carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

A note from London Business Conferences.

Carbon and Environmental Footprint Supply Chain 2008
24-25 September 2008, The Westin, Times Square, New York, US

We look forward to welcoming many of you to the 2008 Carbon Footprint: Sustainable Supply Chain Summit taking place this Thursday and Friday, with the pre-conference morning workshop on Successful Consumer Engagement tomorrow morning at 9.30am (Canterbury Room of the Thistle Marble Arch, London).

Please be aware that the Summit itself begins at 8:50 on Thursday 29th May, so please arrive in good time to collect your badge and have a cup of tea and coffee before we start. Please also be aware of the innovative, SAS sponsored Working Group Sessions that will punctuate the end of the first day, leading into the Drinks Reception hosted by our Lead Sponsors - LRQA. We are looking to compile a fantastic, pan-audience array of best-practice solutions, opinion, insight and indeed the very next need-to-know issues for every delegate to receive following the event.

The flagship London Summit has been another major success in the growing international series that sees the next ground-breaking event take place on the US East Coast in New York for September.

If you have any questions at all regarding the Summit and Workshop this week in London, September in New York or indeed the other cross-industry Summits - including IT, Construction and Aviation - that form part of the acclaimed series dedicated to helping companies maximise the economic and environmental benefits of effective climate change strategies - please contact us on +44 (0) 207 749 0470, or e-mail info@london-business-conferences.co.uk.

Look forward to seeing you this week or in New York later in the year!

Kind Regards

Oliver Hurrey
Senior Conference Director
London Business Conferences
Direct: +44 (0) 207 7490 493
Mobile: +44 (0) 7876 252698
oliver@london-business-conferences.co.uk
www.london-business-conferences.co.uk

The four day International Conference on Responsible Tourism concluded with the signing of the Kerala Declaration today. The Conference drew a crowd of 503 delegates and speakers from 29 countries.

Hoteliers, tour operators, government agencies, NGOs, academia, media, industry and local government from the State, National and International arena shared their expertise and knowledge to take forward the agenda to ensure that more responsible and sustainable tourism practices are adopted around the world.

Earlier inaugurating the event, Minister for Home, Vigilance and Tourism Shri Kodiyeri Balakrishnan iterated that his vision is to create a broad consensus on adoption of
responsible tourism practices by all stakeholders.“Opportunities should be shared with the local people. We should join hands with Local-Self-Government bodies like the Panchayat to create durable institutions that will take the Responsible Tourism agenda forward. Women’s self-help-groups like Kudumbasree are testimony as to how tourism can be used as a platform for local economic development”.

Dr. Venu V., Secretary of Kerala Tourism said “responsible tourism practices are crucial for us given the increase in tourism numbers to Kerala. The efforts of Kerala to involve a participatory, sustainable initiative providing linkages between the local communities and tourism businesses have been strengthened by the insights we have received at the Conference”.True to the theme and commitment of the conference, speakers and delegates paid to attend the conference including registration fees, travel expenses and accommodation to ensure that the host State does not carry the full financial burden. The Conference organizers absorbed the cost for State Level and District Level Responsible Tourism Committees and District Tourism Promotion Councils so that they could gain valuable insights from the international presenters and case studies showcased. Fiona Jeffery, Chairman - World Travel Mart said that she was happy to demonstrate her commitment to this important issue by attending as a paid speaker.

The case studies presented at the Conference demonstrated that responsible tourism practices were being adopted in different context, delivering innovative solutions based on a community led approach. There was immense scope for all businesses to be more responsible and this should be a priority issue for all stakeholders.

A total of 63 speakers presented at 7 sessions spread over the four day Conference attended by 503 registered delegates from 29 countries including India.

Speakers at the inaugural session included:

• Prof. Harold Goodwin, Director, ICRT, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK
• Dr. Harsh Varma, Director-Development Assistance, UNWTO
• Ms. Fiona Jeffery, Chairman, World Travel Market
• Mr. Hiran Cooray, PATA Secretary and Treasurer
• Mr. E.M Najeeb, President, Kerala Travel Mart Society
• Mr. Mandip Singh Soin, President, Ecotourism Society of India
• Mr. Abama Bah, Chair, Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism Gambia

The Conference programme included the following sessions:

• Academic Conference on 21st March where papers on various aspects relating to Responsible Tourism were presented
• The second day (22nd March) of the Conference focused on global perspectives on the responsible tourism movement, experiences from destinations as well as thematic presentations and interactions on rural tourism.
• The third day (23rd March) featured case studies from Indian destinations, session on ‘the Kerala experience’ and site visits
• The fourth-day concluded with the proclamation of the Kerala Declaration on Responsible Tourism

San Francisco, 12th – 13th June 2008
Red 7 Media have launched the Green Event Summit EXPO which is the the first national conference in the USA which brings together executives from the event and trade show sector.  One of the objectives is to learn about creating eco-friendly events.

Around 400 delegates and international speakers will get together in Kochi from March 21 to March 24 at the Le Meridien International Convention Centre to learn about the latest developments and practices in Responsible Tourism.

Speakers from over 20 countries including the UK, Germany, Gambia, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bhutan will discuss wide-ranging topics like local economic development and poverty reduction, taking responsibility for destination sustainability, travel philanthropy and the role of government – national and local.

Minister for Tourism- Kerala, Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan says the choice of Kerala as the venue is a tribute to the State’s Responsible Tourism initiatives. “Kerala has successfully implemented Responsible Tourism practices and is home to several working models of Responsible Tourism practices, contributing to enriching the environment and the local community. I envisage future developments in Kerala taking the responsible path”.

This second international conference on ‘Responsible Tourism in Destinations’ is designed to create awareness amongst operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists to take responsibility and action to make tourism more sustainable. Concerns of those in the tourism industry with regards to the relatively new idea of responsible travel and responsible tourism will be answered by experts who have already implemented many of these new concepts.

Dr. Venu V., Secretary, Kerala Tourism says the conference will provide an excellent opportunity for participants to learn about what has been achieved worldwide in Responsible Tourism and how to move the agenda forward in Kerala. “It will help us keep pace with international trends towards best practices and at the same time, gain market advantage. We have clinched participation from prominent international personalities including Dr. Harsh Varma, Director of Development Assistance-UNWTO, Ms. Fiona Jeffrey, Chairman- World Travel Mart, Mr. Renton de Alwis, Chairman-Sri Lanka Tourism Board and Mr. Hiran Cooray, Secretary and Treasurer of PATA, amongst others”.

Delegates will get the chance to visit various sites in Kerala including homestays, heritage precincts, farms and local entrepreneurs as models of responsible tourism practices. Kumbalangi, Fort Kochi, Kumarakom and Mattancherry are some of the places that will be showcased. Operators in the Kerala tourism sector will also share their experiences in making the State a Responsible Tourism destination.

The Conference will be co-chaired by Dr. Venu V., Secretary, Kerala Tourism and Prof Harold Goodwin, Director International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Responsible Tourism in its purest sense is an industry which attempts to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate income, employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems. It is an industry that is both ecologically and culturally sensitive.

This conference is a follow up from the first Responsible Tourism Conference held in Capetown, South Africa in 2002. It is organised by Kerala Tourism and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (India) with India Tourism as partner.

Kerala to play host to the Incredible India Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations.

Kerala Tourism is hosting the Incredible India Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations from 21 to 24 March 2008 at the Le Meridien International Convention Centre, Kochi, Kerala. A sequel to the first Responsible Tourism Conference held at Cape Town in 2002, the second international conference aims at developing tourism in a way that would benefit both the people as well as the natural fabric of the land.

Organised by Kerala Tourism in association with ICRT India and with India Tourism as a partner, the forthcoming Conference, will evaluate the existing standards of Responsible Tourism practices across the world. Besides reviewing the progress made by India and other countries in Responsible Tourism, the conference will discuss key issues like reports and deliberations on new and emerging trends in the field.

The Conference will be co-chaired by Dr. Venu V, Secretary, Kerala Tourism and Prof. Harold Goodwin, Director, International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) at Leeds Metropolitan University. Local economic development, regional marketing initiatives, water, carbon and GHGs, wildlife and conservation will be some of the major topics discussed at the conference. Policies to be used as benchmarks by the tourism industry for the welfare of the society through tourism will also be focused at the conference. Above all, the second international conference will be the platform for a global initiative to help the tourism industry and all its stakeholders wake up to the problems and issues at hand - namely, economic, environmental, socio-cultural and socio-economic.

For the participants, the meet will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about what has been achieved worldwide in Responsible Tourism and how to move the agenda forward. And for the travel and tourism trade, in particular, the Conference featuring case studies will be a pointer to improving their social, economic and environmental practices. Thus helping them keep pace with international trends towards responsible business practices and at the same time, gain market advantage.

Representatives from various countries, NGOs and several government agencies that have initiated the Responsible Tourism movement in the world, will attend the Conference on responsible tourism. Those wishing to participate in this conference can log on to the website www.responsibletourism2008.org for more details.

The UNWTO Davos Conference on Climate Change in Davos, 1st - 3rd October 2007 is asking that all participants register with a carbon offsetting company!

24th April 2007
The Tourism Society are running the Global Warming: The Challenge for British Tourism conference which will look at the challenges which the British Tourism industry will be faces in respect of global warming.  Panel presenters include: Sandie Dawe, Director of Strategy and Communications of VisitBritain;  Dermot Blastland, Managing Director of First Choice and Lord Lee, Chairman of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.

Lisbon 10th – 12th May 2007

At the Global Travel and Tourism Summit one of the sessions is entitled ‘A Re-Think on the Brink’ which looks at the environmental impact, including tourists’ ‘carbon footprint’.

Visitors can read comments from Dr Chris Luebkeman, Global Foresight & Innovation, Arup Group; Andrew C Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Sonu Shivdasani, Chairman and CEO, Six Senses Resorts & Spas.  You can also leave your own thoughts on the website.  To find out more please click here.