World Tourism Day Celebration
Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, has officially announced the commencement of the celebration of World Tourism Day 2010, under the theme Tourism and Biodiversity.
World Tourism Day has been celebrated since 1979. The aim of the day is to highlight the significance of tourism for the economy, social bonds and culture. It also points to the role of tourism, which goes beyond giving pleasure, and which, in numerous countries, is the driving force for growth and the only way out of poverty and underdevelopment.
This year’s theme provides a good opportunity to raise public awareness of the close relationships between the development of tourism, protection of biodiversity and the fight against poverty.
Official World Tourism Day 2010 celebrations will take place on September 27th in Guandong Province, China.
The Secretary-General also encourages everyone to participate in the World Tourism Day Photo Competition and to publish photos and stories about WTD celebrations, as well as initiatives in the fields of tourism and biodiversity, on the official website of the World Tourism Day.
This year Poland’s World Tourism Day celebrations will take place in Gdynia. The Polish Tourism Organization and Gdynia City are the official organizers of the tourism industry’s festivities in Poland. The choice of Gdynia as the venue was very deliberate, as in Gdynia the tall ship STS Fryderyk Chopin will complete its cruise which is part of the largest campaign promoting Poland. During its three-month voyage around Europe, the ship called at the largest ports of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, Denmark and Sweden. Some of the results of this campaign will be presented at a photo exhibition, in film footage and in stories told by the participants and ambassadors of the voyage .
The second theme of the Great Finale in Gdynia will be the Chopin Year and Chopin himself – the musician, composer, international cuisine connoisseur and tourist.
The agenda of the celebrations (September 18th-19th, 2010) includes many surprises, i.e. performances, tasting world cuisine during the Gdynia Cooking Weekend, the Liquid Space installation by world-famous architect Daan Roosengarde, and many more attractions.