Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges in general, and to sustainable development and the UN Millennium Development Goals in particular. Catalyzing grassroots action by the tourism sector to combat this challenge is at the centre of World Tourism Day [WTD] 2008 Theme, Tourism: Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change. The official host country of WTD 2008 is Peru. For long time The World Tourism Organization [WTO] has been trying to raise awareness of climate change issues to the international tourism industry so as the industry to take vigorous part in the reduction of carbon emissions and pollution in general. Tourism is perhaps the first industry worldwide that is directly affected by the quality of the environment but has also the aptitudes to alleviate the effects of climate change. In the Bali conference, UNWTO had to face criticism for climate change. The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Francesco Frangialli said "We are all part of the great global economic pattern of tourism" Mr. Frangialli said. "Whether we come here to enjoy the beaches or the conference halls - or both, we are contributing to local commerce, to jobs, to investment and to export income. In so doing we are providing sustainable livelihoods through a long supply chain which we must increasingly help to make carbon clean. And we must start now." The UNWTO Secretary-General has also said that in the past year the tourism sector - private and public stakeholders - had begun to unite in its support of the UN Secretary-General's roadmap for a more climate responsible world. Climate is an essential resource for tourism, especially for the beach, nature, and winter sports tourism sections. Changing climate and weather patterns at tourist destinations and tourist generating countries can significantly affect the tourists' comfort and their travel decisions. Changing demand patterns and tourist flows will have an impact on tourism business and on host communities, as well as knock-off effects on related sectors, such as agriculture, handicraft or construction. In small island states and developing countries, where tourism is a major economic activity, any significant reduction in tourist arrivals will have serious employment impact and engender further poverty. Tourism is part of the problem and will be part of the solution. UNWTO took on two side events at the Bali Summit last year in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia to underscore the interrelated impacts of climate change and tourism. The results of a scientific analysis that showed tourism is estimated to contribute some 5% of CO2 - approximating its global economic contribution, but far below its contribution to the economies of developing countries. The Davos Declaration agreed by stakeholders in October 2007 and subsequently supported at a Tourism Ministerial Summit in London and UNWTO's General Assembly. These comprised a framework for a long range carbon-neutral sectoral strategy. As part of UNWTO's embryonic efforts to execute the Davos Declaration, the General Assembly held in late November in Colombia agreed that the 2008 World Tourism Day (WTD) Theme has been "Tourism - Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change". To this end, UNWTO has considered an international campaign which will build up towards the global WTD celebrations on 27 September. For the last couple of years, UNWTO together with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF), has been urging "action by the entire tourism sector to face climate change as one of the greatest challenges to sustainable development, and to the Millennium Development Goals in the 21st Century." These continuing initiatives in the Tourism sector are part of the overall UN effort to build up a common skeleton in defending the climate change challenges. Climate change is not a theoretical concept for tourism. It is a phenomenon that affects the sector and certain destinations in particular. The tourism industry also contributes to the greenhouse effect, largely through the transportation of tourists. There is, nowadays, wide acceptance of the burning need for employing tactics to face the changing climatic conditions and take precautionary actions against future impacts. The world must respond in a holistic way to the challenge of climate change. Responsible tourism could be the only recipe for combating climate change, the experts believe. It doesn't matter what would be the thematic upshot of Tourism: Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change but it is unambiguous that each country has to design and develop national plans to counter the climate change challenges, and that such a plan must principally involve each Ministry, authority and department. The crusade against climate change is no longer only an environmental affair, but is now principally an economic policy issue, and one that involves energy, infrastructure, industry, transport, construction, households, services, water supply, agriculture and last but not least, a major transformation in lifestyles.