CTO announces speakers for 5th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development

An impressive list of dynamic speakers has been confirmed for the 5th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, which takes place in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis from September 9-12, 2003.

"We have secured some impressive and knowledgeable speakers who will be addressing various facets of sustainable tourism development," said Karen Ford-Warner, deputy secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), which is organizing the conference in collaboration with the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and the host country.

"We believe –she added- that they will give thought-provoking presentations and share practical advice on how to develop, finance and market of successful sustainable tourism projects."

The tone will be set by the keynote speaker, Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts and Nevis following the feature address by an experienced and respected Caribbean cultural figure Mr. Alwin Bully, who at present is the senior program specialist responsible for culture at the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)/Caribbean.

Session one will deal with Planning, Management and Partnership: Key Issues for the Balanced use of Our Natural and Cultural Heritage. Delegates will hear from heritage consultant Patricia Green of Patricia E. Green Architects of Jamaica who will deal with Planning Heritage Tourism Products and Jan-Bjarmi Bjarnason of the Suriname Integrated Tourism Development

Program who will explore Heritage Tourism in Suriname: Untapped Potential and Development Challenges. Vanessa Spadafora, executive director of the Old Panama City Restoration Office of Panama, will present a case study of The Planning Process of the Old Panama City Restoration Project.

During the second session, presenters will tackle the important subject of Ensuring the Quality and Authenticity of Our Heritage Products: Standards, Categorization and Certification Schemes. The Caribbean Blue Flag Campaign experience in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico will be presented by Lourdes Diaz, director of product development at the Puerto Rico Tourism Company as a case

study for A Caribbean System as a Tool for Environmental Management of Natural Heritage. Christine Le Gargasson, an ACS consultant, will present the case of St. François in Guadeloupe as an example of how to Identify Sustainable Tourism Indicators in the Caribbean.

Two very popular regional festivals, the Bonaire Dive Festival and the Dominica Creole Music Festival will feature during what is expected to be one of the most inter-active sessions dubbed Standing Out Through Our Heritage: Marketing Strategies Based on the Natural and Cultural Richness of the Region. Candice Adams-Kimmel, president of the public relations firm

Adams Unlimited, which represents the Tourism Corporation of Bonaire in Florida, USA will speak on Promoting a Destination Through Environmental Awareness Activities, while Jeffery Brisbane, executive director of the Dominica Festivals Commission will address the subject of Combining Culture and Tourism Promotion. Delegates attending this session will also hear from

Belia de Contreras, executive director of the Tourism Institute of Guatemala on The Mundo Maya Experience: A Sub-Regional Initiative for the Development of Tourism Products.

Financing Heritage Based Projects will be the subject of discussion during the fourth session with Dr. Keith Nurse, lecturer/researcher at the Institute of International Relations at the St. Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI)focusing on Festival Tourism in the

Caribbean: An Economic Impact Assessment. Sylvester Clauzel of the St. Lucia Heritage Tourism Program will also deliver a presentation on Challenges in Financing Small Heritage Based Projects at this session.

The final day of the 5th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development is dubbed Looking Ahead with a panel of stakeholders from the host country speaking out on Relevant Issues for St. Kitts and Nevis while a separate panel chaired by Hon. Dwyer Astaphan, minister of tourism of St. Kitts and Nevis, explores The Way Forward - Relevant Issues for the

Caribbean on Sustainable Tourism Development. At this session, Zoila Gonzalez Maicas of the ACS will deliver a special presentation on The Future of the Sustainable Tourism Zone of the Caribbean.

The conference program also includes a number of study tours to various sustainable tourism development sites on St. Kitts and Nevis as well as several social events.