CORAL GABLES, FLA.—The Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) and Confederación de Organizaciones Turísticas de América Latina (COTAL) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to jointly support both institutions’ initiatives that promote the sustainability of the Caribbean tourism industry. As a first joint project, the agreement provides the potential for an initiative to raise awareness of the use of regulations to apply in visits to areas declared as World Heritage sites or protected national parks. To achieve this goal, operators as well as tour guides will be trained to teach tourists the importance of conservation ecology, provide information to tourists about the evolution that led to the formation of the natural wealth of the visited areas, and communicate the importance that natural resources have in the environment and in our lives.
There will also be an awareness campaign that includes teaching the importance of conservation through educational programs. Courses and workshops will be held. Institutional slogans related to the conservation and protection of natural, historical and cultural resources will be created. A campaign promoting the importance of natural resources will be created for use in print, radio, television, and commercial displays. Sponsors will be sought to help in the recovery of environmental, historic and cultural areas.
The agreement was signed by Sir Royston O. Hopkin, KCMG, chairman of CAST; and Luis Felipe Aquino, president of COTAL. Actively involved in assisting the process were José Mella, president of Dominican Travel Agents and Tourism Association (ADAVIT), and Tirso Cabral, president of Asociación de Guías de Turismo de la República Dominicana (AGTRD).
Go to CAST.
