Tuesday, March 17, 2009

International Symposium on Sustainable Tourism

I'm in Quebec City for the second time in 5 weeks (last time to cover Quebec's Winter Carnival on assignment for a travel mag).

Now I'm attending the International Symposium on Sustainable Tourism and am looking forward to hearing some key issues presented by international specialists on ST.

Okay, but what is ST? Here is the oft-quoted United Nations World Tourism Organization's definition:

"Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability."

An associated term is Ecotourism and its definition, according to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), is:

"Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people."

In October 2008, I was one of seven international journalists selected to cover TIES' Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference held in Vancouver. I'm intrigued to discover how this Quebec City symposium will deal with the similar issues...

Stay tuned...

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