World Tourism Day 27 September:
New UNWTO Carbon Neutral Tourism Website to be Launched

World Tourism Day is to be held on 27 September 2008 with the Host Country: Peru. Celebrations include 24-26 September, Lima - International Conference on Tourism and Handcrafts, 27 September, Lima - World Tourism Day THINK TANK, and the launching of a new website.
At the Think Tank, representative stakeholders will discuss global thinking on Tourism and Climate Change and its local applications in an open exchange and most importantly to clarify the measures that can be implemented in the short and long term to adapt, to mitigate, to use new technology and secure financing for the poorest countries, as well as to provide coordinated sectoral input into the evolving UN System response to climate change, coherent with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“Today’s world faces two great challenges: extreme poverty and climate change. The solution to these problems requires an urgent change of behaviour in the general population. Tourism can encourage such a change through the responsible use of energy and natural resources. “ said Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, Mercedes Araoz World Tourism Day highlights include “Towards Climate Neutral Tourism!” The Tourism sector, Public and Private, is embarked on a proactive response to Climate Change and UNWTO’s 2007 Davos Declaration process lays out a guiding framework for a climate neutral strategy.
www.ClimateSolutions.travel to be launched on World Tourism Day 27 September 2008, is a web site with the mission to be the central gateway for information on solutions available to help the tourism sector respond to climate change.
Users can learn about Climate Solutions that are available and to share their own, and to access resources such as RSS feeds, useful links and a Climate Solutions wiki. The ClimateSolutions.travel initiative is developed within the framework of UNWTO’s eTourism for Development Programme of Work and the new Affiliate Public Private Partnership strategy. (BTN/Valere Tjolle)