The Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) took place onThursday November 23rd and Friday November 24th, 2017at UniSey campus Anse Royale, Mahe, convening 30 international delegates from 22 countries, including Antigua, Aruba, Botswana, Comoros, Egypt, France, Germany, Guam, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Micronesia, New Zealand, Reunion, Sao-Tomé and Principe, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, UAE, USA and Vanuatu.
In his keynote, Randy Durband, CEO of the GSTC, highlighted the fact that the private sector is moving too slowly, and that measurement is on the rise globally. He said it was essential to see success as moving beyond merely counting the number of arrivals, and he urged destinations to look into average length of stay and average spend per visitor.
Dr Anna Spenceley, Chair of the IUCN WCPA TAPAS Group, gave a keynote on sustainable tourism in protected areas. She provided information on the activities of the TAPAS Group, and also provided examples of current debates and work relating to the 5 protected area conference themes. Elsewhere, Dr Madina Regnault’s keynote emphasized the importance of cultural and social elements of sustainable tourism in SIDS.
All presentations are available at the IUCN TAPAS group slideshare account at: https://www.slideshare.net/TAPASGroup
