Black Meetings and Tourism

July / August 2017

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The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region's tourism development agency, is partnering with the Ministry of Tourism in St. Kitts to host a sustainable tourism forum, with a focus on climate change. Themed Good for Us, Better for All, the Sept. 6-8 Climate Smart Sustainable Tourism Forum is being held in observance of the "International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development" and will bring together local, regional, and international rep- resentatives from public and private sector tourism entities, as well as development agen- cies that offer programming in sustainable tourism, for three days of interactive engage- ments. Major elements will include best practice sharing and strategic consultations for a CTO climate adaptation project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, in order to stre ngthen holistic destination management approaches in the Caribbean. "The CTO is honored to partner with St. Kitts and Nevis to host this forum, which will explore various facets of sustainable tourism, in view of the threats and opportunities for regional tourism development, as a result of climate variability and climate change," said Amanda Charles, the CTO's sustainable tourism specialist. The winner of the 2004 CTO/TravelMole Sustainable Tourism Award in Destination Stewardship, St Kitts is one of the first destina- tions in the world to be accepted as an early adopter of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's criteria for destinations. It also is a founding member of the Sustainable Destination Alliance of the Americas, an initiative by the CTO, the Organization of American CARIBBEAN CORNER B M & T ••• July/August 2017 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com States, Sustainable Travel International and Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited to promote sustainable destination management in the Caribbean and Central America. Its many initiatives include the establishment of the Heart of St. Kitts Foundation and Sustainability Charter, which helps businesses understand how their operations con- tribute to destination-wide sustainability, and to sup- port community projects that make St. Kitts a more sustainable place to live and experience. "There is an inexorable link between tourism activity and climate change. Tourism there- fore must play an integral role in the global response to climate change; a charge St. Kitts takes very seriously. Through the investment of considerable resources into sustainable tourism, St. Kitts is changing the way tourism is perceived an d practiced globally, regionally, and at home," minister of tourism Lindsay Grant said. The Climate Smart Sustainable Tourism Forum will also feature expe- riential field visits, a meeting of CTO's Sustainable Tourism Technical Committee, and winning presentations from CTO's Primary School Tourism Writing Competition. The event culminates with the presenta- tion ceremony for CTO's 2017 Sustainable Touri sm Awards, which rec- ognize regional sustainability champions. Organizing partners include the CTO, the St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism, the St. Kitts Sustainable Destination Council, and Sustainable Travel International. For sponsorship opportunities, and to signal your interest in attending please contact Amanda Charles at acharles@carib - tourism.com or Kennedy Pemberton at pembertonk@carib- tourism.com. 32 CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION TEAMS UP WITH ST. KITTS TO HOST CLIMATE SMART SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FORUM September 6-8 Event is in Observance of International Year of Sustainable Tourism For Development Photo Credit: Volodymyr Melnyk Paradise beach, Jamaica

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