Registration opens for ecotourism mart

BANGKOK, 22 August 2011 — Buyer registration for the International Ecotourism, Nature and Adventure Mart to be held in conjunction with the 3rd World Ecotourism Conference in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, 3 to 5 October, opened last Friday.

Applicants must be involved in ecotourism such as eco-based accommodation, eco-destinations and development, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, eco-certification, green tourism solutions and equipment and sustainable tourism education. Read more

Ecotourism event in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, 5 August 2011 – The  third World Ecotourism Conference 2011 will be held in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, 3  to 5 October.

The event was originally scheduled for Phnom Penh, but Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism decided to shift the venue to Sihanoukville about 230km south of the capital city.

The decision was influenced by the recent designation of  the so-called Cambodia Bay (Sihanoukville, Koh Kong, Kep and Kampot) as one of the “Most Beautiful Bays” by World Club. Read more

Thailand raises quality stakes

BANGKOK, 5 August 2011 – The Department of Tourism reported, Thursday, that 406 travel businesses  gained Thailand Tourism Standard (TTS) certification in 16 core tourism standard categories.

Department of Tourism general director, Supol Sripan, said certification would help to build quality and encourage companies to achieve  international standards particularly in terms of responsible tourism.

“Responsible tourism is key because it creates better places for people to live in and better places to visit due to a commitment to ecotourism concepts,” Mr Supol said. Read more

Green season: Take your umbrella

BANGKOK, 30 May 2011 – Eastern seaboard provinces launched a campaign, late last week, to attract tourists during the so called green season.

They have lined up six ecotourism promotions in four provinces that make up Thailand’s eastern seaboard – Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat.

Details were announced late last week during the opening of the Colourful East Event,which is part of Thailand Golf and Dive Expo 2011.

The six “green season” activities run May to July. The metrological department calls this period the rainy or monsoon season.

Activities: Read more

Green Leaf organises seminar

BANGKOK, 25 May 2011 – Green Leaf Foundation will organise a free seminar “Potential Development of Sustainable Tourism,” next month at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, Thai Hotels Association reported Monday.

The seminar aims to create awareness of changing trends and how to tap sustainable tourism.

The green seminar will run from 0930 to 1630, 10 June, and feature presentations by experts. They include: Read more

Laos pioneers ecotourism products

NAM HA, 24 May 2011 – In a hilltribe settlement in the forest of northern Laos, an old man sits on the ground weaving a basket, while another villager hangs out her washing to dry.

It is a scene of everyday life for the Akha communities living in the Nam Ha Protected Area, where elephants, gibbons and leopards roam among giant bamboo near villages perched on the banks of a tributary of the Mekong river.

The 220,000-hectare national park is at the forefront of efforts by the landlocked, impoverished nation to become a leading eco-tourism destination — an effort that appears to be paying off. Read more

Wanted: Sharks alive not dead

PARIS, 3 May 2011 – A single reef shark can be worth nearly US$2 million in tourism revenue over its lifetime, according to a study released Monday by researchers in Australia.

The analysis from the Pacific island nation of Palau shows that sharks — hunted worldwide for their fins, a Chinese delicacy — are worth many times more to some local economies alive than dead.

“Sharks can literally be a ‘million-dollar’ species and a significant economic driver,” said lead author Mark Meekan, a scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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Communities wake up to ecotourism

PUERTO PRINCESA, 23 March 2011 – Philippine fisherman Abner Abrigo used to enjoy feasting on dolphins and turtles until he realised they were more valuable as tourist attractions.

The wiry 28-year-old said eating dolphin “adobo” style had been his top choice — a reference to the Spanish-inspired cooking of meat in a thick broth of soya sauce, vinegar and garlic that is popular among all Filipinos.

Now, Abrigo and others from a small fishing community on the dazzling western Philippine island of Palawan help to take visitors dolphin watching.

Read more

Kamu lodge sells eco package

LUANG PRABANG, 22 March 2011 – A eco-style lodge in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, has launched a package that features a boat trip to explore Mekong River culture and a stay in the world heritage town.

Kamu Lodge is selling its latest boat-and-lodge package, released last week, with prices starting at US$237 per person, based on twin-share full-board occupancy at the lodge, river and shore excursions, as well as guide fees.

The two-day programme starts in Luang Prabang with a boat trip that features four cultural and traditional attractions; Dan Village, Doun Khoune, Pak Ou Caves and a visit to a Hmong and Kamu village.

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Tourism endangers Great Wall

BADALING, 5 October 2010 – Empty gin and whisky bottles, crumpled beer cans and tattered food boxes are piled up after a rave in China — perhaps not so unusual, except that the garbage is on the fabled Great Wall.

Colombian tourist Francisco Garcia was in a sad mood after witnessing the garbage from a full-moon techno party, which attracted several hundred foreigners to one of the sections of the wall at Badaling, about 60 km from Beijing.

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