World Tourism Day to focus on the importance of water

To be held this Friday (27th September) the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's World Tourism Day aims to highlight tourism's role in water access and shine a spotlight on the actions currently being taken by the sector in order to contribute to a more sustainable water future, as well as the challenges ahead.

Supporting the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation, World Tourism Day (WTD) 2013 is being held under the theme 'Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future'.

Official WTD celebrations will take place on Friday in The Maldives, but United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will be addressing the many links between tourism and water all year.

As the most important international observance day for tourism, WTD 2013 is a worldwide platform to underscore tourism´s responsibility and commitment in ensuring a sustainable water future.

In a special message to mark WTD 2013, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stated "this year's World Tourism Day highlights the responsibility of the tourism industry to safeguard and intelligently manage water.

"In this International Year of Water Cooperation, I urge tourism establishments to cut consumption and improve waste management and I call on individuals to play their part by making environmentally conscious choices when they travel."

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai added "World Tourism Day offers a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on water both as an asset and as a resource and on the actions needed to face up to the water challenge.

"I urge all those involved in the tourism sector to join our global World Tourism Day campaign and continue to devise innovate solutions to ensuring tourism contributes to sustainable access to water resources worldwide."

For more information go to http://wtd.unwto.org/

27th September 2010 - CELEBRATING WORLD TOURISM DAY AND NEW ZEALAND’S $21.7 BILLION TOURISM INDUSTRY