In news– World Tourism Day is observed every year on September 27.
About World Tourism day-
- World Tourism Day’s first celebration took place in the year 1980.
- This date was chosen to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the UNWTO Statutes on 27 September 1970.
- The theme of World Tourism Day, 2021 is ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth‘.
- To mark the event, the Prime minister launched NIDHI 2.0 (National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry) and ‘India Tourism Statistics – At a Glance, 2021’.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Tourism, the UNEP and The Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) to actively promote and support ‘sustainability initiatives’ in the tourism sector of each other.
About UNWTO-
- It is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
- It is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
- It was established on 1 November 1975 (45 years ago).
- Secretary-General is Zurab Pololikashvili.
- UNWTO’s membership includes 159 Member States, 6 Associate Members and over 500 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.
- The official languages of UNWTO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
- The General Assembly is the principal gathering of the Organization that meets every two years to approve the budget and programme of work.
- Every four years it elects a Secretary-General.
- The General Assembly is composed of full members and associate members.
- The Executive Council is UNWTO’s governing board, responsible for ensuring that the Organization carries out its work and adheres to its budget.
Source: Indian Express
