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El Salvador will host World Tourism Day 2026, a celebration taking place from september 25 to 27, which this year will focus on the relationship between tourism and artificial intelligence. UN Tourism highlighted the country’s attractions and invited travelers to visit.
The event stems from a transformation in how people plan their trips. Travelers are increasingly using digital platforms and turning to artificial intelligence to find out where to stay, what to see, and where to go, so destinations face the challenge of actively participating in how they are discovered and presented.
World Tourism Day has been celebrated in Member States since 1980 to showcase the value of this activity. For 2026, UN Tourism proposes as a central theme for discussion about who benefits from technological transformation and who participates in decisions about the tools that are changing how travelers discover and choose destinations.
According to the organization, this year is different because technology is already influencing the visibility of destinations on a daily basis. Artificial intelligence responses are becoming a new space for travelers to find information, while the debate opens about the rules that should accompany this transformation.
El Salvador will also play a unique role in this conversation, as, weeks before the celebration, it is co-chairing the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, presented as the only universal forum on how this technology is governed. For UN Tourism, this places the host country of World Tourism Day in a position also linked to the international debate on artificial intelligence.
In San Salvador, the day will feature a program based on demonstrations, with ministers and leaders from the sector participating. The activities will showcase AI applications to support decisions by governments, businesses, and travelers, as well as present new skills for tourism workers and new ways to discover destinations.
The celebration will also have an international reach through a global public campaign in which Member States can participate during World Tourism Day. Beyond the activities in September, UN Tourism seeks to lay the groundwork for a first common position for the sector on the technology that is transforming tourism.
Thus, on september 27, El Salvador will be the main venue for a conference that will link tourism, technology, and artificial intelligence. This year’s focus aims to ensure that the sector not only observes this transformation but also participates in defining how to use it and who benefits from new digital ways of discovering destinations.
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