UN calls for responsible tourism on World Tourism Day

As global tourism players celebrate World Tourism Day (WTD) Thursday, the United Nations asked the trillion dollar sector to cut water consumption and ensure a sustainable water future.

"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," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In line with the 2013 UN International Year of Water Cooperation, the theme for World Tourism Day is Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future. This year's theme highlights unsustainable consumption and climate change threatening global water resources and tourism's role in water access.

"I urge all those involved in the tourism 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," said Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the UN World Toursim Organisation (UNWTO).

Despite global financial crisis, world tourism is growing. Last year, 1.03 billion people traveled to foreign countries, a significant increase from 980 million tourists in 2011. In the first half of 2013, based on UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, global tourist arrivals reached 494 million, a 5 percent increase from the figure of during the same period in 2012.

World tourism generated $1.07 trillion in revenue last year.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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