“Tourism and rural development” will be the motto of World Tourism Day

The 2020 edition of World Tourism Day will celebrate the exceptional capacity of tourism to create opportunities outside of big cities and preserve cultural and natural heritage around the world.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) highlights that celebrated on September 27 under the slogan of “Tourism and rural development”, this year comes at a critical moment, when countries around the world look to tourism to promote recovery, and So do rural communities, where the sector is an important employer and economic pillar.

“The 2020 edition also comes when governments set their sights on the sector to recover from the effects of the pandemic and at the same time that the recognition of tourism at the highest level in the United Nations grows,” he said.

He stressed that tourism has been a vehicle for integration, empowerment and income generation.

He indicated that for the first time in the forty-year history of World Tourism Day, the official celebration will not be sponsored by a single Member State of the United Nations specialized agency, but by the nations of the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Chile as an observer).

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Around the world, tourism empowers rural communities, offering employment and opportunities, especially for women and youth. Tourism also enables rural communities to celebrate their exceptional cultural heritage and traditions, and is a vital sector in safeguarding habitats and endangered species ”.