As one intimately involved with the ebb and flow of tourists into our city I can attest that this year has been challenging in terms of the drop in foreign tourist numbers to Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay.
Couple that with the largely negative business sentiment, persistent rumours that we are going to lose one or more VERY LARGE employers in the not too distant future and my outlook for the survival of this place that we all know and love and are proud to call home is understandably on the cautious to negative side of the scale.
BUT
If ever there was a clarion call for ALL of those involved in and benefiting from tourism to stand together and promote the socks off of our incredible city that has so much to offer then we would be stupid to ignore the frantic ringing of those bells.
Tourism offers one major benefit – tourists bring money INTO our region, they stimulate our economy and leave a legacy behind.
It is our duty as citizens to demonstrate our pride in our city and it’s offerings, it’s friendly people and our wonderful climate, it’s abundance of natural wonders and amazing marine life.
It is our duty as citizens to protect and preserve our tourists, hug and keep them, and encourage them to bring their friends and family back to this wonderful place that we call home and shed big fat tears over when we are away.
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TOURISTS ARE OUR LIFEBLOOD
Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day as international observances on September 27. This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted. The adoption of these Statutes is considered a milestone in global tourism. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. The theme of the day was “sustainable tourism”, in 2017. In 2018 the theme was “Tourism and the Digital Transformation”.
At its Twelfth Session in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 1997, the UNWTO General Assembly decided to designate a host country each year to act as the Organization’s partner in the celebration of World Tourism Day. At its Fifteenth Session in Beijing, China, in October 2003, the Assembly decided the following geographic order to be followed for World Tourism Day celebrations: 2006 in Europe; 2007 in South Asia; 2008 in the Americas; 2009 in Africa and 2011 in the Middle East.
The late Ignatius Amaduwa Atigbi, a Nigerian national, was the one who proposed the idea of marking September 27 of every year as World Tourism Day. He was finally recognized for his contribution in 2009. The colour of World Tourism Day is Blue.
Alan Straton
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