World Tourism Day, which will be observed on Tuesday, September 27, focuses on the future at a time when tourism is recovering speedily from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marketplace Excellence (MPE) concurs with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that we should avoid hurtling forward without “Rethinking Tourism”, including how to ensure that the future is one where tourism safeguards the welfare of our people, as well as the health of our environment and natural resources.

We have long maintained tourism is the greatest voluntary transfer of resources from the haves to the have-nots in history. It is undoubtedly one of the world’s most important economic drivers and certainly the quickest to recover from major adversity. As such, we ought to build on the unprecedented political and public recognition for the sector and seriously rethink how we “do” tourism, as UNWTO urges.  

The historic relevance of the sector is no longer in doubt after the United Nations General Assembly for the first time held a special debate on tourism in May focusing on how the sector brings hope and opportunity to many millions of people around the world.

The future is already here, as international tourist arrivals are on the rebound. There is no time to linger in old ways of thinking or “business as usual” as the threat of unbridled, unsustainable tourism development always looms on the horizon.

MPE and our nonprofit arm Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx), invite all stakeholders, the movers and shakers in business and government, representatives of communities and non-governmental organizations to join us in using our strength and capacities to map out how tourism can henceforth put people and planet first around a shared vision for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient sector.

This World Tourism Day, MPE pledges to continue using our skills in marketing, media, public relations and promotion to communicate widely the preeminence of tourism as a crucial pillar of development and progress, and the need to rethink how to design a sustainable future for the sector.

It’s World Tourism Day again. Let’s do some traveling and do some good while we’re at it!