Artigenda
World Tourism Day
When: Annually, September 27.
World Tourism Day is an annually established day on September 27. The day was established by the United Nations (UN).
What is the World Tourism Organization?
De United Nations Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is een organisatie die zich bezighoudt met toerisme wereldwijd. De organisatie, gevestigd in Madrid (Spanje) en is een officiële VN-organisatie. This organisation (surprise surprise) deals with tourism worldwide. In doing so, the organisation represents countries as well as organisations, institutions and companies.
Since there is an organisation of the same name with a similar abbreviation, it is good that you abbreviate it with UNWTO. If you don’t, then it is a completely different organisation. This is because the WTO is the World Trade Organisation, founded in 1995. This is a completely different organisation and has nothing to do with the United Nations or tourism.
Why this day?
It’s a good question to ask. Why should there be such a thing as a day for tourism? Aren’t there important issues the world should be concerned with? Think climate change, famine, war or poverty alleviation?
The answer has been given in the previous section. It is precisely because of that section that a day like today is much needed. It forces us to think carefully about tourism and perhaps not in the way we used to. Take flying to destinations in Europe now, when there are alternatives. Consider travelling by train. Only is it still possible? If it is still possible, for how long?
Visiting countries where democracy is under pressure or where you don’t see the “fine” things as a tourist, such as poverty and famine, is that something you should do? Or what about the areas that are no longer visitable at all due to climate change or will not be visitable in the future? Other areas are no longer accessible due to conflicts or wars.
Freedom of choice
In short, these are issues that come into play when it comes to tourism and which we may not always think about. Besides, we have the freedom and choice to think about how we fill this in. Others do not have this. In addition, certain destinations are not freely accessible to people with disabilities or those with less to spend.
What about countries whose governments prefer not to host certain people? Think of people belonging to the LGBT+ community, for example. If you want to share a room with two people of the same sex because you are in a relationship with each other, sometimes this is already not even possible. What about the horrible exclusions from sanitary facilities in some US states for transgender persons? Those rules are not only there for residents of those states. So they also apply to tourists.
There was a time when we suddenly faced a brief period when tourism suddenly seemed to cease to exist. From one moment to the next. Then to think that tourism has a long history worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic made this “suddenly” no longer possible. We were all forced to rethink what was ordinary and suddenly didn’t seem so ordinary. With that, we had to deal with a situation that for others is part of their lives again daily.
Tourism is still not one of the most “green” sectors. The aviation sector in particular is miles behind. Lots of promises are made. For now, it remains just promises. This leads to social unrest. A day like today allows us to talk about this too. What is the airline industry doing to change this and when will this happen? The same goes for cruise ships or companies offering bus tours, for example. In short, there is still a lot to “green.” The UN also points this out, through its dedicated website on the subject.
In addition, of course, the “hunger” for special destinations should not cause indigenous peoples to find it increasingly difficult. This is also something that is being warned about. That one special destination may well be the habitat of a particular population group. Are they waiting for groups of people? For contact with others, no matter how well-intentioned?
Lots to think about
There is a lot to think about on this day. More than you might initially think upon hearing the name International Tourism Day.
