The Travel Foundation, the UK sustainable tourism charity, presented a special exhibition of its various projects in Tobago for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, during their Caribbean tour.
The Royal party were welcomed by Sue Hurdle, chief executive of the Travel Foundation, and by Chris James MBE (chairman) and Rosemarie Thomas (programme coordinator) of the Travel Foundation Tobago.
The exhibition was designed to showcase the work being done by the Foundation, with the help of British tour operators, the Tobago tourism industry and the local community, to make British tourism to Tobago more sustainable and to ensure it provides real benefits to the community whilst protecting the environment and preserving wildlife.
“We know that the Prince of Wales takes a great interest in sustainabilityâ€, commented chief executive Sue Hurdle, “and are delighted that he has chosen to take a close look at what is being done here in Tobago to enhance the positive effects of tourism from Britain to the Caribbean, and reduce the negative impactsâ€.
The Travel Foundation Tobago has been set up to run the Foundation’s programmes, and is run locally by a steering committee including local hoteliers, restaurateurs, fishermen, farmers and NGOs.
Projects exhibited to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall included the “adopt-a-farmer†programme, promoting locally grown produce to tourist hotels (winner of a 2006 Responsible Tourism Award), a school’s herbal garden project, and projects promoting sustainable seafood and protecting coral reefs.
The Travel Foundation Tobago is now “replicating†some of the successful projects piloted in Tobago regionally throughout the Caribbean, starting with the Dominican Republic, a popular British tourist destination.
The Travel Foundation is funded by small donations from over a million British holidaymakers who travel with fundraising tour operators, and by corporate donations from the travel industry. Supporters include TUI Group (First Choice and Thomson), Thomas Cook Group (Thomas Cook and MyTravel), Virgin Holidays, Cosmos, Sunvil and Explore.
For more information about The Travel Foundation please visit:
TravelFoundation.org.uk
Valere Tjolle
