World Tourism Day 2023

25 September, 2023Azores

World Tourism Day celebrates the importance of tourism in culture, economy, politics and society. Every year on September 27, several countries take initiatives to make communities aware of the importance of sustainable tourism development.

This day has been celebrated since 1980 and was chosen because in 1970, on September 27, directives were implemented that are now considered pillars of today’s tourism. The suggestion came from an important figure in the global tourism community, Ignatius Amaduwa Atigbi. His contributions to tourism planning on a global scale have made him one of the protagonists of the sector’s modern development, and he has been dubbed the “Tourism Czar” and “Mr. World Tourism Day”.

World Tourism Day 2023

This year, 2023, World Tourism Day takes on the theme of “Tourism & Green Investments”. With this theme, the UNWTO aims to call for investments that promote developments that benefit not only local people, but also the environment, in order to promote green growth.

It is therefore calling on the entire tourism community, be it governments, financial institutions, private sector companies or others, to adhere to a new tourism investment strategy that promotes sustainable development for the locals and their inhabitants.

This year, Saudi Arabia will host World Tourism Day and organize the event’s official ceremony, which will be attended by some of tourism’s leading voices in fields such as development, investment, research and analysis, among others. These figures will make presentations and take part in debates aimed at finding solutions to this year’s theme.

The program will be structured as follows:

Wednesday – September 27th

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Opening Ceremony & Welcome Speech;
10:30 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. | SETTING THE SCENARIO, presentation of the UNWTO Global Tourism Investment Framework;
10:40 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | The Power of Tourism: Building Bridges;
11:15 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. | Investing in our people: is tourism acquiring the right talent?
11:50 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Special Communication;
12:00 p.m. – 12:35 p.m. | Investing in our destinations: the potential of the unknown;
12:35 p.m. – 1:10 p.m. | Investing in our planet: flying towards a sustainable future;
1:10 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. | Lunch;
2:50 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. | Investing in our prosperity: closing the innovation gap;
3:25 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Investing in our prosperity: Boosting entrepreneurship;
4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.| final of the “Women in Technology for Start-ups” competition.

Thursday – September 28th

10:00 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. | Opening remarks;
10:10 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. | Public Sector Session: A sustainable future for travel and tourism;
10:55 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. | Coffee break;
11:10 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. | Public-Private Sector Session: A seamless end-to-end travel experience;
11:55 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | World Tourism Day video;
12:00 p.m. – 12:05 p.m. | Ceremony to award World Tourism Day 2024 to Georgia;
12:05 p.m. – 12:20 p.m. | Group photo;
12:20 p.m. – 12:25 p.m. | Closing remarks.