Today is World Tourism Day.

It’s fun visiting new places—new sights to see, new foods to taste, new people to meet, and wonderful memories to take home with you. Each time you visit another new city, state, or country, you broaden your horizons and become more of a world-class citizen. In fact, since 1979 the United Nations has worked to promote tourism by declaring this day World Tourism Day (WTD).

The idea behind WTD is to make the public more aware of the value of travel and tourism on all levels—locally, nationally, and internationally. To help achieve this goal, the UN suggests that countries around the world join this effort by declaring World Tourism Day as a “special day for the entire national territory.” Activities such as free entry for tourists and citizens to museums, national parks, and other sites of interest are suggested to promote the day. Special transportation, commemorative postage stamps and medals, Miss (or Mister) WTD competitions, and tourism fairs are all part of the ongoing celebration of this worldwide tourism effort.

While it’s fun to visit new places, it’s always good to come back home. The comforts of home await you—your own bed, familiar faces and foods, the freedom to kick back and just do nothing, and maybe the warm reception of the family pet. Coming home is always a welcome end to the traveler.

The writer of Hebrews says that the day that we arrive in Heaven will be our last and best homecoming. This world is not our home. Really, we are just tourists on this earth, visiting for a while, seeing the sights, meeting new people, having all sorts of different experiences. We will not feel completely comfortable and at home until we are with Jesus in the city of Heaven.

So while we’re on this earth, take advantage of all the world has to offer. But remember not to get too attached because it is only temporary.

One day we’ll be home. And it will be good.

For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come (Hebrews 13:14).

To Do

Visit your local travel agency (or the library) and collect some brochures for places that you would like to visit some day.

Also on this day

1954—The Tonight Show made its debut on NBC-TV with Steve Allen as host.

1989—Two men in a barrel went over the 176-foot high Niagara Falls. Jeffery Petkovich and Peter Dernardi were the first ever to survive the Horseshoe Falls.

1998—Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals set a major league baseball record when he hit his 70^th home run of the season.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.