On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the 2011 edition of the European Tourism Day will take place in Brussels on 27th September. On this occasion, it will be focus on the industrial heritage, differentiating the European tourism offer.

The 2011 edition of the European Tourism Day is celebrated on 27th September at the same time as the World Tourism Day. On this occasion, the European Commission celebrates this day with a high level conference on "Industrial heritage: differentiating the European tourism offer". According to the Commission, the event is an opportunity to discuss how the European Industrial Heritage can be key to the sustainable development of tourism in a region, thus contributing both to the creation of new jobs and to the preservation of the testimonies of a important part of Europe's history. Representatives from the main International Organisations in charge of industrial heritage and tourism, from EU ministries, local and regional authorities, tourism stakeholders and specialised press will attend to the Conference.

The conference will be opened by Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani and will run around four panels: Industrial tourism strategies and international key players; industrial heritage promotion and new tourism solutions; industrial tourism: local development and sustainable policies; and industrial tourism: local development: "niche" markets and innovative tourism products. A presentation of the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) awarded in 2011 in the category "Tourism and Regeneration of Physical Sites" will also take place and awarded destinations will be present alongside the conference with an exhibition.

The European Tourism Day (ETD) is annual conference organised every year on the 27th September by the Commission. Last year edition focused on "cultural tourism" while this year the main topic will be that of "industrial tourism". It is organised jointly with the Award Ceremony of the EDEN (European Destination of Excellence). This year, the theme of the EDEN winning destinations was also linked to that of the ETD: "Regeneration of physical sites".