(Archival) Events

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E-Conference: The Role of Development Communication in Sustainable Tourism

May 29 - June 9, 2006 

Organizers:

• The World Bank - Development Communications Division
• USAID - Development Communication & Sustainable Tourism Unit
• UN-WTO - Department for Sustainable Development of Tourism

The e-conference brought together development practitioners, tourism professionals, decision-makers, academicians and communication specialists representing various national institutions, private sector and media organizations, NGOs, international institutions and donors active in the field of communication and sustainable tourism to:

• share their experiences, information and perspectives;
• consolidate knowledge on development communication in sustainable tourism programs;
• discuss the role that communication can play in designing and implementing sustainable tourism strategies and projects at national and local level;
• identify and share lessons learned and best practices.

Discussions centered on five thematic areas:

• The role of communication in planning and implementing sustainable tourism policies and strategies (Communication for tourism policies/strategies)
• Communication and local communities in tourism development (Communication for community involvement)
• The role of communication in promoting Corporate Social Responsibility in Sustainable Tourism Development (Communication for Corporate Social Responsibility)
• The role of communication in linking sustainable tourism products to markets (Linking to markets)
• Interpreting tourism destinations and orienting visitors (Interpretation and orientation).

USAID & Sustainable Tourism: Training Course for Field Officers

February 19 - 25, 2006

Tourism is now generally recognized to be one of the largest industries in the world. It has grown rapidly and almost continuously over the past twenty years, and is now one of the world’s most significant sources of employment and of GDP. Tourism particularly benefits the economies of developing countries, where most of the sector’s new tourism jobs and businesses are being created. This rapid growth has encouraged many developing nations to view tourism as key to promoting economic growth.

USAID is increasingly using tourism programs and activities to achieve Agency goals of reducing poverty and improving livelihoods in the world’s less developed countries. USAID sees sustainable tourism development as having enormous cross-sectoral potential for accomplishing strategic objectives related to economic growth and poverty reduction, biodiversity conservation, and natural resources management, and it is viewed as a powerful tool for addressing other important cross-cutting agendas such as gender equity, global health, education, and local governance.

In February 2006, a seven-day training course in Sustainable Tourism for USAID field staff and host-country partners from all regions was presented by the EGAT Bureau’s cross-sectoral and interagency Sustainable Tourism Working Group. The training focused on:

increasing understanding of the basic principles of sustainable tourism and knowledge of the tools and techniques available;

• developing capability to analyze whether tourism would be a good tool, and identifying entry points for utilizing tourism to accomplish Agency goals;
• explaining how to approach tourism project design and implementation, outlining activities that build sustainability; and
• illustrating realistic expectations about what can be accomplished in 3–5 years, with examples of indicators for measuring success.

The training was held at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge outside of Arusha, Tanzania’s “safari capital,” and two day-long field trips during the training took participants out to Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks to explore community-based tourism initiatives, discuss successes and challenges with area tour operators, and meet with park staff at Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks, which both have magnificent new visitor facilities and outstanding wildlife-viewing opportunities. More information and PowerPoints of all presentations can be found here.

For more information, please contact Roberta Hilbruner (rhilbruner@usaid.gov) or Carol Hansen (chansen@nric.net).

Ecotourism Emerging Industry Forum

November 1 - 18, 2005

This innovative online ecotourism forum, sponsored by Planeta.com and EplerWood International, will provide professionally moderated, up-to-date results on small and medium enterprise (SME) priorities for funding and investment decisions for sustainable tourism in developing countries. It will look at potential barriers for entrepreneurs and communities engaged in sustainable tourism development and will facilitate the participation of key business, finance, and market players worldwide to discuss the needs of their industry.

The forum will lead to a more thorough understanding of the types of support small and medium enterprises need to foster more local economic growth, community benefits, poverty alleviation, conservation and sustainable development. The on-line dialogue will be followed by a synthesis document posted on Planeta’s website.

Visit the web site for more information: http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/emerging.html