UN chief tells tourism industry to save water

In an effort to support this year’s International Year of Water Cooperation, the global tourism industry is celebrating World Tourism Day (WTD) on Friday with a main focus on water. The United Nations chief called on the tourism industry players to cut water consumption and ensure a sustainable water future.

“This year’s World Tourism Day highlights the responsibility of the tourism industry to safeguard and intelligently manage water. 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,” the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a special message.

The UNWTO has currently 156 members from all continents.

Water, a vital element for man’s survival, is the main asset as well as a resource of world tourism industry. Millions of people visit water tourism destinations, like Bali, every year. Irresponsible usage of water, over exploitation of water resources and climate change are biggest threats to global water resources.

Believe it or not, in some places a liter of water is more expensive than a liter of petrol or a kilogram of rice.

“I urge all those involved in the tourism sector 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,” UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai said in his message.

Despite of global financial woes, the massive international tourism industry is still 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.

Southeast Asian region recorded a record growth of 12 percent in the first half of 2013. On the revenue side, global tourism industry generated US$1.07 trillion in revenue last year.

Indonesia, the current chair of the Executive Council of the UNWTO, received 8.04 million foreign tourists and earned $9.12 billion in revenue. With numerous beautiful beaches, surfing and diving spots, natural and water parks, active volcanoes, diverse cultures and wildlife, Indonesia lags behind its small ASEAN peers in attracting large number of foreign tourists.

This is mainly because of lack of infrastructure, human resources and promotion on a large scale. Yet the government expects more tourists will Indonesia this year.

“Hopefully, we can lure more than 8.6 million foreign tourists,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu told journalists recently in Jakarta. Global tourism industry is also a biggest source of employment.

Currently 235 million work in the tourism industry. Since 1980, the WTD is annually held on Sept. 27, the day when the UNWTO’s Statutes were adopted by its members in 1970.

The main purpose of the celebration of WTD is to raise awareness across the globe of the significance of tourism industry and its social, cultural, political and economic value. With a theme of “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future” the main celebrations of the WTD are being held in picturesque Male, the capital of Maldives.