UN Tourism’s events to celebrate World Tourism Day in 2025 will take place in Malaysia (photo source – Source: UN Tourism)
World Tourism Day began in 1980. It was decided by the General Assembly of the UN tourism body at its third session, held in Spain in September 1979. This date marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Organization’s Statute in 1970, paving the way for the establishment of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO) five years later.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO, also known as UNWTO) was renamed UN Tourism in January 2024, marking a new era for the organization as the United Nations agency responsible for global tourism.
Why the name change:
- Reaffirming the role: The new name “UN Tourism” reinforces the organization’s status as the tourism agency of the United Nations.
- New era: The change marks a new phase, focusing on tourism as a driver of economic growth, sustainable development and social change.
- Global leader: The change reaffirms the organization’s leadership position in the global tourism sector.
27 September was chosen as World Tourism Day because it comes at the end of the peak season in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of the season in the southern hemisphere of our planet.
Each year, the theme of the Day is chosen based on the most current challenge for the future of global tourism. The aim is to raise awareness among the international community about the role, place and importance of tourism in cultural, economic, social and political life. In 2025, the theme of World Tourism Day is: “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”.
We hear and read about the impact of overtourism on the daily lives of locals (in those destinations that are now in the “red” of their infrastructure), mainly in Europe but also around the world.
That is why sustainability is no longer a figure of speech or a “modern expression” for those involved in the field. Un Tourism clearly places people, the locals in each destination and the impacts of climate change at the center of this year’s World Tourism Day.
The message is clear: No destination can thrive in tourism where locals suffer from the crowds of tourists.
In his message, United Nations Secretary-General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres stressed that tourism, if not managed properly, can harm local communities. As the world grapples with climate change and growing inequality, it is more urgent than ever to take bold, urgent and sustainable action that puts people and the planet at the centre of all development strategies, he noted.
This, he says, means increasing investment in education and skills training, especially for women, young people and vulnerable communities; supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and promoting climate action by reducing carbon emissions across the tourism sector, preserving biodiversity and protecting fragile ecosystems.
- Tornos News has today prepared a dossier for World Tourism Day, which will be celebrated on Saturday 27 September, to highlight the current challenges facing tourism. We have not asked for statements from any actor. We expect actions, not words, from everyone…
Our topics:
World Tourism Day 2025 | Alarm for sustainability
World Tourism Day 2025 | The debate of numbers: More tourists or better tourism?
World Tourism Day 2025 | Angeliki Mitropoulou: Carrying capacity is the safety valve
World Tourism Day 2025 | Tourism of the future: Scenarios for 2035
World Tourism Day 2025 | New trends shaping the future of tourism
World Tourism Day 2025 | Quiz: “How well do you know Greek tourism?”
