With twenty-six participants from Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, St.Kitts, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Turks and Caicos and Saint Lucia, the UNWTO/CTO Workshop in Saint Lucia on “Sustainable Tourism Destination Management & Marketing” , organized by the World Tourism Organization, its UNWTO.Themis Foundation and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in collaboration with Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), was closed on 31 March by Sharon Banfield-Bovell, Regional Human Resource Development Consultant, Caribbean Tourism Organization, Alba Fernández Alonso, Course Coordinator, UNWTO.Themis Foundation and Samantha Charles, Tourism Officer, Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting of St.Lucia with presence of participants and the facilitators.
The UNWTO/CTO Workshop in Saint Lucia on Sustainable Tourism Destination Management & Marketing, organized by the World Tourism Organization, its UNWTO.Themis Foundation and the Caribbean Tourism Ogranization (CTO) in collaboration with Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), was inaugurated on 27th March by Mr. Hugh Riley, Secretary General & Chief Executive Officer, Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Ms. Alba Fernandez Alonso, UNWTO.Themis Foundation Course Coordinator, Hon. Dominic Fedee, Minister of Tourism, Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Tourism, Information & Broadcasting and the facilitators of the workshop, Ms. Kathleen Pessolano and Mr. Jonathon Day.
This Capacity building workshop is designed for representatives of Destination Management Organisations involved in destination planning; product development; marketing and branding; research and information management; resource stewardship; visitor experience management; human resource development; destination & site operations; and policy-making. It is also aimed at tourism decision-makers and practitioners as well as owners and operators of tourism businesses.
The training initiative has a theoretical-practical workshop, adopting a fact-driven approach, by presenting state-of-the-art theory through the analysis of real-life case examples and in-class activities, tailored on participants’ knowledge and objectives. The modular structure adopted is conducive of a highly interactive learning experience that blends presentations, case studies, discussions, debates and practical activities.
PR No.: PR 16100
With the objective of advancing the contribution of the tourism sector to biodiversity preservation the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) participated in the UN Biodiversity Conference COP13, in Cancun, Mexico (2-17 December). The Conferences is focused on mainstreaming biodiversity across relevant sectors, especially agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism.
Just a few weeks ahead of launching the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, which will be celebrated throughout 2017, UNWTO underlined in Cancun the need for national policies and frameworks for sustainable tourism that protect biodiversity and foster multi-stakeholder partnerships.
“Tourism and biodiversity are natural allies and UNWTO is fully committed to its joint work with the Convention of Biological Diversity. Tourism can highly contribute to the protection of biodiversity, by raising awareness, by engaging the tourism community and by proposing sustainable alternatives for local communities,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai at the opening of the conference.
Erick Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said “Tourism is one of the biggest job creators on planet Earth. So if we protect biodiversity, we are creating jobs."
"I want to thank the World Tourism Organization for the work they have done in the area of biodiversity," said Braulio Ferreira, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the event.
The participation of UNWTO in COP-13 included the side-event ‘Tourism, Business & the Environment’, which addressed strategies to promote tourism experiences that can be both sustainable and profitable, creating opportunities for local communities.
Additional information:
The Conference of the Parties is the governing body of the Convention for Biological Diversity, and advances implementation of the Convention through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings.
Convention on Biological Diversity
UN Biodiversity Conference COP13
International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017
Contacts:
UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org
UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme
Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org
