CTO´s 7th Annual Sustainable Tourism Development Conference Will Run on a Comprehensive Program

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has unveiled a comprehensive and impressive program for its Seventh Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-7) which will take place April 26 through 29, 2005, at the Hilton Tobago Golf & Spa Resort in Scarborough, Tobago.

The program includes general sessions at which participants will discuss pertinent sustainable tourism issues relating to the conference theme, Keeping the Right Balance - Sustainable Tourism Through Diversity; highly interactive and stimulating workshops to complement the general sessions; and exciting study tours through which participants will explore the diversity of Tobago.

This year´s conference is organised in collaboration with the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and the government of Trinidad and Tobago.

The annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development is part of the information dissemination and regional awareness component of CTO´s Strategy for Sustainable Tourism.

The program is designed to focus attention on the many initiatives taken in the Caribbean to contribute to the sustainable development of the tourism industry and the potential use of ecotourism as an instrument to achieve this goal, said Mercedes Silva, CTO´s sustainable tourism specialist.

Issues to be covered at the general sessions include the need to develop quality service guidelines when creating a sustainable tourism product and revisiting ecotourism´s role in sustainable tourism development.

Simultaneous workshops, which were introduced at the STC-6 in Havana, Cuba last year to very positive responses, will again form part of the conference program. Participants can look forward to workshops on business opportunities in the region.

Conference organizers have put together two special presentation sessions that will provide delegates with the opportunity to hear how two previous host countries are faring since hosting past STC conferences.

Representatives from St. Kitts and Cuba will share the advances each country has made since hosting the Sustainable Tourism Conferences in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

CTO informs that registration for the conference includes attendance at all conference sessions, study tours and events; copies of conference proceedings; and all sponsored meals on the conference program. Conference information and registration forms are available at www.onecaribbean.org.