The 1st Asia Pacific Regional Eco -- Tourism Conference titled “ Feel The Community Proud Through Tourism ” was held at Galla Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka from 7th – 8th May 2009. The Conference was organised by Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation (SLEF) and supported by Sri Lanka Eco Tours which has benefited tourism policy makers, practitioners and academicians as it has explored and discussed the establishment of Asia Pacific Ecotourism Regional Network (APREN).

Renowned speakers addressed issues ranging from sustainable development to destination tourism marketing; and from partnerships to product development.

This conference aimed to uncover the secrets of tourism’s leaders, learning from those destinations and organizations which have been conspicuously successful in tourism planning, eco-tourism development and marketing.

The SLEF believes that sharing the experience of successful destinations and organizations will help develop sustainable ecotourism development in the Asia Pacific Region.

Each of the sessions was followed by a panel discussion in which the ideas presented were analysed and practical recommendations for action by other destinations will be developed. This Conference has brought together a wide range of reputed world leaders in tourism, high-level policy makers, specialists and experts from both the public and private sectors, to exchange experiences, put forward valuable ideas and provide guidance for future tourism development and establishment of Asia Pacific Regional Network. It was of particular interest to National, Regional and Local Tourism Organisations as well as Non-Governmental Organisations and key tourism players in their field of expertise.

The conference has provided an exciting and engaging forum for discussion and learning of success stories, current issues, solutions and best practice case studies. There was excellent networking opportunities engaged in vibrant atmosphere. Get to know the Speakers and "who's who" in the world's tourism fraternity.

The Conference was presented with a program relevant to any established tourism player who wished to network, share and learn from the leaders of tourism in this decade and a world platform for leaders to establish cooperation and friendship.

The following topics were discussed at the conference:

Creating Good Tourism through Empowerment of Communities; Lessons learned from Asia Pacific Region: Mr. Renton De Alwis, Former Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

Natural Resources and Community Based Eco-tourism -- A Focus on Sustainable Tourism Development in Bangladesh: Professor Sheikh Md. Monzurul Huq, Department of Geography, Faculty of Environment and Faculty of Social Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Importance of formation of Research, Education and Training Institute for the Asia – Pacific Region formulating a cost-effective Green Certification / Accreditation Programme Eco-labelling, Eco-guide Training for the region, and generating funds and technical support for the proposed Institute; M.S.M. Aslam, Head, Depart of Tourism Management – Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.

The Development of Community Supported Ecolodges for Up-market International Tourists; Masaru Takayama, Board member, The International Ecotourism Society and Executive Director, Japan Ecolodge Association. Japan

Community participation is an integral tool in conservation and protection of forests, National Parks and Protected areas; Lessons learned from Sri Lanka; Prof. Hemanthi Ranasinghe, University of Sri Jayawawardanapura

Community Based Ecotourism; Issues, Challenges, Way out, Best Practices; Case studies from Sri Lanka and Asia Pacific Region; Iraj Ratnayake, Senior Lecturer, Department of Tourism Management, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka

Sustainable Tourism; South Asian Perspective; Palitha Gurusinghe, President, Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation

Role of the governments, NGOs, INGOs, International Donor Organizations to play in supporting The Community Based Tourism in the Asia Pacific Region; Rabi Jung Pandey, Director; Nepalese Tourism Research and Service Center (NTRSC) and Former National Programme Manager, UNDP/Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP)

10 steps towards facilitating successful partnerships between Community Based Tourism Projects and Responsible Tour Operators- Peter Richards Marketing Support and Development Coordinator, CBT-I Thailand

Coastal Community Based Tourism in Thailand; A Case Study of Koh Yao Noi Community-Based Tourism Club; Mr. Dusit Buttree (Bang Bao), Community Leader and the Coordinator, Koh Yao Noi Community-Based Tourism Club, Thailand

The importance of formulating an Asia-Pacific Ecotourism Network (APEN) in supporting of Community Based and Sustainable Tourism in the region; Bijaya Pradhan, Chairman - Dream Nepal Travel & Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, Discover Nepal, member of Sustainable Tourism Network (STN), Nepal

Mekong River; the life line of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism in Laos; Joint Chitpasong SOUIIDETH (LAOS), Ms. Silivanhpheng VONGPHACHANH(LAOS) Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA)

Issues and challenges in Promoting Forest-based Ecotourism in Sri Lanka
Kanchana Wickramasinghe; Research Officer, Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Sri Lanka


The Mission of APREC 2009 was;

“ The Asia Pacific Regional Ecotourism Conference 2009 (APREC 2009) aims to promote and strengthen Community Based Ecotourism (CBE) in the Asia-Pacific region and to increase the competitiveness of CBE products and services worldwide, inter-and intra-regional tourism Markets The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) believes that tourism –which has become one of the most dynamic economic sectors- is in a very good position to contribute to the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) regarding poverty alleviation. At the Johannesburg Summit on “Sustainable Development in 2002, UNWTO launched the initiative ‘Sustainable Tourism as an effective too for Eliminating Poverty” (ST-EP), inviting UN agencies, governments, donor agencies, NGOs and other stake holders to join in a concentrated effort to make these mechanism work”

The two days conference was a great success as it was well Represented by many foreign resource persons from the Asia-Pacific Region and Sri Lankan participants from multi-stake holders from those actively working In ecotourism and related fields, such as NGOs, NGOs, local/indigenous communities, private sector, government agencies, donors and people from professional back grounds such as academics, consultants and advisors, private Sector: CBE entrepreneurs; Ecolodge owners and operators; Architects, landscapers and designers; Adventure and nature based tourism operators; Team building experts; Banks and other financial institutions, Community Stakeholders: CBE stakeholders, NGOs, Local, regional and international NGOs; Ecotourism associations, academics: Researchers; Educational institutions, educators and students, Government and Protected area authorities, tourism policy makers; Government agencies in charge of tourism, wildlife management, environmental protection and destination management organizations, Travel journalists; local, regional and international media.

The following Objectives of the APREC 2009 were well focused and discussed at length at the plenary sessions and workshops.

APREC to be serve as an annual platform to bring together industry segments in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss issues and challenges and to strengthen marketing strategies.


· To disseminate information among the CBE organizations of Asia-Pacific region and provide networking opportunities for stakeholders.

· To showcase quality CBE products and services as best practice examples.

· To promote the Asia-Pacific region as an attractive CBE destination.

· To formulate an ‘Asia-Pacific Regional Ecotourism Council’ exclusively for the ‘Asia-Pacific Region’ which could act as a ‘driving force’ to promote ecotourism in the region in its true perspective

International Delegates:

Professor Sheikh Md. Monzurul Huq, Department of Geography, Faculty of Evnvironment and Faculty of Social Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Masaru Takayama, Board member, The International Ecotourism Society and Executive Director, Japan Ecolodge Association, Japan.

Rabi Jung Pandey, Director; Nepalese Tourism Research and Service Center (NTRSC) and Former National Programme Manager, UNDP/Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP).

Peter Richards Marketing Support and Development Coordinator, CBT-I Thailand.

Mr. Dusit Buttree (Bang Bao), Community Leader and the Coordinator, Koh Yao Noi Community-Based Tourism Club, Thailand.

Bijaya Pradhan, Executive Chairman - Dream Nepal Travel & Tours (Pvt.) Ltd, Chairman Discover Nepal and member of Sustainable Tourism Network (STN) – Nepal.

Chitpasong SOUIIDETH (LAOS), Ms. Silivanhpheng VONGPHACHANH(LAOS) Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA)


By
Bijaya Pradhan
Dream Nepal Travels & Tours Pvt. Ltd.
Discover Nepal