CURSO «TURISMO RESPONSABLE Y DESARROLLO HUMANO»

El Centro de Iniciativas de Cooperación para el Desarrollo (CICODE) de la Universidad de Granada y el Centro de Iniciativas para la Cooperación – Batá ofertan este curso que plantea una visión crítica del actual modelo de desarrollo turístico, pero también las oportunidades que ofrece un enfoque sostenible y responsable de esta actividad de cara a objetivos sociales como la lucha contra el cambio climático, la erradicación de la pobreza o el consumo consciente y responsable.

 

El berciano Nicolás de la Carrera organiza en Semana Santa su segundo ‘Viaje de autor’ a Senegal

Un pequeño grupo de 12 personas acompañará al activista cultural por los paisajes que forjaron su personalidad durante 20 años

El activista cultural berciano Nicolás de la Carrera, de la mano de la agencia de viajes Agrotravel Turismo Responsable, pionera en España en el sector del turismo responsable, organiza de cara a la Semana Santa -entre el 8 y el 15 de abril- la segunda edición de su ‘viaje de autor’ por Senegal. La experiencia, que ya se puso en marcha en diciembre de este año con la participación de cinco personas, permite a un grupo reducido de personas acompañar al berciano por los paisajes que conformaron su personalidad durante 20 años, en un viaje que aspira a crear las bases de «un turismo responsable, solidario y sostenible», explicó De la Carrera a Ical.

Foto: Cesar Sanchez

En ese sentido, De la Carrera recordó que la experiencia consiste en “salir de la ruta turística habitual para hacer un viaje emocional”. Los grupos reducidos, de un máximo de 12 personas, buscan facilitar el contacto con la gente del país africano, así como tener un menor impacto sobre el medio ambiente. Los participantes en el viaje se alojarán en pequeños establecimientos gestionados por gente del país.

Además, los integrantes de la expedición tendrán ocasión de visitar proyectos de colaboración como el que lleva a cabo la ONG de Ponferrada La Canica Azul para acoger a niños de la calle en un orfanato, o la labor de la monja misionera de Bembibre Sor Justina, que encabeza un proyecto para la formación de mujeres a las afueras de Dakar, la capital del país.

World Responsible Tourism Awards 2016

2016 joint winners announced as Lemon Tree Hotel and Tren Ecuador

Founded in 2004, the Awards allow you the chance to celebrate the heroes and share the stories of the most exciting and enduring responsible tourism experiences in the world.

This year the judges wanted to recognise two very different category winners:

Lemon Tree Hotels are recognised for creating a socially inclusive work environment, employing people with disabilities and those from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Currently 25% of its staff ‘opportunity deprived Indians’ and they hope to increase this to 49% in the next 5 years. The judges are delighted to see a large major successful corporate with progressive employment practices at the heart of the business.

Tren Ecuador has reversed the traditional approach of heritage and luxury train travel. They instead have created shared value with 23 station-cafes, 14 artisanal squares, 13 local museums, 2 lodges, 9 folklore and historical recreation groups and several community-based tourism operations – all included as part of a tourist’s journey. The result is a family of associated enterprises which creates 5000 livelihoods for people in local communities along the tracks.

CURSO DE DISEÑO, DESARROLLO, PROMOCIÓN Y DISTRIBUCIÓN DE PRODUCTOS TURÍSTICOS

Descubrimos el valor añadido del turismo responsable

En esta entrevista os presentamos a Susana Conde, fundadora de la empresa pionera en España Agrotravel Turismo Responsable. Por un lado, Agrotravel es una agencia de viajes emisora que ofrece viajes responsables a más de cincuenta destinos del mundo, y por otro es la primera agencia receptiva española que ofrece propuestas de viaje por España de turismo sostenible y ecoturismo de cara a viajeros extranjeros. Por si esto fuera poco, también son la única agencia de viajes española certificada en turismo sostenible con Travelife.

Ángela: ¿Cómo contribuye Agrotravel a crear una industria turística más responsable?

Susana: Llevamos la responsabilidad y la sostenibilidad en el adn de nuestra empresa, todo lo que hacemos, gestionamos y ofrecemos a nuestros clientes está desarrollado bajo criterios de turismo responsable. Intentamos que nuestros viajes sean lo más sostenibles posibles y que cualquier viajero a cualquier destino que quiera viajar pueda hacerlo de manera responsable. Siempre intentamos trabajar con iniciativas locales, alojamientos, restaurantes de propiedad y gestión local, minimizando los impactos negativos en el medioambiente, en la cultura y la población local. Intentando que el viaje repercuta positivamente en el destino y genere beneficios socioeconómicos y contribuya al desarrollo económico local. Además intentamos ser muy estrictos en cuanto a la defensa de los derechos humanos y de los animales, apoyando todas las campañas internacionales de denuncia y boicot a determinadas actividades poco sostenibles.

Paseos por las coloridas calles de Tlacotalpan (Méjico)

También desarrollamos servicios de consultoría, asesoramiento y formación en turismo responsable, estando muy especializados en marketing, dado nuestro conocimiento del viajero que desea realizar este tipo de viajes. También somos aliados de la agencia de turismo responsable mexicana, Totonal.

Ángela: ¿Cuáles son los principales retos a los que te enfrentas como operadora de turismo responsable enfocada al público español?

Susana: El concienciar al viajero español, que entienda lo qué realmente es viajar de manera responsable y lo que supone eso a la hora de organizar y realizar su viaje, aún el porcentaje de viajeros concienciados es muy bajo y el de aquellos dispuestos a entender que quizás tengan que cambiar su forma de viajar y su actitud durante el viaje tampoco. Lo que no se entiende es el valor añadido que tiene el turismo responsable de auténtico, experiencial, único, memorable y de alta calidad, que además tiene un precio justo pero no es lowcost.

Ángela: En tu opinión, ¿cuál es el estado del turismo responsable en nuestro país? ¿Cómo sepodría generar mayor interés por esta vertiente del turismo?

Susana: Ha crecido la demanda en los dos últimos años pero aún es minoritaria, es esperanzador el ver ese incremento de la demanda pero sería ideal que aumentara a mayor ritmo para poder ser un mercado que envía viajeros responsables. También se tiende a asociar a tipos de viajes que en ocasiones no tienen nada de turismo responsable, como algunos ejemplos de turismo solidario y voluntariado, cuando no siempre están desarrollados con criterios de sostenibildiad y responsabilidad. Cuesta entender que el turismo responsable es una forma de viajar a cualquier destino para hacer cualquier actividad que haya sido desarrollada de manera responsable.

“Lo que no se entiende es el valor añadido que tiene el turismo responsable de auténtico, experiencial, único, memorable y de alta calidad, que además tiene un precio justo pero no es lowcost.”

Creemos que la mejor manera de generar mayor interés es el participar en este tipo de iniciativas que promueven el turismo responsable y explicar y concienciar en este sentido.

Ángela: ¿Qué te impulsó a participar en el Festival Vilamón?

Viaje en canoa por los manglares de Asia

Susana: La necesidad de promover el turismo responsable y de dar a conocer nuestra forma de trabajar además de los viajes que proponemos a los viajeros. Cualquier iniciativa de este tipo que sirva para promover y concienciar a los viajeros es muy necesaria y útil. Cuantos más hablemos de otra forma de viajar más viajeros empezaran a plantearse viajar de otra manera.

¡Muchas gracias Susana por participar en nuestra serie de entrevistas!

Recuerda que puedes seguir a Agrotravel en Facebook & en Twitter

Fuente: Travindy 

PM4SD Summer School 2016 Project Management for Sustainable Development 5-9 October 2016

The Summer School in Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism is back for its 4th edition, hosted by Icelandic Tourist Board, it will take place at the Lonely Planet´s no 1 destination in Europe 2015: Akureyri, Iceland.

Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism is a 3 days High Level event, co-organized by the Foundation for European Sustainable Tourism (FEST) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) to address one of the most important themes in the tourism industry: how to plan and deliver transformative tourism projects and initiatives to generate a sustainable visitor economy.

The 2016 Summer School aims to contribute to the 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, through a publication and preparing a Call for Action.

The Summer School will once again brings together key representatives of the tourism sector: donors, representatives of European and international organizations, policy makers, industry representatives, project management practitioners, academics and entrepreneurs.

Outstanding speakers will be focusing on: Sustainable Tourism Policies, Criteria, Certifications, Best Practices; Project Management, Destination Management, Branding Destination; Capacity building, Public Private Partnership, tourism funding.

Speakers and participants will enjoy together plenty of social activities to discover the North Iceland, including visits at fishing town, museum, harbor, waterfalls and nature baths. For the last day, we have planned a one day tour to discover and taste several Iceland sustainable tourism gems (Mývatn Nature Baths, Dettifoss waterfall, the Gljúfrastofa Visitor Centre,

The Summer School is the PM4SD™ annual event, promoting it as the methodology to apply in tourism projects and to discuss the professionalization of project management in sustainable tourism and the need of leadership in tourism.

Key representatives of the tourism sector togheter again.

Donors, policy makers, industry representatives, project management practitioners, academics and entrepreneurs together to share practices on how to plan and manage tourism funding with sustainability, and also to improve project management and effectiveness in the tourism sector.

FEST · Icelandic Tourist Board · The European Travel Commission · Icelandic Tourism Research Centre

The Summer School is organised by FEST, the host organization Icelandic Tourist Board and the European Travel Commission. The European Travel Commission is the non-profit organisation responsible for the promotion of Europe as a tourist destination in third markets. Read the ETC’s latest Bulletin here.

Under the High Patronage of the European Parliament

The Speakers

  David Randle

Dave holds a B.A. from California Lutheran University, an M-Div. from the Iliff School of Theology, and a doctorate in Spiritual Disciplines, Wellness and Environmental Concerns from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO. He currently directs the Sustainable Tourism concentration for the USF College of Global Sustainability and serves as president and executive director of the WHALE Center, and Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute Waves of Change initiative. He serves on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council International Knowledge, Networking, Education & Training Working Group, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) Research and Education Council, and the board of directors for the Florida Society of Ethical Ecotourism. Read more at:

  http://www.bluecommunity.info

  Ingunn Sørnes

I have been working on sustainable tourism for 10 years now, introducing and building tools and policy for increased sustainability in tourism. Among this is introducing Sustainable destination, a certifications scheme assisting DMOs work towards a more sustainable tourism. Educated within agriculture and management I have also served the Ministry of Agriculture in policy on rural development and diversification of agriculture.

  Cinzia De Marzo

Lawyer (47 years old), specialized in European Union Law and Expert on sustainable tourism (management, legislation, promotion, training) at European level and qualified as a PM4SD (Project manager for sustainable development), certified by APMG international. Currently engaged by the European Institute of Cultural Routes-Council of Europe, within a task force on indicators and cooperation with the UNWTO for organizing the open consultation on International Observatories on sustainable tourism, held in Madrid 7 and 8 June 2016. As a national expert at the European Commission (DG GROW) from the 01/05/16 until the 30/04/2016, responsible for the implementation of the European Tourism Indicator System – ETIS.

Ragnhildur Sigurðardóttir

Svæðisgarðurinn Snæfellsnes var stofnaður árið 2014 af sveitarfélögum og félagasamtökum í atvinnulífi á Snæfellsnesi.Hlutverk hans er að vera vettvangur fjölþætts samstarfs með áherslu á að nýta sérstöðu svæðisins við uppbyggingu fjölbreyttara atvinnulífs og þjónustu. Svæðisgarðurinn á m.a. að vera hreyfiafl, vernda og nýta náttúru- og menningararf og miðla uppplýsingum. Ragnhildur Sigurðardóttir framkvæmdastjóri er M.Sc. í umhverfisfræði. Hún hefur stýrt margvíslegum þróunar-og nýsköpunarverkefnum tengdum fræðslu og umhverfismálum.

  Deirdre Shurland

Deirdre is a senior consultant to the UNEP Tourism & Environment Programme. She spearheads tourism sector value chain research and advises on implications of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement on the tourism sector, from a policy and implementation perspective. She has also advised UNESCO on the global tourism sector’s response to tourism and climate impacts at World Heritage sites and UNWTO on mainstreaming sustainable consumption and production principles into tourism master plans. She coordinates the development of sustainable tourism cooperation projects and facilitates specialized training workshops on project design and implementation for developing countries.

Sigridur Olof Kristjansdottir

MS Leadership and Management. Research project titled «People don’t want to wait, just book themselves 24/7»; Do Icelandic tourism enterprises have the digital capabilities necessary to reach the enlightened tourist? Project manager at Innovation Center Iceland from January 2008. Have overseen and managed projects in tourism, fab lab, creative industries and more. Have supported several cluster projects in Icelandic tourism, overseen project fund for tourism development, held workshops on tourism product and experience development and served as an adivsor on. Edited an online handbook on Experience development in tourism. I have participated in Nordic and NPP projects and am currently a member of a working group on Green growth and innovation at Norden.

  Rob Holmes

Rob Holmes is the Founder & Chief Strategist of GLP Films, the leading content marketing agency dedicated to authentic storytelling and digital content strategy within the travel industry. Rob has a diverse background in multimedia production, storytelling, sustainable tourism, conservation, marketing, and entrepreneurship. In his work with GLP Films, Rob has spearheaded partnerships with global travel brands, including National Geographic, UNWTO, Columbia Sportswear, leading NGO’s, international tourism boards, and numerous media networks. Rob holds a BA in Wildlife Management and Conservation Biology from Hobart College, and an MBA from University of Washington in International Business, Marketing and Environmental Management.

  Brandon Presser

Brandon Presser is a travel expert who has visited more than 100 countries and written over 50 travel books. He can currently be seen on Bravo’s television series Tour Group, where, as Head Tour Guide, he fearlessly leads a group of eclectic American travelers on an elaborate world tour. Brandon secured his reputation as an adventure prodigy when he became the youngest member of the coveted team of writers at Lonely Planet, the world’s most prominent travel brand. He crossed the globe authoring books on far-flung destinations like Iceland, Turkey and Malaysia, and was awarded the prestigious SATW Lowell Thomas gold prize for his outstanding achievements in guidebook writing. Today, Brandon contributes to a variety of prestigious publications including Travel + Leisure and The Daily Beast, and leads worldwide expeditions for elite jetsetters. Originally from Canada, Brandon holds a degree in art history and architecture from Harvard University, and when he’s not on the road he calls New York City home. He speaks fluent French, and can order food in six other languages.

  Kelly Galaski

Kelly Galaski has 18 years of hospitality and tourism industry experience, having worked in various positions in hotels, restaurants and travel companies. She holds a bachelor of commerce degree in hospitality and tourism management and a master in environmental studies in sustainable tourism development. She has eight years of experience working in rural, underserved communities in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and more recently in Europe and North America, on developing community tourism plans, projects and initiatives, creating opportunities by connecting with the private sector. This includes working for over six years at G Adventures, the world’s largest adventure travel brand, as a program manager for the Planeterra foundation, developing community tourism product closely with G Adventures’ product development team. From 2013-2015 Kelly managed G Adventures’ three-year technical cooperation project with the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank to develop five community-based tourism enterprises in four countries in Latin America.

  Julie Scott

I am a social anthropologist working in the fields of tourism, culture and development. For the past 20 years I have worked in universities in Cyprus and the UK, and three years ago I co-founded an independent consultancy specialising in applying ethnographic methods to tourism and cultural heritage based development. Working with a multi-disciplinary network of colleagues, our company, Touch TD, seeks innovative approaches to building linkages and partnerships across the tourism value chain, and to strengthening community capacity and participation. We have designed and implemented projects for UNESCO, UNDP, the EU and the UK government, including community based tourism projects in India and Turkey, the retrieval of public spaces in Georgia and Iran, and the social impacts of casino tourism in Cyprus. I am a member of the ICOMOS UK and International Scientific Committees for Intangible Cultural Heritage.

  Jordi William Carnes

Jordi William Carnes (Barcelona, 1959), is a philology graduate, although he has worked for much of his professional career in the field of politics and for government bodies such as Barcelona Provincial Council, where he was Head of the President’s Office, the Catalan Government, where he was Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, and the Barcelona City Council, where he was Deputy Mayor in charge of budget and economic promotion. His academic background also includes an M.A. in Public Administration from ESADE and a Senior Management Programme at IESE. He left Barcelona City Council in 2013 and embarked on a career in the private sector, founding CGP Consultancy. He is currently CEO of the Barcelona Tourism Board and President of CTECNO (Catalan Technological Foundation).

  Teodora Marinska

Teodora Marinska is Head of Public Affairs of the European Travel Commission, where she works to raise awareness and understanding of the value of tourism in the EU and national policy makers, the main tool for which is the promotion of the Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs. Teodora aims at influencing policy through the formulation and implementation of ETC public affairs strategy, one of the main pillars of which is sustainability. Before joining ETC, Teodora worked in the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions. Teodora is Project Manager Practitioner (PM4SD) certified by APMG.

  Susana Conde

Susana Conde is Founder and Director of Agrotravel Turismo Responsable, Spanish Travel Agency, Consultancy and Training on Tourism Sustainability. Expert Consultant and Trainer for Sustainable and Responsible Tourist Management and Green Marketing, CSR in the Tourism Sector and Carbon Footprint in Tourism during last seven years. Susana is Partner and Responsible for European Market of the Cultural Tourism and Ecotourism Mexican Operator, Totonal Viajes Que Iluminan. She works like International speaker at and organiser of Sustainable Tourism events and forums. Specialised teaching of Tourism on the Elearning platform LeafMedia Alliance. She regularly works with the media, writing columns for some ecological and tourist publications, in addition to one-off projects with other national and international media. She was Founding partner of the several associations: Bidaietico, Association for the Promotion of Responsible Tourism Interpretur, Iber-American Forum for the Interpretation and Communication of Cultural Heritage in Tourism Arduratur, Basque Centre for Responsible Tourism. Also she is member of the GSTC’s Board of Directors, of Fest Foundation Board of Directors.

  Árni Sigurbjarnarson

I am born in 1960 in Husavik wich is a small town in North-East Iceland. I lived in Norway for seven years where I finished my education as music teacher and met my wife Line Werner. I have worked as headmaster of Husavik Music-shcool since 1987. My family together with my brothers family founded North Sailing in 1995. I am member of the board of North Sailing and for some years I have worked on special projects like developing hybrid electrical system for the boats of North Sailing. Outdoor activities and environmental affairs are my main subjects of interest.

István Ujhelyi

Member of the European Parliament

Political career:

• Member of European Parliament (Head of Hungarian S&D-Delegation, Vice-Chair of TRAN) 2014-
• Vice-president of the Hungarian Socialist Party, 2014-
• Co-Chair of Tourism Task Force in the European Parliament, 2015-
• Relationship Manager of the Hungarian Socialist Party in Chinese issues
• Deputy speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly from 2010-2014
• President of the National Turism Committee, 2009-2010
• State secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office 2009-2010
• State secretary of the Ministry of the Local Government and Regional Development, 2006-2008

Civil functions:

• Founder and President of Europe-China OBOR Culture & Tourisme Development Committee, 2016
• Founder of think-thank “European Democrats” (www.europaidemokratak.hu), 2016
• Founder of the Worldbridge Foundation, 2011
• Social chairman of Pick Szeged Handball Team since 2005
• Founder of the Szőreg Rose Foundation, 2003

  Guðrún Þóra

Guðrún Þóra is a director of the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre located in Akureyri, Iceland. She was the head of the Rural Tourism Department at Holar University College from its inception 1996 until 2009 and an associate professor at the department until 2016. Her research has focused on tourism in rural areas and destination development. Guðrún Þóra holds a M.B.A. degree in Tourism Management from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and a MA degree in Comparative literature from the University of Oregon, USA.

  Eduardo Santander
CEO European Travel Commission

Mr. Santander has been Executive Director of ETC since April 2012. Educated in Spain and Austria, he holds a PhD in Sports Science and an MBA degree. He has extensive experience in destination marketing gained through his career in diverse companies from the tourism industry in Innsbruck (Austria) and the United States. He has also been a guest lecturer on tourism marketing at International Business Seminars in a number of US Universities. Under the leadership of Mr. Santander, ETC continues supporting member NTOs in their portfolio of marketing and research activities in major long-haul markets with the aim of strengthening and increasing competitiveness of Destination Europe.

  Silvia Barbone

Silvia Barbone is the director of FEST and Jlag. She is the developer and the main author of the PM4SD™ “Project Management for Sustainable Development” certification. She is an international expert in sustainable development and project management with an extensive knowledge of tourism, cultural and sport policies and practices. She is a senior tourism researcher, an experienced project manager and a certified Lead Trainer in Project Management for Sustainable Development. She designs and manages small, medium and large scale projects, she supports destinations to define strategies and empower local communities, she is one of the 10 EU experts selected by the European Commission to implement the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS). She works with leading global organizations, including UNWTO, UNESCO, UNEP, UNITAR, European Travel Commission, European Commission, European Parliament, as well as local, regional and national public authorities. She is the chief editor of the first blog regarding European tourism policies and practices “Tourism Around Europe”, which addresses 8000 tourism stakeholders. She has recently been appointed as the Chair of the Tourism Society Europa Network, and a board member of Tourism Society.

  Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar

Born on 8 April 1982, Funchal she is a member of the EPP Group and of the Partido Social Democrata. She is a member in the Committees TRAN, D-TR and substitute for the Committee PECH, D-BR, DMER, DLAT.

  Seleni Matus

Seleni Matus has spent more than 15 years designing and directing large, multi-stakeholder initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean that have enhanced the quality of tourism offerings and helped to ensure the long-term health of natural ecosystems. These include the Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative and the Sustainable Destinations Alliance of the Americas. She currently is the Executive Director of The George Washington University’s International Institute of Tourism Studies and Adjunct Professor. Seleni served as a founding member of the Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance and served on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s board of directors. Seleni currently serves as a member of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism Committee, as well as Steering Committee of the Sustainable Tourism Zone of the Caribbean.

  John Hull

John is Co-director of the Alliance for Mountain Environments and Associate Professor of Tourism Management at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada. In Europe, he is a visiting professor at University College of Southeast Norway and at the Harz University of Applied Sciences, Germany. He is also a member of the Sonnino Working Research Group, Italy and the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute. He completed his Ph D at McGill University examining sustainable tourism strategies at the oldest seabird sanctuaries in North America as part of a UNESCO project focusing on the Circumpolar North. He has worked on tourism projects in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In Canada, he worked for Destination Canada, Parks Canada and the Tourism industry Association of Canada delivered a Greening Your Business programme to over 75 businesses at the Gros Morne Institute of Sustainable Tourism. His research addresses the sustainability of tourism planning and destination development in peripheral and rural regions. Specific areas of focus include mountain tourism, creative tourism, geotourism, food and wine tourism, cruise tourism, polar tourism, and wellness tourism. He is co-editor of a book on Mountain Tourism (2016) published by CABI International.

  Shaun Mann

Tourism Specialist, IFC/World Bank
Shaun is a passionate tourism development professional and has split the past 27 years between the private sector and the government. For the last 10 years Shaun has been in the World Bank Group where he has worked on tourism projects in 27 countries. He originally comes from Uganda where he was born and grew up and then returned to in 1989. He started a small tour operating company and then built and operated two lodges. He was then asked by the Government to lead the newly formed Uganda Tourist Board and manage a large EU-funded product and market development project that helped put Uganda back on the map. Since joining the World Bank in 2005, Shaun has been instrumental in reestablishing «tourism» as a legitimate instrument for economic development with a range of internal and external clients. The Bank had actually discontinued its tourism related lending in 1979 and closed a 30-strong tourism department.

  Tim Williamson

After studying history at Liverpool University, Tim started his 20 years in travel as a ski rep for Skibound in Brighton which was then acquired by First Choice Holidays giving him the opportunity to join their product team as a marketing assistant. Tim worked his way up to Produce Director and then added marketing to the role before the merger with TUI. In the new company he was promoted to Customer Director and to the UK board with a team of 3,000 staff and a £60m budget. After a short project in Beijing for TUI China Tim left to take a year out and worked with his family as a volunteer in an orphan and vulnerable children pre-school in Swaziland. His next role in travel as CEO of Travel Department, Ireland’s largest escorted tour operator, and then as Customer Director for Monarch Airlines. Since December 2013, Tim is Marketing & Content Director for Responsible Travel where he has been a non-executive director for the last 3 years. He is also a director of Development Squared, a business mentoring programme for Swaziland, and is still heavily involved in various charitable initiatives there. He lives in Brighton in the UK with his wife and two sons.

  Claudia Tapardel

Claudia Tapardel is one of the youngest women MEPs. She comes from Romania, and is very passionate about tourism. In 2015, Claudia was elected co-chair of the Intergroup for the Development of European Tourism and Cultural Heritage. With 140 members, the Intergroup is dedicated to bring tourism into the spotlight of European policies. In the European Parliament, she is a member in three important Committees: Transport and Tourism, Constitutional Affairs and Budgets. Claudia has a rich education in Economics (PhD), Public Administration and International Business.

GSTC Global Sustainable Tourism Conference in Suwon, South Korea, October 5-8

GSTC’s main event in 2016 is the first Global Sustainable Tourism Conference, to be held in Suwon City, South Korea, 5-8 October, 2016.  An inclusive conference featuring prominent speakers, updates on GSTC’s activities, themed sessions and panels.

Conference themes are: marketing sustainable tourism, urban tourism, cultural heritage destinations, and sustainable MICE. Simultaneous translation to Korean and Chinese will be available. The global conference has been planned to coincide with the Suwon City Cultural Festival.  Post-conference field trips are offered free of charge for conference attendees to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) or to Everland Theme Park and the Samsung Innovation Museum.

What: 2016 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference

Where: Novotel Ambassador Suwon Hotel, Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea — very near Seoul and an easy transfer from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport

When: 5-8 October, 2016  (note: the dates have been changed from previous announcements)

Sponsors: Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Tourism Office

Conference brochure: more information about the conference, including programme, speakers and panelists can be found here.

Hotel reservations are the responsibility of the attendee and can be made directly with the hotelhere. Please note booking instructions to receive the negotiated discounted rates.

Promote your organization at the conference. Learn more here.

Questions? Contact us at events@gstcouncil.org

REGISTER NOW 

Speakers:

Jane Ashton, Director of Sustainability, TUI Group

Prof. Dr. Xavier Font, University of Surrey

Roger Simons, GMIC President and MCI Regional Sustainability Director APAC

Noor Ahmad Hamid, Regional Director APAC, ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association)

Nichapa Yoswee, Director of MICE Capabilities Development, Thailand Conventions & Exhibitions Bureau

Jonas Wilstrup, Convention Director, Wonderful Copenhagen

Geoffrey Lipmann, Director, GreenGrowth.travel

Benjamin Lephilibert, Managing Director, LightBlue Environmental Consulting

IV PM4SD Summer School 2016 – Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism

The Summer School in Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism is back for its 4th edition, hosted by Icelandic Tourist Board, it will take place at the Lonely Planet´s no 1 destination in Europe 2015: Akureyri, Iceland.

Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism is a 3 days High Level event, co-organized by the Foundation for European Sustainable Tourism (FEST) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) to address one of the most important themes in the tourism industry: how to plan and deliver transformative tourism projects and initiatives to generate a sustainable visitor economy.

The 2016 Summer School aims to contribute to the 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, through a publication and preparing a Call for Action.

The Summer School will once again brings together key representatives of the tourism sector: donors, representatives of European and international organizations, policy makers, industry representatives, project management practitioners, academics and entrepreneurs.

Outstanding speakers will be focusing on: Sustainable Tourism Policies, Criteria, Certifications, Best Practices; Project Management, Destination Management, Branding Destination; Capacity building, Public Private Partnership, tourism funding.

Speakers and participants will enjoy together plenty of social activities to discover the North Iceland, including visits at fishing town, museum, harbor, waterfalls and nature baths. For the last day, we have planned a one day tour to discover and taste several Iceland sustainable tourism gems (Mývatn Nature Baths, Dettifoss waterfall, the Gljúfrastofa Visitor Centre,

The Summer School is the PM4SD™ annual event, promoting it as the methodology to apply in tourism projects and to discuss the professionalization of project management in sustainable tourism and the need of leadership in tourism.

Programm here

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Creando puentes de prosperidad en cooperativas rurales en México con Marisol Herrera

‘Totonal, Viajes que Iluminan’ es una operadora de turismo responsable en el sureste Mexicano fundada y dirigida por Marisol Herrera. Totonal se caracteriza por integrar cadenas de comercio justo, a través del diseño, operación y venta de viajes eco-turísticos y culturales que a su vez promocionan iniciativas comunitarias locales y cooperativas rurales.

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TRAVINDY: ¿Cuáles son los principales retos a los que Totonal se está enfrentando?

TOTONAL: Los principales retos a los que nos estamos enfrentando actualmente en materia de gestión empresarial es en el área de recursos humanos y acceso a los mercados nichos realmente interesados en los viajes responsables. Como pequeña empresa nuestros recursos financieros son limitados y por ende, no podemos aún contar con muchos recursos para poder hacer una campaña de promoción más fuerte en estos mercados meta internacionales. Sin embargo, estas limitaciones nos han motivado a ser creativos y encontrar, a través de alianzas, los medios para poder comenzar a acceder a estos mercados. Y por otro lado, la gestión de recursos humanos también ha significado un gran reto por la misma falta de capacitación y sensibilización para los jóvenes talentos en materia de turismo responsable. Por ende, nosotros tenemos que ir permeando esa filosofía y amor por lo que hacemos con cada miembro de nuestro equipo mientras también aprendemos a organizar y estructurar mucho mejor los roles y responsabilidades de cada quien. Retos que creo, cualquier emprendimiento, tiene que aprender a afrontar.

En el aspecto social y cultural nuestro principal reto es mantener la autenticidad y no folklorización de nuestras culturas indígenas. Respetar su esencia y no dejarnos llevar por tendencias comerciales de turismo de masas. También otro reto social importante es coadyuvar a mantener las fuentes de empleo que genera el turismo responsable en zonas rurales, así que nuestro reto es realmente contribuir llevándoles clientes y pagarles un precio justo por sus servicios.

Nuestro principal reto es mantener la autenticidad y no folklorización de nuestras culturas indígenas. Respetar su esencia y no dejarnos llevar por tendencias comerciales de turismo de masas.

VIAJES QUE CAMBIAN EL MUNDO

Susana Conde es la fundadora y directora de Agrotravel Turismo Responsable, una agencia y consultoría especializada en Turismo Responsable y Sostenible así como socia de otra agencia similar y muy centrada en ecoturismo y turismo comunitario en México , llamada Totonal.  En España ofrecen viajes a cerca de 50 destinos de todo el mundo siempre con la filosofía de turismo responsable, y además proponen muchas ideas y escapadas por España de cara a los viajeros internacionales que quieran visitar España de otra manera. Además es consultora, formadora y ponente en temas de turismo y especialmente en todo lo relacionado con el ecoturismo, turismo sostenible y responsable.

¿Cuáles son los factores que definen un viaje responsable?
Un viaje responsable debe tener un impacto positivo en el lugar visitado, tanto en aspectos económicos, desarrollo local, generación de empleo digno… como en aspectos socioculturales de la propia población local. Además debe intentar ser lo más respetuoso posible con el entorno visitado, su medioambiente y biodiversidad pero también con la cultura y las comunidades locales. También debe promover un encuentro real y de igual a igual entre viajeros y anfitriones. Todo esto también va a representar para el viajero que su experiencia sea mucho más auténtica y enriquecedora y que el viaje resulte de más calidad.