The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar for the World Tourism Day 2017. UNWTO celebrates September 27 as the World Tourism Day. The MoU was signed today by Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO and Hassan Al- Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer, Qatar Tourism Authority. World Tourism Day 2017 will be celebrated under the theme of “Sustainable Tourism – a tool for development”.
Rifai said, “We are extremely happy to celebrate the World Tourism Day this year in a Arab Nation. Qatar has been selected as the destination to host the celebration. I am looking forward to celebrating World Tourism Day in collaboration with Qatar which is a very prominent and emerging tourism destination.”
Last year, the celebration was hosted by Thailand. Qatar is now one of the emerging destinations for tourism. The destination is also the host nation for major events like the Football World Cup in 2022, which will be a huge boost for tourism in the region.
Al- Ibrahim said, “Qatar considers tourism as a priority sector as our leaders are very serious about this segment. Tourism is still at a nascent stage in our region and is slowly becoming a key segment in our economy. We already have a lot of players who are keen to invest in our nation. Qatar is proud to be the host for the World Tourism Day 2017. We are very bullish to expand tourism but in a sustainable manner. Also with the football world cup coming, we are sure that tourism will become a major revenue source for our people.”
