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Barbados Prime Minister to Speak at Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference
Tuesday, 30 Apr, 2010
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David Thompson
Conference to demystify sustainable tourism criteria and keep the right balance
Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson will be the keynote speaker at this year’s premier conference on sustainable tourism. The Prime Minister will deliver the keynote address at the opening of the 11th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-11) on 9 May
“We are delighted and extremely excited that Prime Minister Thompson had agreed to be the keynote speaker at the conference. His presence is a demonstration of the importance that Barbados attributes to sustainable tourism matters,” said Hugh Riley, the CTO’s secretary general.
“We are thankful to the Government of Barbados for kindly hosting STC, and to the Prime Minister in particular for being so generous with his time,” added the secretary general,
Several highly qualified and experienced tourism professionals will lead presentations during the conference, which has as its theme, Keeping the Right Balance: Creating Opportunities Through a World Class Sustainable Tourism Product.
The mystery surrounding the wide range of sustainable tourism criteria and standards found around the world will be shattered and exposed at the conference.
“Developing a world class sustainable tourism product requires the application of appropriate sustainable tourism standards. However, navigating through the myriad systems that are available can be confusing, tiresome and overwhelming,” said Gail Henry, the sustainable tourism product specialist at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.
“One of our experts, Erika Harms, executive director of the Tourism Sustainability Council, will demystify the range of tourism sustainability criteria so that our members can have a better understanding of how using such criteria can assist in enhancing the quality and sustainability of the Caribbean’s tourism product,” Ms. Henry added.
The global standards for sustainable tourism – developed by the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (STC) – form the basis of sustainable tourism certification programmes which are often said to be a means of developing a word class sustainable tourism product.
The GSTC represent a set of 37 criteria derived from certifications and best practices that are global in nature and feasible to implement.
This annual Conference is part of the information dissemination and regional awareness component of CTO’s Strategy for Sustainable Tourism. It looks at how member states can design and implement sustainable tourism policies and programmes, offering a regional forum for information exchange on the successes and pitfalls of national, regional and international initiatives.
The Conference brings together regional and international tourism specialists, Ministers of Government, Directors of Tourism, as well as developmental experts from the cultural, environmental and academic spheres and the local communities to share their experiences and offer solutions to the problems in the development of sustainable tourism.
It is anticipated that this conference will draw in excess of 250 local, regional and international delegates. “We are delighted that we are able to once again bring together a wide range of experts and stakeholders to discuss the region’s sustainability,” said Hugh Riley, Secretary General of the CTO. “We thank the government of Barbados for hosting this very important conference in this difficult global economic climate.”
For STC-11 registration and other conference information, including the conference programme and details of Study Tours, visit www.caribbeanstc.com.
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Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite, special offer at: www.travelmole.com/stories/1142003.php
Valere
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