World Tourism Day 2018: Significance, theme and why it is observed

The theme of this year's World Tourism Day (WTD) is "Tourism and the Digital Transformation".

New Delhi, Sep 27: Today (September 27) is the World Tourism Day and the main aim of observing this day is to raise awareness about the role of tourism within the international community. Tourism not only allows people from different geographies and communities to mingle with each other but also affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.

The theme of this year's World Tourism Day (WTD) is "Tourism and the Digital Transformation". World Tourism Day 2018 is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the potential contribution of digital technologies to sustainable tourism development, while providing a platform for investment, partnerships and collaboration towards a more responsible and inclusive tourism sector.

Every tourism has a host country and this year's host country is Hungary. Main events for this year's World Tourism would be held in Hungary's capital Budapest. Budapest is a classical European capital committed to the digital future - the perfect stage for this year's celebration of tourism.

"For me and for the whole Hungarian tourism industry it is a great honour that, on 27 September, Hungary and our wonderful capital, Budapest, will host events of World Tourism Day. We are especially happy to have the opportunity to show UNWTO the Hungarian hospitality and the development that has helped both Hungary and Budapest to increase their visibility on the tourism map of the world and allows us today to refer to Budapest as the 'Spice of Europe'," said a statement by Hungarian Tourism Agency's CEO Zoltán Guller.

In 2017 Hungary welcomed almost 16 million international tourist arrivals, 50% more than in 2010, demonstrating the steady growth of tourism in the country backed by consistent policy support. The Hungarian Tourism Agency is responsible for the national management and coordination of tourism.

Tourism in India:

Tourism in India is important for the country's economy and is growing rapidly. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated Rs. 15.24 lakh crore or 9.4% of India's GDP in 2017 and supported 41.622 million jobs, 8% of its total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 6.9% to Rs. 32.05 lakh crore by 2028 (9.9% of GDP). In October 2015, India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$3 billion, and it is projected to grow to US$7-8 billion by 2020. In 2014, 184,298 foreign patients travelled to India to seek medical treatment.[4]

Tamil Nadu was the most visited tourist destination by both Indian and International tourists in 2014 with over 320 million domestic visits and 4.6 million foreign visits. It has places of historical, cultural and architectural significance. Tourism in Tamil Nadu is promoted by Ministry of Tourism by the state government with a logo enchanting Tamil Nadu. TTDC promotes tourism in the state by arranging various functions and events. The capital city of Tamil Nadu -Chennai- is the only place in India to be listed in "52 places to go around the world" by "The New York Times". Marina beach in Chennai is the second longest beach in the world and Chennai is home to numerous historic temples and parks. Chennai is also nicknamed as the Gateway of South India.