World Travel Market launches Responsible Tourism Day

The UN family and the Tourism Industry celebrates World Tourism Day each 27th of September. Now in a first extension, the World Travel Market has launched Responsible Tourism Day with the UNWTO as its major partner, focusing on practical action by the industry and other stakeholders in this critically important area.

The need for a more responsible attitude in tourism, especially towards host communities, has become evident in recent years. Responsible Tourism is an important consumer and corporate component of triple bottom line sustainability - economic, social and environmental.

“We see World Responsible Tourism Day as a logical outreach programme which each year will help carry our UN awareness program into action oriented initiatives,” said UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General, Geoffrey Lipman.

These aspects are embodied in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, approved by the UNWTO General Assembly in 1999, and subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2001. If the principles of the code are observed, tourism will progress towards becoming more sustainable and tourism operators can be said to be aware of their responsibility.

The launching of a World Responsible Tourism Day, to be celebrated every year during the World Travel Market in London, one of the most important gatherings of the tourism industry, hopes to stimulate actions by tourism companies, tourists and public tourism stakeholders in the right direction.

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