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September 27 is World Tourism Day.

The 3rd General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization held in September 1979 set September 27 as World Tourism Day to encourage public awareness of the importance of tourism.

The theme for this year's WTD is “Tourism and sustainable transformation”.

Tourism, which took its first step with tourist information service, diversified to include different branches like tourist transportation, board and lodging, welfare service and sports and cultural amusements, and developed into a comprehensive service sector by forming an integrated system.

Recently, tourism is sustainably transformed and developed in accordance with object and content of tourism and requirements of tourists.

Some kinds of boundary division of labour have come into being as exchanges in cultural fields, including education, scientific research, sports and arts, between countries are organically combined with tourism.

Ecotourism is gaining momentum as people's interest in the protection of ecological environment and nature is growing. Ecotourism is a form of tourism that helps tourists not only feel the preciousness of nature and broaden their knowledge of nature but also increase their consciousness of the protection of ecological environment and voluntarily take part in its protection as they have a rest enjoying beautiful scenery and fauna and flora in nature with rich biodiversity.

A thick forest with biodiversity itself is a natural tourist resource for people’s recovery from mental and physical fatigue and has a decisive effect on the preservation and protection of the atmospheric environment and water quality of itself.

Meanwhile, the rapid development of tourism causes environmental pollution. This is attributable to various factors such as the destruction of ecological environment due to the development and construction of tourist resorts, the production and use of materials for tourist services, the loss of the balance of the self-purification capacity of tourist resorts caused by the excess of their capacity, and the level of people’s awareness of environmental protection.

Therefore, many countries draw up strategies to closely combine the sustainable development of tourism with the green growth plan and concentrate national interest and investment on them.

Our country, which became a member state of the World Tourism Organization in September 1987, actively encourages tourism.

There are many famous mountains in our country 80% of whose territory consists of mountains. The areas of Mts Paektu, Kuwol, Myohyang, Chilbo and Kumgang were registered as world biosphere reserves in UNESCO and this year the area of Mt Paektu has been designated as a global geopark.

The principle of keeping natural spectacles intact is adhered to in the development of tourist resorts.

Recently, the world-class Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area has been built in Myongsasimni (4km-long stretch of beautiful sand) on the Kalma peninsula, a scenic spot on the East Sea of Korea.

Our tourism for the people's diverse cultural and emotional life and for the promotion of their well-being will be steadily developed.