Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) yesterday signed the official agreement through which Qatar will host the World Tourism Day (WTD) celebrations later this year under the theme, ‘Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development’.

The event will be held on September 27, under the patronage of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

The agreement was signed by Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA and Taleb Al Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO on the sidelines of the 2017 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai.
Qatar had been selected to host the official WTD celebrations by a vote of the 21st UNWTO General Assembly, held in 2015 in Colombia.

“Qatar’s leadership has identified tourism as a priority sector in the nation’s pursuit of a sustainable and diverse economy. We recognise that tourism has the power to drive this growth, as well as enable us to celebrate our culture and heritage with the world, and is rightlytherefore at the forefront of national development plans,” commented Al Ibrahim. “There could be no more fitting a destination to carry this message to the world than Qatar, and we look forward to working with the UNWTO to host a memorable World Tourism Day event.”

Al Rifai, said “We look forward to be celebrating World Tourism Day 2017 on 27 September in Doha, Qatar. World Tourism Day is the day set aside in the UN calendar to celebrate the transformative power of the tourism sector. This year’s celebration has an even greater significance as it happens in the scope of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.” Celebrated annually on 27 September, World Tourism Day is the biggest international event in tourism. The event, which is held in a different continent each year.

Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com