By resolution 376 (XII) adopted at its Twelfth Session (Istanbul, Turkey October 1997) and on the recommendation of the Executive Council, the WTO General Assembly decided to designate a host country each year as the Organization's partner for celebrating World Tourism Day.

During the Fourteenth Session of the WTO General Assembly (Seoul, Republic of Korea/ Osaka, Japan, September 2001), the Assembly, having decided to select the host country for World Tourism Day on a geographical rota basis after 2003, has decided that in the future, the corresponding Regional Commission will designate the host country.

During the Fifteenth Session of the WTO General Assembly (Beijing, China, October 2003) the Assembly decided the following as the geographic order to be followed beginning in 2006 for the World Tourism Day celebrations: 2006 in Europe; 2007 in South Asia; 2008 in the Americas, and 2009 in Africa.

Source: World Tourism Organisation