World Tourism Day, celebrated annually on 27 September, will be taking place this year in Accra, Ghana. As part of the official celebrations UNWTO will collaborate with the host country to organize a Think Tank around the 2009 theme 'Tourism: Celebrating Diversity'.
This will be World Tourism Day's 30th anniversary and presents an opportunity to highlight the wealth of cultural and natural diversity across the globe as well as the role of sustainable tourism in preserving this diversity. Diversity has long been the driving force behind tourism which in turn has become an engine for socio-economic development, poverty alleviation and international understanding. As world leaders come together to tackle the challenges of climate change and the economic crisis, diversity will continue to drive tourism, engendering international cooperation and ensuring sustainable development.
Following the successful experience of previous World Tourism Day celebrations, UNWTO is organizing with the host, Ghana, a Think Tank based on the World Tourism Day Theme: 'Tourism: Celebrating Diversity'. Bringing together leading public and private tourism stakeholders as well as members of the media and UNWTO representatives, the Think Tank promises to be instrumental in raising awareness of the significance of diversity and sustainable tourism.
The Think Tank will:
• Highlight tourism's capacity to maintain diversity in the face of globalization
• Outline how tourism can enhance cultural and environmental diversity
• Consider the role of tourism in engendering international cooperation
The main purpose of World Tourism Day is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values.
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