Postcard from Bishkek

International Tourism Day is one of a number of “professional holidays” commemorated in the Kyrgyz Republic.

September 27 was designated as World Tourism Day at the Third Session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, (WTO, now the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, or UNWTO), in Torremolinos, Spain, in September 1979.  The date, September 27, was chosen as it was on that day in 1970, that the Statutes of the WTO were adopted which was considered to be a milestone in global tourism and the aim of declaring the special day was to emphasise and increase awareness of the fact that tourism is vital to the international community and its affects on social, cultural, political and economic life throughout the world.

At its Twelfth Session in Istanbul, Turkey, in October of 1997, the UNWTO General Assembly decided to designate a host country each year as the Organization’s partner for celebrating World Tourism Day and each year a theme is chosen for the various activities (such as conferences) organized to mark the day.  The themes since 1980 have included:

• 1980: Tourism’s contribution to the preservation of cultural heritage and to peace and mutual understanding
• 1981: Tourism and the quality of life
• 1982: Pride in travel: good guests and good hosts
• 1983: Travel and holidays are a right but also a responsibility for all
• 1984: Tourism for international understanding, peace and cooperation
• 1985: Youth Tourism: cultural and historical heritage for peace and friendship
• 1986: Tourism: a vital force for world peace
• 1987: Tourism for development
• 1988: Tourism: education for all
• 1989: The free movement of tourists creates one world
• 1990: Tourism: an unrecognized industry, a service to be released (“The Hague Declaration on Tourism”)
• 1991: Communication, information and education: powerlines of tourism development
• 1992: Tourism: a factor of growing social and economic solidarity and of encounter between people
• 1993: Tourism development and environmental protection: towards a lasting harmony
• 1994: Quality staff, quality tourism
• 1995: WTO: serving world tourism for twenty years
• 1996: Tourism: a factor of tolerance and peace
• 1997: Tourism: a leading activity of the twenty-first century for job creation and environmental protection
• 1998: Public-private sector partnership: the key to tourism development and promotion
• 1999: Tourism: preserving world heritage for the new millennium (Host: Chile)
• 2000: Technology and nature: two challenges for tourism at the dawn of the twenty-first century (Host: Germany)
• 2001: Tourism: a toll for peace and dialogue among civilizations (Host: Iran)
• 2002: Ecotourism, the key to sustainable development (Host: Costa Rica)
• 2003: Tourism: a driving force for poverty alleviation, job creation and social harmony (Host: Algeria)
• 2004: Sport and tourism: two living forces for mutual understanding, culture and the development of societies (Host: Malaysia)
• 2005: Travel and transport: from the imaginary of Jules Verne to the reality of the 21st century (Host: Qatar)
• 2006: Tourism Enriches (Host: Portugal)
• 2007: Tourism opens doors for women (Host: Sri Lanka)
• 2008: Tourism Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change and global warming (Host: Peru)
• 2009: Celebrating Diversity
• 2010: Tourism and Biodiversity

In Kyrgyzstan, the day comes towards the end of the traditional “high season” and is often marked by special events to mark the “Closing of the Tourist Season” for that year.