to leverage its strengths and capabilities to promote peace and stability through tourism, and how it can work with the public sector to achieve these essential goals. And from the field of entrepreneurship and digital innovation, panellists highlighted the potential for tourism to rebuild in post-conflict and create resilience against future shocks.
Summing up the dialogues, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica Edmund Bartlett said: "Tourism recognizes differences, it embraces similarities. Tourism has a place for you and embraces you. That's the essence of the power of tourism to make peace."
Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of UN Tourism, set out the case for tourism investments as key to both growth and peace and opportunity. She said: "We have seen time and again how tourism can transform post-conflict regions, provide employment and foster entrepreneurial initiatives. The private sector must remain committed to using its resources to build peace and create opportunities in emerging and vulnerable regions."
On the occasion of World Tourism Day, UN Tourism launched the latest edition of its growing portfolio of investment guidelines. "Tourism Doing Business: Investing in Georgia" showcase the immense potential of the country as an investment destination. With an average GDP growth rate of 5% over the last decade, Georgia also received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows surged of USD 2.3 billion in 2022, marking the highest investment inflow ever recorded. In spite of a challenging international environment, in 2023 FDI inflows reached USD 1.9 billion in 2023.
The Guidelines also outline the key factors making Georgia and its growing tourism sector an attractive destination for international investors, including:
On World Tourism Day 2023, leaders from every global region have united around a shared determination to invest in the sector's growth and transformation. Held around the theme of "Tourism and Green Investments," the celebrations of the Global Day of Observation have been the biggest and most impactful on record.
Hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the official celebrations in Riyadh brought together more than 50 Ministers of Tourism alongside hundreds of high-level delegates from both the public and private sectors. They were joined by UNWTO's Member States and other tourism stakeholders around the world celebrating in their own countries. Welcoming them all, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili and Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia Ahmed Al Khateeb, emphasized the need for the whole of the sector to step up investments that deliver for People, Planet and for Prosperity.
Tourism must lead the way in accelerating our shift to greater resilience and sustainability. For this, we need more investment, as well as the right kind of investment
Opening the celebrations, His Excellency Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb reaffirmed the Kingdom's commitment to tourism development and strong support of UNWTO's mission. He said: "It is a privilege and honour to host World Tourism Day in Riyadh. Let's celebrate our achievements in coming back strongly from the pandemic. But let's also travel with confidence into the future. A future where large countries and smaller countries can work together to achieve amazing things. And let's all move in harmony towards a new horizon for global tourism."
UNWTO Secretary-General Pololikashvili said: "Tourism must lead the way in accelerating our shift to greater resilience and sustainability. For this, we need more investment, as well as the right kind of investment. That is the central message of this year's World Tourism Day, a message that is being amplified from the official hosts of the celebrations, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and echoed around the world by our Members everywhere."
Exploring the meaning behind Tourism and Green Investments, the official World Tourism Day celebrations featured a series of expert panels, each focusing one key priority for the sector right now. These included: Investing in people, through education and jobs; Investing in destinations, including new destinations and products to reduce overcrowding and diversify benefits; investing in innovation and entrepreneurship, and Investing in green transformation.
The expert-led discussions, which featured contributions from Ministers of Tourism as well as from business and finance leaders, were complemented by strong actions as UNWTO announced several key initiatives:
The legacy of the World Tourism Day 2023 celebrations will live on in the shape of greater investments in the sector's sustainability and a shared commitment to spread the benefits the sector delivers even more widely.
Hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the official celebrations welcomed more than 50 Ministers of Tourism alongside hundreds of high-level delegates from the public and private sectors. The day featured expert-led panels focused on key topics around this year's theme of Tourism and Green Investments, with plans backed up with concrete actions as UNWTO announced several important new initiatives.
This year has been the biggest World Tourism Day ever, and we want to make sure it leaves the biggest impact too
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: "This year has been the biggest World Tourism Day ever, and we want to make sure it leaves the biggest impact too. From Riyadh, we have joined our global sector around a pledge to promote new destinations, to diversify the economic and social benefits of tourism, and have announced a new school that will transform tourism education in the Middle East."
In Riyadh, Secretary-General Pololikashvili introduced "Tourism Opens Minds", a landmark initiative designed to showcase the powerful role that tourism plays in bridging cultures and fostering peace and understanding. With UNWTO's latest data indicating the sector is well on track to recover as much as 95% of pre-pandemic arrivals numbers by the end of 2023, Tourism Opens Minds is designed to ensure that this strong recovery is joined by a greater emphasis on tourists exploring less-visited destinations. The focus will be on:
To mark the launch, UNWTO unveiled a new symbol for the initiative, made up of the colours of the various flags of the world, and shared a pledge for the sector to unite around. A special pledge, to be supported by Governments, private sector leaders and tourists themselves, was shared with select delegates, calling on them to commit to promoting new and diverse travel destinations.
To ensure that the World Tourism Day 2023 celebrations leave a lasting impact in Riyadh and across the wider region, UNWTO Secretary-General Pololikashvili joined with Saudi Arabia's Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb to announce a joint project focused on creating new generations of skilled tourism workers:
The stage is set for World Tourism Day 2023, with the global sector to come together around them theme of Tourism and Green Investments.
In what is set to be the biggest celebration to date, the official celebrations will be held of 27 September in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At UNWTO's Member States will mark the occasion in every region through a range of special events and programmes.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says: "Tourism has never been more important for our economies or for our societies. Its potential is enormous. And so on this World Tourism Day, we celebrate tourism's ability to drive growth while also highlighting the vital need for investments to ensure such growth is inclusive and sustainable."
Tourism has never been more important for our economies or for our societies
On World Tourism Day 2023, UNWTO will place the emphasis on Tourism and Green Investments. The day will focus on the importance of:
In Riyadh, UNWTO will present its Global Tourism Investment Framework and hold a series of high-level panels focusing on the challenges and opportunities surrounding investment in tourism. The official World Tourism Day celebrations will also see the winners of the inaugural UNWTO Women in Tech Startup Competition for the Middle East announced.
World Tourism Day is set to be the biggest celebration so far. UNWTO will welcome representatives from more than 100 of its Member States, including more than 50 Ministers of Tourism. Joining them will be high-level representatives from tourism's private sector, both from the Middle East region and globally.
The first World Tourism Day was held in 1980. As the Global Day of Observance for tourism, it offers a chance to celebrate the sector's vital role in advancing peace and prosperity and UNWTO's global regions take turns in hosting the official celebrations, always around a timely and relevant theme.
The date of 27 September marks the day the Statutes of the Organization that became UNWTO were signed.
Positive transformation for both people and planet was the central message of World Tourism Day 2022. Held around the theme of ‘Rethinking Tourism’, the Global Day of Observation emphasized the sector’s unique potential to drive recovery and deliver positive change for people everywhere.
Hosted by the Republic of Indonesia, in the popular destination of Bali, the official celebrations brought together leaders from across the public and private sector, including the largest and most diverse number of Ministers of Tourism in the history of World Tourism Day. They were joined by tourism stakeholders around the world celebrating in their own countries, united around the timely theme of rethinking and transforming the sector.
Opening the celebrations, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed the unique opportunity presented to tourism to pause, reflect and recalibrate. He said: “The restart of tourism everywhere brings hope. It is the ultimate cross-cutting and people-to-people sector. It touches on almost everything we do – and everything we care about. Tourism’s potential is now recognized more widely than ever. It’s up to us to deliver on this potential.”
Tourism’s potential is now recognized more widely than ever. It’s up to us to deliver on this potential
Joining UNWTO in emphasizing the potential of tourism to deliver wide-reaching change, the Minister of Tourism for the Republic of Indonesia, Sandiaga Uno, noted: “The most important assets in tourism are its people and the planet. We must ensure the best support for both.” In Bali, UNWTO commended Indonesia for going beyond words and taking concrete steps to transform tourism, notably by becoming the first country in the Asia and the Pacific region to sign up to the ambitious Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism and its goals to reach Net-Zero emissions for the sector by 2050 at the latest.
Also adding his voice to the celebrations, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Tourism has the power to foster inclusion, protect nature & promote cultural understanding. We must rethink and reinvent the sector to ensure its sustainability.”
To mark the day, UNWTO launched its first World Tourism Day Report, the first in an annual series of updates and analysis of the Organization’s work guiding the sector forward. The inaugural report is titled “Rethinking Tourism: From Crisis to Transformation”, reflecting the timely relevance of the 2022 theme as well as the unprecedented crisis that hit the sector in 2020.
The report charts UNWTO’s work uniting the sector in the face of crisis, leading tourism’s response and laying the foundations for a more inclusive and resilient future, with updates on work in every global region as well as in key areas including gender equality, sustainability and climate action, tourism governance and investments and innovation.
On the eve of World Tourism Day, UNWTO also presented the G20 Guidelines on Strengthening MSMEs and Communities as Agents of Transformation in Tourism on the occasion of the G20 Tourism Ministers Meeting in Bali. The Guidelines provide guidance for key policies that can create resilient and sustainable MSMEs and communities around the pillars of human capital, innovation, youth and women empowerment, climate action, and policy, governance and investments. They also draw up over 40 cases studies from G20 members and guest countries focused on the promotion of MSMEs and communities.
Joining UNWTO in Bali for the World Tourism Day celebrations were Ministers of Tourism of Indonesia, as well as of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Korea, Fiji, Spain, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, alongside the Vice Ministers of Tourism for Cambodia and Japan and high-level representatives from Germany, Canada and the United States of America.
