The annual observance of World Tourism Day will be officially celebrated in Malaysia on 27 September 2004. As host country, Malaysia has dedicated the month of September to highlight the main theme - Sports and Tourism: two living forces for mutual understanding, culture and the development of societies. This year's theme reflects important and major sports events such as the European football championship in Portugal, the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and others.

Among the nationwide World Tourism Day events in Malaysia will be numerous sporting activities, quiz, art and essay competitions, sports tourism carnivals and various exhibitions including a photo show by Tourism Malaysia.

To culminate the celebrations, the Ministry of Tourism in Malaysia will organize an international conference on the theme Sports and Tourism: Two Living Forces for Mutual Understanding, Culture and the Development of Society on World Tourism Day, 27 September itself. The keynote speakers will be Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and World Tourism Organization (WTO) Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli. The conference plans to adopt the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Sports and Tourism. As host, Malaysia will make itself better known throughout the world and, in particular, among the 143 member countries of WTO. This gives Malaysia an opportunity to showcase itself as a distinct holiday destination and centre for MICE activities. The whole world will watch Malaysia as it celebrates this auspicious day.

World Tourism Day was launched by the WTO in 1980 and is commemorated on 27 September each year by appropriate events focusing on themes selected by the WTO General Assembly on the recommendation of the WTO Executive Council.

This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism: the anniversary of the adoption of the WTO Statutes on 27 September 1970. The WTO General Assembly decided to designate a host country each year for World Tourism Day on a geographical rotational basis among member countries as the Organization�s partner for celebrating World Tourism Day.

The main purpose of World Tourism Day is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values.The announcement of World Tourism Day is disseminated through the WTO newsletter to all member countries. For more details, log on to www.world-tourism.org

Note for Editors:

The institution of so-called world days, which highlight salient features of the activities of intergovernmental organizations among government and private circles and the public at large, is a widespread practice. Each year, the organizations belonging to the United Nations system celebrate world days devoted to the United Nations issues such as: world peace, human rights, health, literacy, environment, womanhood, childhood, cooperation for development, meteorology, and so forth.Issued by: Communications Division, Tourism MalaysiaDate: 11 August 2004For further information, please contact Mr P.K. Fong at (603) 2615 8188or e-mail: pkfong@tourism.gov.my