PORTLAND, ORE.—A groundbreaking meeting of industry and sustainability leaders to address impacts from travel and tourism will takes place in Portland, Oregon on September 22 to 23.
The “Travel and Tourism Collective Impact Summit” is organized by the NGO Sustainable Travel International and co-hosted by Travel Oregon, with additional support from Travel Portland. It convenes invited leaders of tourism destinations, major companies in travel and other industries, industry associations, NGOs and sustainability experts to work on critical issues related to the travel sector’s global impacts, and to leverage opportunities for tourism to be a major contributor to achieving global sustainability goals.
The Sustainable Development Goals will be adopted at the UN in New York September 25 to 27. They include specific goals for promoting sustainable tourism and developing and implementing tools to monitor its impacts. The UN World Tourism Organization has declared September 27 its annual World Tourism Day to focus attention on tourism’s potential to improve lives, relieve poverty, create livelihoods, drive inclusive development, and protect natural and cultural heritage.
“Travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest industries and a high-stakes piece of the global sustainability puzzle,” said Sam Adams, Portland’s former Mayor and current director of the US Climate Initiative of the World Resources Institute, who will give the Summit’s keynote address. “It can be an important part of the solution, provided the industry comes together and works toward common goals.”
To that end, summit participants will discuss the specifics of working together towards shared objectives, and review methodologies for monitoring, verifying and scaling up positive collective impacts from sustainable tourism. Among the presenters and moderators are Jamie Sweeting of G Adventures/Planeterra Foundation, CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg, Shannon Stowell of Adventure Travel Trade Association, Dr. Twining-Ward of Sustainable Tourism International and many other business and thought leaders.
The Summit will be held at Portland’s Hotel deLuxe, 729 SW 15th Avenue. For more information contact Stephen Kent at skent@kentcom.com, or at (914) 589-5988.
