Environment could become number one concern of travellers - WWF official
By Miranda La Rose
Recent World Tourism Organisation (WTO) statistics have shown that tourism and tourism-related activities will expand annually by 4 percent to 5 percent in the next 20 years but environmental issues are growing in the tourism sector to the extent that they may become the number one concern of travellers in the next 15 years. So said Director of the Guianas Forest and Environmental Conservation Project - World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Michelet Fontaine in the feature address at the opening of the Fourth Annual Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Conference on Sustainable Development at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel on Friday. Fontaine is also calling on countries in the region to assess and inventorise their natural resources as well as to be ready to invest in them. With the projected 1.6 billion trips worldwide by the year 2020, Fontaine said that the region faces questions of how to unlock its tourism potential and increase the level of tourism-related income while protecting its biological and cultural resources and ensuring the effective participation of local communities. He said that authentic, unique tourism experiences based on cultural heritage and natural endowments imply a good understanding of the ecological and socio-cultural phenomenon, processes and services that maintain the region's biological and cultural diversity. This requires an inventory or the assessment of the region's resources. Over the past decade, studies undertaken have shown that visitors are willing to pay extra to support national parks and nature sites management. WWF data and World Resources Institute studies have shown that Bhutan has doubled foreign visitor fees to its national parks over a one-year period without a significant decrease in the number of visitors. The Galapagos Island nearly tripled its foreign visitor fees in ten years translating into an almost 50 percent drop in the number of visitors but still achieving a doubling of the total revenue. Studies have shown that visitors will continue to pay the extra fees as long as these funds are really used for the management of these sites, he said. Giving a background to sustainable tourism, Fontaine said that during the 70s the region was mostly a destination for a select group of affluent travellers looking for unspoiled and serene tropical settings - mainly yachtmen and divers interested in the coastal marine eco-systems. From the 80s to the mid-90s, the region saw a greater influx of visitors attracted by the beaches. The 90s also brought visitors looking for beautiful natural scenery and the nature sites became its best tourism assets. Welcoming delegates to the opening of the conference, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry, Geoffrey Da Silva urged delegates to note that Guyana is a beautiful country and it is unlike the negative images that are painted of it. Rates for travel and tourism in Guyana, Da Silva said, are competitive and affordable, the country is not crime-ridden and unlike other Caribbean countries, Guyana is not an island but instead is a country of many islands. Also welcoming delegates in a packed auditorium, current chairman of the CTO, Barbados Tourism and International Transport Minister, Noel Lynch, noted that Guyana was richly endowed with resources. He described Guyana as "a nature lover's paradise, an eco-tourist dream come true." Guyana was not known for its tourism and this he said was because in the past tourism was promoted as sand, sea and surf. The opening ceremony was highlighted by a number of cultural pieces including a musical offering of traditional Amerindian and modern music by the Couchman family and a well-executed medley of folk songs by The Dynamic Force and the Guyana Police Force. The opening of the conference was broadcast live by WPAT Radio in Brooklyn for the resident Caribbean community. The four-day conference ends today.
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