UNWTO International Course Excellence in Tourism Management: Management of Public Use in Protected Areas, from 9 to 15 June 2012, in Puerto Madryn, Argentina.

Following the request of the Ministry of Tourism of Argentina, the UNWTO International Course Excellence in Tourism Management: Management of Public Use in Protected Areas was launched on 9^th June by Adrian Contreras, Coordinator of the Federal Tourism Council of the Ministry of Tourism of Argentina; Alicia Tagliorette, Secretary of Tourism and Protected Areas of the Chubut Province; Cecilia Torrejón, Secretary of Tourism of the Municipality of Puerto Madryn; Ana Baez, expert and member of the Global Tourism Sustainable Council; Andy Drumm, expert and member of the World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Sònia Figueras, UNWTO.Capacity programme manager of the UNWTO.Themis Foundation.

This 8th edition of the UNWTO courses in Argentina aimed at familiarizing participants with technical criteria for planning, designing and implementing Tourism programmes and activities in protected areas, as well as providing practical tools to enhance their knowledge and technical criteria with concepts of sustainability, quality and marketing, based on the principles of sustainable development. As part of the course, participants went on a fieldtrip to the natural protected areas of El Doradillo or Punta Loma, participated in debates, group discussions, group work and presented their final work on the Management of Public Use in Protected Areas.

This initiative, which awarded scholarships to 48 officials from national, regional and local governments and the academic sector from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic and Venezuela, was closed on 15th June by Daniel Aguilera, Secretary of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism of Argentina; Martin Buzzi, Governor of Chubut; Ricardo Taylor, Mayor of Puerto Madryn; Alicia Tagliorette, Secretary of Tourism and protected areas of the Government of the Province of Chubut, and Omar Valdez, Executive Director of the UNWTO.Themis Foundation.