UNWTO selects hosts for tourism meets

The 20th United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly has selected Mexico to be the official host country for World Tourism Day (WTD) 2014 and Burkina Faso for WTD 2015.

The respective themes will be ‘Tourism and Community Development’ for 2014, and ‘One billion tourists, one billion opportunities’ for 2015, states the UNWTO release.

Celebrated annually on 27 September, the World Tourism Day is the biggest international event in tourism. Its purpose is to foster awareness among the global community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value.

The event seeks to address the global challenges outlined in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and highlight the tourism sector’s contribution to achieving these goals. According to the release, WTD 2013 will be held in the Maldives, and centre on the theme ‘Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future.

source: the himalayan times,31 August 2013