STC-7 Opens in Tobago to Discuss the Caribbean Diversity
Caribbean authorities and experts has opened a Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development Tobago on Tuesday to ponder on how best to use and protect the most important source of income for most of the region´s economies.
The four-day meting, under the theme Keeping the Right Balance. Sustainable Tourism through Diversity, will be attended by tourism ministers, among other government officials, as well as by businesspersons from some 30 countries and territories.
Participants will debate initiatives aimed at using tourism-linked resources more rationally while protecting the environment. They will also receive first-hand information on business opportunities.
Among key speakers at the opening-ceremony, scheduled for the evening, will be Karen Ford-Warner, acting Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and her counterpart of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Ruben Sille.
Both organizations and the government of Trinidad and Tobago is sponsoring this annual meeting.
The Seventh Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development adds to the efforts seeking to boost regional integration as it will further increase awareness of the challenges facing an industry which ranks as the main source of revenue for 17 of the 30 economies in the area.
Delegates, including hoteliers and tour-operators, will also focus on how the CTO and ACS can best design and implement sustainable tourism policies and programs.
According to the conference´s program, ecotourism and its use as an instrument to achieve the above goals, planning and biodiversity are high on the agenda. A round-table discussion on marketing and communications is scheduled too.
The meeting will also enable participants to exchange views on pitfalls and problems related to implementing regional and domestic initiatives. It will also look at the advances since the 2003 and 2004 conferences, held in Saint Kitts and Nevis and Havana, respectively.
A final document will be prepared which will include the presentations and recommendations.
