Eco Announcements

Castries - March 4, 2019: The Month of March is expected to be a record-breaking period in Saint Lucia’s cruise sector.

Between Friday March 1, and Sunday March 3, 2019, twelve (12) cruise vessels including the inaugural call of Crystal Esprit brought an estimated combined capacity of 19,052 travelers to the destination. Expected through March 31, is the arrival of an additional 125,434 travelers.

In an effort to maximize the benefits of tourism locally that is in direct keeping with our current plans and policy trends toward sustainable cruise tourism strategies, special focus is being placed on the development and management of the cruise sector.

“We are doing everything possible to ensure that Saint Lucians benefit more from these impressive numbers. A revenue committee has been established at the Tourism Council to yield greater economic penetration for our people.” said Tourism Minister, Dominic Fedee. "Therefore, the tremendous growth we are experiencing is a great beginning and we are committed to making this count by training our vendors and other stakeholders to focus on revenue.”

Thiruvananthapuram, India - 3 March 2019: A video in sign language and a braille brochure on local attractive spots were unveiled on Saturday by state minister Kadakampally Surendran, who claimed Kerala was the first in the country to create basic amenities for the disabled at tourism centres.The tourism minister was speaking after unveiling the new initiatives of Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society (TEPS) at a function here.

Read more: Kerala role model in making tourism disabled-friendly, says minister Surendran - MyNation.com

22 February 2019 - Bilaspur, India: On 13 February, the Supreme Court of India, hearing a decade-old petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, ordered that forest dwellers whose claims for recognition of forest rights have been rejected would have to be evicted in a summary and time-bound manner. The order contains separate instructions for each state government to ensure that such evictions are duly carried out.

On Sunday in Aruba, Airbnb and the Aruba Tourism Authority signed a significant agreement to continue to cooperate to drive sustainable tourism in...

Read more: Airbnb and Aruba Tourism Authority sign MoU to continue partnership to drive sustainable tourism - WIC News

Seefeld, 06/02/2019 – The Institute for Tourism and Development (Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung) will give the “TO DO Award Human Rights in Tourism“ 2019 to the Spanish association “Las Kellys“. In 2019, the internationally recognised prize will be awarded for the third time already. It was announced in cooperation with the Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism and Studiosus Reisen. The award ceremony will take place at ITB in Berlin.

The name of the Spanish association “Las Kellys“ reflects what they do, as in Irish it means “warriors“. The association fights for the rights of chambermaids in the hospitality sector. Tourism in Spain is booming. In 2017 the country welcomed more than 80 million guests. However, this favourable economic situation does not benefit everybody – far from it.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly identified five caves where it plans to launch ecotourism destinations this year. Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), the ...

Read more: Saudi Arabia identifies five caves for ecotourism drive

Video Statement by Martha Rojas Urrego, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Essex was once a hotbed for alternative communities. Working holidays now offer peace and purpose in one of the few surviving examples. At first glance the village of Purleigh, on the Dengie peninsula in Essex, does not look like an obvious place for radicals. A crow is gently muttering to itself i...

Read more: Eastern Eden: a utopian community in Essex - The Guardian

Wonderful Copenhagen, the Danish capital’s CVB has set a new environmental standard as a Green Tourism Organisation (GTO). The certification was set up to support destinations and organisations that do something extraordinary for sustainability.

Copenhagen is ranked second on ICCA’s Global Destination Sustainability Index and, as CMW reported recently, Wonderful Copenhagen launched its first strategy for sustainable tourism, Tourism for Good. It is one of the first strategy’s to address sustainable tourism from a both environmental, social and economic perspective. A key element of Wonderful Copenhagen’s strategy was to be a first mover.

Bristol, 15 January 2019: The Travel Foundation has partnered with Cornell University and EplerWood International to analyse how the more damaging impacts of tourism's rapid growth can be better understood and managed globally.

After decades of steady growth, international tourist numbers surpassed 1 billion for the first time in 2012. The report shows that destinations across the world are not prepared for the unprecedented demands this has placed on them, leading to alarming reports of overtourism. With growth set to continue exponentially, reaching 1.8 billion tourists by 2030, a global crisis is looming.

While overtourism is an important symptom, the use of vital natural, social and public assets without recompense is highlighted as the core of the problem.  The report suggests that, wherever it exists, tourism places an "invisible burden" on destinations and their residents. The invisible burden leaves inadequate revenue to provide a sustainable foundation to manage the rapid growth of tourism worldwide.