World Tourism Day has been held since 1980 and has been a United Nations “official day” since the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) became a UN specialized agency in 2003.

In 2011, World Tourism Day is being celebrated around the theme, “Tourism – Linking Cultures,” and will highlight tourism’s role in bringing the cultures of the world together and promoting global understanding through travel.

The official World Tourism Day celebrations will take place in Aswan, Egypt, and will include a High Level Think Tank on the 2011 theme.

Speakers include the Minister of Tourism of Egypt, Mounir Fakhi Abdel-Nour; UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai; the Minister for Culture and Tourism of Greece, Pavlos Yeroulanos; and the Chief Executive of TUI, Michael Frenzel.

All information on World Tourism day, including the official message of the Secretary-General in text and video may be found at: http://wtd.unwto.org/en.