PATA’s Sustainable Tourism Committee’s most recent meeting took place April 25th during the conference in Kuching, Malaysia that included the organization’s annual meeting. The Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo hosted the event at their new and very sophisticated convention center.
The committee is small but passionate and engaged, and the leadership of the important 59-year old trade group is serious about supporting sustainable tourism development and initiatives. The conference itself involved walking the talk in an environmentally-friendly manner, avoiding single-use plastic water bottles and other appropriate actions.
The committee reported on and discussed a range of worthwhile topics: PATA’s engagement with EC3 for carbon management tools and educational opportunities for PATA members; planning for an indigenous peoples’ tourism conference in Darwin, Australia late in 2011; the Dutch development group SNV’s report on responsible tourism market research; the creation of the International School of Ecotourism at Subic Bay in the Philippines; the MOU that PATA has signed with CED, the Centre for Excellence in Destinations; and the outreach activity underway within PATA toward its youth members and potential members. The committee expressed openness to my suggestion of possible involvement in the Pacific Ocean plastic clean-up work that is needed, highlighted by the research that our friend Mary Crowley and her team at Project Kaisei is showing to the world.
Impressed with the commitment and sincerity of the committee, I was compelled to offer our support and I was admitted as a member of the committee. Robin and I look forward to supporting the research and activities of the committee and the entire organization. We’d love to hear your thoughts including any suggestions and questions.
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