The United Nations has decided to spotlight the role of sustainable tourism to promote biological diversity on the International Day of Biological Diversity, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

This year's theme is "Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism," and is chosen to coincide with the observance of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at the daily news briefing.

The International Day of Biological Diversity, which falls on Monday, seeks to highlight how sustainable tourism can have a positive impact on protected areas, habitat restoration, wildlife populations, local community engagement, and resource mobilization, said Dujarric.

"It also puts a spotlight on the choices that we as tourists can make every time we travel to protect the biodiversity of the places we visit," said the spokesman.