High Level Dialogue on Tourism and Biodiversity marks World Tourism Day celebrations

A panel of leading tourism and biodiversity experts will meet in China on World Tourism Day (WTD) to explore the synergies between tourism, biodiversity, and sustainable development in an event marking the official celebrations of WTD 2010 (September 27).

WTD, is held this year under the theme “Tourism and Biodiversity,” in support of the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity. China, one of the world’s most biologically-diverse countries and a major tourism destination, will lead the 2010 official WTD celebrations.

The High Level Dialogue on Tourism, Biodiversity, and Sustainable Development, meeting in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, the host of the WTD celebrations, will debate issues ranging from the economic value of biodiversity for tourism, to how to integrate biodiversity protection into planning for sustainable tourism.

Participants include representatives from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); the president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC); and the CEO of Six Senses Resorts; as well as the Ministers of Tourism of China, Kenya, and Malaysia. The conclusions of the High Level Dialogue will be presented to the tenth Conference of the Parties to the CBD as part of UNWTO’s contribution to the post-2010 targets of the CBD (Nagoya, Japan, October 18-29).

UNWTO is also proud to count on two prominent media representatives to conduct this year’s WTD celebrations. The renowned TV presenter Yan Lang and CNN’s International Beijing Bureau chief, Jaime FlorCruz. CNN is an official media partner of UNWTO and of the 2010 WTD celebrations.

The official WTD celebrations, organized by UNWTO, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), and Guangdong Province, are held in conjunction with the Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival and also include a road parade for WTD celebrations and the Asian Games, and a photo exhibition along the streets of Guangzhou, featuring photos from this year’s WTD photo competition.

Further activities are being organized by the tourism community across the world. Information on these events can be found on the dedicated WTD website http://www.unwto.org/worldtourismday/index.php?lang=E .