The United Nations has circulated Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Tourism Day. UN Meetings Coverage issued the text on 16 September 2026. It says the day is observed on 27 September. The headline reads “Harness Artificial Intelligence to Build Inclusive, Sustainable Tourism”.
Guterres says the day “celebrates the many ways tourism connects cultures and enriches lives.” This year, he writes, it also asks “what kind of future we want for tourism.” The theme is stated as “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Redesign Tourism”. He says it “reflects one of the defining transformations of our time.” That line is his description, not a measurement in the note.
Where visitors go, and who decides
The message says artificial intelligence “is changing how travellers choose destinations, how the industry operates and how travel experiences are designed.” He says it can strengthen small businesses, improve services and create new opportunities. He then warns: “Yet left unchecked, it can funnel tourists to the same few places and platforms, leaving many worthwhile destinations behind.” The note names neither the places nor the platforms, and it gives no figures for arrivals, income or jobs. The bunching of visitors is his warning, not a count published here.
“Technology must serve humanity,” he writes. Tourism workers, local communities and emerging destinations must help shape what comes next. That, he says, requires investing in digital skills, widening access to technology and making sure innovation benefits “the people and places that make tourism possible.” He asks readers to “build a digital future for tourism that is open, inclusive and human” and to harness the tools “to drive sustainable development for all.”
The document is a message for the day. It does not announce a budget, a host city or binding rules on artificial intelligence in travel. The only dates in the note are 16 September 2026 and the statement that World Tourism Day is observed on 27 September.
