Historic Overview of the Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development

Expectations are running high in anticipation of this year’s Annual Sustainable Tourism Development Conference (STC) to be held in Barbados from May 9th to 12th.

The STC is an integral part of information dissemination and regional awareness, highlighting the strategy of the Caribbean Tourism Organization for the development of sustainable tourism in the region. Direct flights to participate in the event (see following link http://www.caribbeannewsdigital.com/en/news//18167/cto_arranges_flight_specials_for_sustainable_tourism_conference). The program is designed to be less academic and more practical.

This year is also an excellent opportunity to bring more cohesiveness among CTO and the ACS with the STC. ACS’s Member states design and implement policies and programs for sustainable tourism and now with the STC offering a regional forum for this exchange of information, the national, regional and international achievements and obstacles will be highlighted. This exercise provides an opportunity for stakeholders to learn from the past, building the present and plan for the future. Please see our article about this: http://www.caribbeannewsdigital.com/en/news//18117/stc_bringing_even_more_synergy_between_cto_acs

A successful conference is one that allows the host region to clearly identify key aspects of their own pursuit of tourism sustainability and make a commitment to establish policies and programs that allow positive results. This activity combines specialists in tourism both regionally and internationally, along with local developmental experts from the community, incorporating cultural, academic and environmental input to offer solutions to problems arising in sustainable tourism development.

Under the coordination of the CTO in recent years, this represents an evolution of the conferences held between 1991 and 1996 for Ecotourism in the Caribbean. Today we will comment on the background of these conferences on Ecotourism, which were conducted in the following countries: Belize in 1991; San John, USVI in 1992; Cayman Islands in 1993; Bonaire in 1994; Margarita Island in 1995, and in 1996 the last of this first stage took place in Guadeloupe, French West Indies .

From 1997, in response to the recommendations of the Conferences on Ecotourism, the CTO decided to extend the concept of this regional forum to include aspects of sustainable tourism in the region in general, along with the field of Ecotourism. Out of this was born The Annual Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Development Conference.

From this, Dominica hosted the 1st Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development. Due to the economic reasons in 2001 and 2002, the conference could not be implemented in the countries nominated as hosts.

This will be a three part series in chronological order on the development of the STC, since its inception as the Ecotourism Conference in 1997 through 2003.

FIRST STC
1997: The 1st Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Development Conference took place in Dominica, an island known for its greenery and good practices of ecotourism. The theme was "Developing an Ecotourism Destination Model for the Caribbean." With 300 delegates attending, 26 national and international speakers, and 13 regional and international journalists. A great start.

1998: The 2nd Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development took place in Trinidad and Tobago. This conference was very important to us. It opened our eyes to the issue of sustainability in the region, and was the first in which we fully participated. The theme was "Keeping the Right Balance", and was attended by 250 delegates, 30 speakers and 16 invited journalists.

1999: One of the brightest conferences was undoubtedly the 3rd STC, which took place in Suriname. Adding to the previous topic, "Keeping the Right Balance - Working Together", 250 delegates, 28 speakers and 20 journalists made the somewhat difficult journey, but experienced fascinating study tours, and left with a completely different vision of Suriname.

2000: the 4th STC held in Guyana with the theme of “Keeping the Right Balance - Unlocking the Potential," was attended by 300 delegates, 23 speakers and 25 journalists. "Study tours” were unforgettable, and made us realize how much can be accomplished if we know the true extent of the problems. A conference like few others!

2003: The 5th Conference for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caribbean took place on the beautiful islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. Attended by 200 delegates, 20 speakers and 10 journalists, with the theme of “Keeping the Right Balance,” and Embracing Our Heritage,” the hospitality and study tours were excellent. We can still remember the positive attitude and excitement of the Ministry of Tourism.

We recall the STC in 2004 in Tobago with great affection, and we will devote a comprehensive note in coming days.