World Tourism Day is observed each year on 27 September, the date the organisation’s statutes were adopted in 1970. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s message of 16 September 2026 confirms this year’s theme: “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Redesign Tourism”.

Guterres writes that AI is changing how destinations are chosen, how the industry works and how experiences are designed. It can help small businesses, but left unchecked it can funnel tourists to the same platforms and places, leaving less visible destinations behind.

El Salvador is hosting the official global celebration on 26 and 27 September 2026, according to UN Tourism. That does not mean one planetary party, nor automatic free entry to attractions. Local events must be checked with organisers in each destination.

The thematic day gives governments and the industry a frame to discuss economies, communities and pressures: overcrowding, emissions, resources. Examples from one country should not be generalised as UN policy.

For Romania, the day does not by itself bring discounts or a national programme. Any offer must be announced by authorities or operators, not inferred from the theme in San Salvador.

Technology, Guterres says, must serve people: digital skills, access, and benefits for tourism workers and for the communities that make destinations possible. The message is a direction, not a regulation.

Image: Izalco volcano, El Salvador / Wikimedia Commons. A landscape in the host country, not the official event of 26–27 September. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Harness Artificial Intelligence to Build Inclusive, Sustainable Tourism | United Nations; World Tourism Day 2026 | UN Tourism.