The logo of the Fringe Travel network

With the milestone of the 2010 World Travel Market (WTM) now fading into memory, many who attended or were involved to some degree are left asking a single question: Where did 2010 go? Time has absolutely flown by since last year’s event. It’s been a busy and, for most, positive year, so if there’s one thing that I’ll take away from last week’s proceedings, it’s that feeling of general optimism. There’s reason to be cautious, of course, but on the whole there’s plenty of creative sparks being struck and the signs of fires starting to catch.

Finding Good Value on the Periphery

I didn’t attend the WTM this year, although several of my WHL Group colleagues did. I was, however, involved in several of the large number of peripheral events that have sprung up around the travel industry juggernaut that takes up annual November residence in London’s gigantic ExCeL Centre. As someone involved in responsible travel, I felt it was a natural choice for me. Although I understand that many of big travel companies signalled interest in sustainability this year, I still find the more casual environments of the smaller events to be a more rewarding and more interesting place to talk to people.

The Heart of the Fringe

Top of my list for this sort of interaction was the WTM Fringe Travel Networking event, a night organised by the team at Tripbod. It provides a space for people active in responsible travel to come together and socialise outside the main WTM event. Having attended this event last year, I was keen to head back to see how much things had changed.

The answer was not a great a deal – not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. The friendly, welcoming atmosphere was the same. The willingness to allow people to speak and introduce their ideas was the same. The undercurrents of energy and creativity were the same. In short, everything was similar, only bigger, brighter and better.

The casual environments of the smaller events on the periphery of the WTM made them more rewarding and more interesting place to talk to people

For starters, the venue was larger, with more room for people to mingle. There were more attendees – I met several very interesting people with exciting ideas that were completely new to me. There was a greater interest from the mainstream travel industry; Expedia, which sent several representatives, sponsored the event. Technology also played a bigger role in the proceedings, as the evening was livecast via the Web to viewers around the world. I had to dodge the webcam several times as it made its circuit of the room.

A WHL Group Get-together

Later in the week I attended a WHL Group event organised to bring together staff, local partners and industry friends attending the WTM. As a guy who spends a lot of his time hiding in a darkened room and writing code, I enjoyed the opportunity to put some faces to names that had only previously existed to me as email addresses. Many of the numerous whl.travel partners were in attendance and it was truly a pleasure to chat with the people who work hard to produce the content which flows through The Travel Word.

The undercurrents of energy and creativity at the events on the periphery of the WTM were just as strong at the 2010 WTM Fringe Networking event as they were in 2009

Also in attendance were the teams heading up the various WHL Group businesses, including Urban Adventures, Green Path Transfers, Gunyah, Lime&Tonic and WHL Consulting. Again, it was great to be able to discuss things in person. The internet is a great communication tool and most of what I do on a daily basis couldn’t happen without it. But, at the end of the day, it’s no substitute for a good, old-fashioned conversation.

That would be the second thing I’d take from my week on the fringe – the importance of speaking to people. Travel is a business, sure, but that business is always a means to an end. And that end is the experience of discovery, of communication and of sharing something, even if it’s just a drink or a joke.

I understand what WTM is about, but I’ll always prefer the smaller events. So look for me on the fringe again next year.

The WHL Group's Europe and the Middle East office team meet at ITB with Murat Boranalp (right) of Marjinal Travel, the whl.travel local partner for Ephesus, Turkey

It was no surprise that there was so many participants from around the world as ITB is one of the world’s leading travel industry trade shows. It did seem somewhat quiet compared to previous years, but that certainly wasn’t the case according to official visitors’ statistics, with a total of 11,098 exhibiting companies from 189 countries, and almost 110,900 trade visitors. In fact, there were almost double the number of exhibitors from Asia and Africa on last years figures, a sign that the markets are recovering following the global financial downturn.

The WHL Group team made the journey to ITB this year to meet with the various whl.travel local connections present, as well as to discuss new partnerships with others interested in joining what is now the world’s largest local-travel network.

Will Plummer of Alanka Tours, the whl.travel local partner in Oman, commented that “The value of [the WHL Group] network becomes very evident at events like ITB, when you can meet with other whl.travel partners and have an instant trust and friendship with people you’re meeting for the first time. You know they’re a good company and can trust their products are going to be of high quality.”

Fringe Travel Event

Hosted by The Blue Yonder (a tour operator leading the field in local, sustainable travel experiences in India), along with Green Circuit, the Fringe Travel Event was by all accounts a big success. The goal of the gathering was to bring together travel companies in an informal atmosphere to meet, discuss and share their ideas. Held within ITB’s Trends and Events stand – a space dedicated to companies doing something a little bit different in tourism – and listed as an official gathering on the ITB programme, the Fringe Travel Event generated some real interest, drawing an impressive 150 participants to the room.

Klaudija Janzelj presents the WHL Group at the Fringe Travel Event of ITB Berlin

With such a diverse group of people, the conversation was guaranteed to flow well into the evening (and morning for some!). The WHL Group team was fortunate to be able to present at the event to the various tour operators, and travel and development agencies present. Ms. Klaudija Janzelj of the WHL Group’s Europe and the Middle East office commented, “It was so nice to meet with so many passionate travel professionals all dedicated to responsible tourism, it was the highlight of the trade show this year.”

At a massive show like ITB with over 110,000 exhibitors, it is difficult to sift through those that actually offer unique travel experiences that focus on responsible tourism. That’s what makes the networking and connections encouraged through the Fringe Travel Event so beneficial.

For more information about Fringe Travel, their events and their get-togethers at major travel trade shows, read about their event at the WTM 2009 and visit http://fringetravel.ning.com.

Travellers make their way to a Himalayan destination on yak back, accompanied by local guides

The pace of life in South Asia, particularly some of the larger cities, can seem chaotic and disorienting, sometimes even overwhelming to newcomers. While this feeling is usually assuaged after a short period of acclimation, many people still prefer to plan a visit in advance, thereby minimising the sense of first-arrival confusion and dislocation. Fortunately, these people are finding recourse in the growing number of businesses offering their services online.

The Green Circuit Sprouts to Life

Relatively new to the scene is the Green Circuit, “a unique collective of operators dedicated to ethical and sustainable tourism at a grassroots level.” The Green Circuit, launched in February 2009, is “an ecotourism loop that circles the Indian subcontinent” and sees five locally-based service providers collaborating to enable access to a wide range of experiences in locations at all points of the compass – a genuine reflection of the variety of geography, climate, people and culture captive in this corner of the world, as well as an enduring testament to the power of small operators working together “to further develop, share and promote responsible tourism in the region.”

Initiated by Social Tours, an active member of the Fringe Travel Network and one of the leading lights in Nepali responsible tourism, the Green Circuit has gathered considerable steam throughout its first year.

“The idea was always there years ago to start some sort of a networking relationship at the regional level for responsible tourism,” commented Vishwaraj Gyawali, founder and director of Social Tours. “On the other side, there was a growing movement in the West not to fly. I personally think that this is just a fad. In the west there are far bigger issues related to emissions than flights, but if the market is moving in a particular direction, we need to adapt. This meant that people would reduce their long haul travels. Hence, it was imperative to offer ground solutions that minimized travel by air.”

The Green Circuit Partners

Officially launched in mid-November by Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of the World Travel Market and Just a Drop, the Green Circuit alliance is completed by Grass Routes, Ecosphere Spiti, The Blue Yonder and Help Tourism. Each company “lives, breathes and works in the very same communities they conduct their tours,” thus turning their hard-earned local expertise to the benefit of travellers and their communities.

At the official launch in November 2009, the Green Circuit team is joined by Fiona Jeffery (third from left), head of World Travel Market

Social Tours, founded in 2002 and based in Kathmandu, covers the Nepali Himalaya leg of the circuit. Travellers are invited to participate in a 17-day tour of the region, taking in Lumbini, Kathmandu, the sights along the Tamang Heritage Trail of the Langtang Region and finally Chitwan National Park.

Grass Routes, based in Orissa, opens up the east of India through its 15-day package. Kolkata, Puri and the brackish waters of Chilika Lake and the Eastern Ghats are all on the itinerary. The company – founded by Claire Prest and Pulak Mohanty – aims to give customers a real insight into the workings of rural India and abides by a comprehensive list of values intended to codify its ethical practices.

Ecosphere Spiti is run by a team that works closely with the native Spiti people of the Northern Himalayas. Its stated mission is to promote awareness of the ecological and cultural issues faced by its people by opening their home valley to outsiders. Exposing visitors to the awesome kaleidoscope of Spitian culture on an 11-day experience is in full embrace of the tenets of responsible tourism.

The Blue Yonder is headquartered in Bangalore and covers the south of India for the Green Circuit. Its 14-day itinerary delves into the boundaryless Malabar region and includes the waterways of Alappuzha, the folk traditions of the people of the Nila River, the fauna of the Wayanad district and the beaches of Kannur. As part of its wider focus, the company covers several other parts of the country, but its number one priority is on the promotion of responsible practice.

Help Tourism handles the Eastern Himalayas and has a pronounced focus on conservation. The region has been listed as one of top eight biodiversity hotspots in the world. While its 22-day leg of the circuit does contain a healthy dose of wildlife (and is named after the native red panda and elephants), Help Tourism also goes to great lengths to provide insight into the lives of people living in this Sikkim region that stretches from the Darjeeling tea plantations to the dense jungles of Manas National Park.

Beneficial Common Cause

In an industry often characterised by competition, it’s genuinely refreshing to see a group of local businesses recognising the commonality of their causes and working together to improve the experience they’re able to offer to travellers.

A group of young Nepalese women stand together wearing colourful traditional regional garb

The key benefit is “a link into a circle of trust, and into products run by companies that offer excellent value-added services,” adds Gyawali. “The trust is transferred from the company to the traveller and this essentially is the best sort of promotion that can ever happen.”

Looking to the future, there are plans to extend the network, but as Gyawali notes, the process takes time. “Eventually, yes. However at this point, we are practicing, working out the logistics of different companies coming together. Once these things are ironed out, we will spread the initiative to other parts of the region for sure!”

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whl.travel is also active in the South Asia, with local connections busy in both Nepal and India.

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A lot of good people with a lot of good things to say at the Fringe RT Network event @ WTM 2009

The prevailing attitude that I encountered throughout the night was one of positivity. Positivity about new product launches, positivity about potential joint ventures and positivity about the sector as a whole. I only heard the recession being discussed once all evening. It wasn’t that people were deliberately avoiding the topic – when it was brought up it was treated seriously – but every person I spoke to came across as optimistic and was proactively developing solutions to deal with the economy’s curve balls.

There was also a great deal of positivity about the increased attention being paid to responsibility in travel by the wider tourism sector. Since the RT Network’s inception back in 2007, the concept of sustainable travel has gone from having a single presentation at the main World Travel Market event to being a leading crosscutting theme returned to throughout the week. In fact, responsible tourism is now pretty much the WTM’s primary focus all day on Wednesday 12 November, better known as the WTM World Responsible Tourism Day, “the only global day of action of its kind” and one supported by the UNWTO and leading industry associations. Still, many of the Fringe attendees expressed their preference for the Fringe event over its giant sibling – the bubbling intimacy of the Fringe’s basement venue was more comfortable for most than the cavernous interior of the ExCeL centre.

One of the best parts of the experience for me was putting faces to names. While the Internet is a fantastic communication tool and it allows people from all over the world to come together and keep in touch, you really can’t beat a good face-to-face chat with someone. I particularly enjoyed speaking with Stuart Grant, director of Geo.me; Thomas Armitt, founder of West Africa Discovery; and Vishwaraj Gyawali of Social Tours. Special mention must also go to Sally Broom and the rest of the team at Tripbod, who organised the whole event and brought so many people together.

It really was a refreshing experience to meet a large group of people with genuine passion for the industry in which they work. It’s also reassuring to know that such high levels of creativity are being channelled into innovation and activity, particularly during a difficult year. The Fringe event has been going from strength to strength and if what I saw on Monday was anything to go by, it will continue to do so. Thanks again to Sally and to everyone else who turned out. I’m already looking forward to next year!

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Past Experiences

It was a great event last year. In fact I travelled into London especially for this event and didn’t attend WTM. For me this may become increasingly what happens as this year even more small events like this are cropping up on the fringes of WTM. There was a great mix of people [at the Fringe RT Network event] last year and the atmosphere was relaxed and perfect for chatting over a few drinks.

It’s always great to have opportunities to connect in this sort of setting, particularly these days when we can spend so much time interacting online with people all around the world.

Stephen Chapman - Founder of Make Travel Fair

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Making Connections

I remember meeting Gerhard Buttner [an international development, sustainability and ecotourism expert] last year and talking at length with him. He’d recently arrived in the UK after doing a lot of work with Ron Mader of Planeta in Mexico. It was great to hear directly about some of the great work being done in Mexico. The Fringe event always serves as a great space to reconnect with a lot people I don’t see throughout the year but have known for a while.

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Looking Ahead

I think as always there will be lots of discussion about new initiatives happening. Hopefully there will be some new faces attending so that sharing experiences and finding new ways to work together dominate the evening. Any networking evening is a fantastic opportunity and if you’re in London, involved in the travel industry – particularly at the grassroots level – then you’d need a pretty good reason not to attend this event. It’s free! What better venue to hold an event like this than a central London bar… for the informal atmosphere as well as the real ales!

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Many thanks to Stephen for taking the time to answer my questions. If you’d like to meet Stephen or me and will be in London on Monday 9 November, be sure to drop by the Pavilion End Bar from 6:30pm onward.  Remember to register your interest in attending via the Fringe Network page on Ning or Facebook. You can follow me live via Twitter @whltravelBlog on the night. Keep an eye out for the #rtnet hashtag cropping up on multiple streams.

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Monday November 9 marks the beginning of the 2009 World Travel Market, one of the travel industry’s most important annual events. While many people from around the world will be descending throughout the week on London’s ExCeL centre to meet, greet and do business, an increasing number will also be making a beeline to the Fringe RT Network Event – 6:30pm to 11pm in the Pavilion End Bar, close to the heart of the city – to meet, engage and inspire.

The Fringe Responsible Travel Network Event @ WTM, pictured here from a previous year, is a chance to connect and reconnect with people passionate about responsible travel

Developed by a group of like-minded individuals keen to bring together people with a passion for locally focussed responsible tourism that protects and enhances destinations for the benefit of host communities as well as visitors, the Fringe Network event was first held in 2007. In the two years since, attendees have met regularly, both in person and online, to discuss the challenges they face, share their experiences and promote the progress being made by the sector as a whole.

“It becomes ever more important that grassroots organisations and initiatives around the world continue to exert their independence, innovate and come together to network,” observed Stephen Chapman, founder of Make Travel Fair after the 2008 event.

Keeping Good Company

For the third year in a row, the Fringe evening is organised by the team at Tripbod (active in past years as YourSafePlanet). This year, however, whl.travel is proud to be a media partner, along with Make Travel Fair and Social Tours. The event sponsors are Intrepid, Rough Guides, The Blue Yonder and Travel to Care.

Despite inclusion of a speed-networking event that follows the speed-dating model, the evening is expected to be as relaxed and informal as in past years, an ideal environment in which to make new connections and reconnect with old ones.

This is my first time attending a Fringe – or indeed any – event of this kind, so I’m excited to be bringing a fresh perspective to the proceedings. I’m also hoping to convey some of the enthusiasm and optimism expressed by attendees on the night and, in advance, will be delivering some insights from Fringe veterans about what to expect. On 9 November you can follow me live via Twitter @whltravelBlog or keep up with what are sure to be multiple streams through the #rtnet hashtag.

Of course, if you’re in London on 9 November, I’d highly recommend coming along to meet some friendly faces. Register your interest via the Fringe Network page on Ning or Facebook. Alternatively, stay tuned here for updates.

If there’s a particular topic you’d like to see discussed or would be interested in hearing about, drop me a line and I’ll do my best to make sure I cover it on the night. If you’d like to contact the organisers directly, begin at the Tripbod website.

Seated around the virtual table were:

MODERATORS
* Sally Broom, CEO of Your Safe Planet & Fringe Network
* Stephen Chapman, Founder of Make Travel Fair

SPEAKERS
* Tom Hall, Travel Editor at Lonely Planet Publications
* Dan Linstead, Editor of Wanderlust magazine
* Alan Murphy, Commissioning Editor and Publisher, Footprint Travel Guides
* Adrian Phillips, Publishing Director at Bradt Travel Guides.

Biographical material about the moderators and speakers can be found below.

During the 60-minute session, Tom Hall and Adrian Phillips made brief presentations about what is (and is not) being done to give readers what they need to travel as responsibly as possible. A question-and-answer period followed, and included the participation of Toby Sawday from Sawday Publishing.

For details, consult:

* a written account of all that was said by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet
* a written account all that was said by Adrian Phillips of Bradt Travel Guides
* written questions and answers compiled from the webinar chat room
* the full recording of the webinar with voice conflicts that were not present during the live session
* the full chat transcript

More Information

This responsible tourism webinar series, hosted by whl.travel, was launched on 4 June with a discussion of some of the thoughts and ideas propounded during Responsible Tourism Week 2009 – an online discussion held the week of 18-22 May that focussed on responsible tourism around the world. The primary objective of the webinar series is to demonstrate the universal appeal of responsible tourism to a broad range of constituencies in all sectors.

To listen to the proceedings of the completed 4 June webinar, check out the full recording, chat transcript and written summary, as well as additional commentary.

For more information, contact:
* Shaun Gilchrist, Chief Operations Officer, whl.travel, +61 431 020 173; shaun@whl.travel
* Ethan Gelber, Media Liaison, whl.travel, ethan@whl.travel

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MODERATORS

SALLY BROOM – CEO, Your Safe Planet & Fringe Network
Sally Broom is founder of the unique travel website YourSafePlanet.com, the global network of trusted local experts. YSP connects travellers with experts at the grassroots who advise on trip planning using their up-to-date local knowledge. The goal of YSP is support slower and more rewarding travel.

‘Fringe’ network was a name given by media to a group of grassroots tourism organisations and individuals who feel that there is an opportunity to collaborate with more people on the important issues around local tourism, sustainable travel etc. What started as nothing more than a few drinks between friends around WTM has developed into a global network of hundreds of members. Their simple aims are to bring attention and energy to grassroots projects and, through collaboration, facilitate more local/sustainable travel.

STEPHEN CHAPMAN – Founder, Make Travel Fair
Stephen Chapman has travelled extensively and spent time living in both Australia and USA. After graduating from Edinburgh University in 2005 he spent a short period working offshore as a geologist in the oil & gas industry before changing direction completely to follow his passion for travel and established Make Travel Fair. The website won a TravelMole Web Award in its first year for ‘Best Online Education Site’, and more recently he was selected as ‘One-to-Watch’ in Travel & Leisure as part of The Courvoisier Future 500. This year he began working as part of the whl.travel team.

SPEAKERS

TOM HALL – Travel Editor, Lonely Planet Publications
Tom Hall is a travel journalist based at Lonely Planet’s London office. He is the writer of the weekly Ask Tom feature in the Observer newspaper and appears regularly on radio and television. While Tom’s favourite destinations are all in Africa, he’s always banging on about how great holidaying in Britain is.

DAN LINSTEAD – Editor, Wanderlust magazine
Cambridge graduate Dan Linstead joined John Brown Publishing in 2000 as the editor of Orange’s pioneering lifestyle magazine, O. In five years of customer publishing, he wrote, edited and commissioned a range of travel, celebrity and general lifestyle features for companies including Waitrose, the AA, Honda and Ikea – and won a British Society of Magazine Editors award for O magazine. In 2005, he relaunched and edited bmi’s inflight magazine, Voyager, for Redwood Publishing. In 2006, he was appointed editor of Wanderlust, the UK’s leading magazine for adventurous travellers.

ALAN MURPHY – Commissioning Editor and Publisher, Footprint Travel Guides
Following a stint as a copy editor and writer for the Bolivian Times, Alan Murphy began his Footprint career as an updater for the legendary South American Handbook, before being commissioned to research and write their new guidebooks to Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela. He then returned to his native Scotland to write new guides to Scotland, Highlands & Islands, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Now, though, poacher has turned gamekeeper and Alan is commissioning editor and publisher for Footprint Handbooks.

ADRIAN PHILLIPS – Publishing Director, Bradt Travel Guides
Adrian Phillips has written several guidebooks – including Hungary: The Bradt Travel Guide, which won Best Guidebook of the Year in 2006 – and contributes regular travel articles to national newspapers and magazines. He is one of the judges of the Bradt/Independent on Sunday Travel-Writing Competition and a tutor on the panel at Bradt’s annual travel-writing seminar.

The hosting sextet began discussing and illustrating some of the thoughts and ideas propounded during Responsible Tourism Week 2009 – an online discussion held the week of May 18-22 that focussed on responsible tourism around the world. Using examples pulled from their extensive store of experiences or promoted through their organisations, the speakers’ primary objective was to demonstrate the universal appeal of responsible tourism to a broad range of constituencies in all sectors.

If you wish to listen to and then share the proceedings of this completed webinar, a full recording, a chat transcript and written summary are all available online.

After your listen, please share with us:

• your thoughts (constructive and deconstructuve) about this first webinar
• the topics/themes you would like us to address in coming sessions
• the names and/or kinds of qualifications of guest presenters you would like us to invite to coming sessions.

We hope to see you at our next webinar: 1pm GMT on 18 June. Mark it in your calendars and share the news with others.

The six featured presenters on 4 June were:

HOSTS
* Sally Broom, CEO of Your Safe Planet & Fringe Network
* Stephen Chapman, Founder of Make Travel Fair

SPEAKERS
* Len Cordiner, CEO of whl.travel
* Ron Mader, Founder of Planeta
* Kenrick Theus, Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism-Belize
* Valere Tjolle, Editor of Vision on Sustainable Tourism for TravelMole.

Brief biographies of the speakers can be found below.

For more information, contact:
* Shaun Gilchrist, Chief Operations Officer, whl.travel, +61 431 020 173; shaun@whl.travel
* Ethan Gelber, Media Liaison, whl.travel, ethan@whl.travel

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SALLY BROOM – CEO, Your Safe Planet & Fringe Network
Sally Broom is founder of the unique travel website YourSafePlanet.com, the global network of trusted local experts. YSP connects travellers with experts at the grassroots who advise on trip planning using their up-to-date local knowledge. The goal of YSP is support slower and more rewarding travel.

‘Fringe’ network was a name given by media to a group of grassroots tourism organisations and individuals who feel that there is an opportunity to collaborate with more people on the important issues around local tourism, sustainable travel etc. What started as nothing more than a few drinks between friends around WTM has developed into a global network of hundreds of members. Their simple aims are to bring attention and energy to grassroots projects and, through collaboration, facilitate more local/sustainable travel.

STEPHEN CHAPMAN – Founder, Make Travel Fair
Stephen Chapman has travelled extensively and spent time living in both Australia and USA. After graduating from Edinburgh University in 2005 he spent a short period working offshore as a geologist in the oil & gas industry before changing direction completely to follow his passion for travel and established Make Travel Fair. The website won a TravelMole Web Award in its first year for ‘Best Online Education Site’, and more recently he was selected as ‘One-to-Watch’ in Travel & Leisure as part of The Courvoisier Future 500. This year he began working as part of the whl.travel team.

LEN CORDINER – CEO of whl.travel
In incubating and running numerous companies over 35 years in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Oceania, Len Cordiner has developed a passion for win-win outcomes. He was active early in the move to triple-bottom-line reporting and the development of certification programmes for the environment and sustainable travel. More recently, he has made harnessing the power of the Internet and new communications tools central to his mission to change paradigms in travel, making it more accessible to all. In this vein, founding whl.travel is Len’s latest and most ambitious global business initiative.

whl.travel is a global grassroots network of travel websites catering to independent travelers journeying off the beaten track and tired of the limited travel options offered by most online service providers. whl.travel emphasises responsible travel and keeping things local by focusing on smaller hotels, guesthouses and tour operators, particularly, but not exclusively, in developing countries where it can really make a difference. As of late May, whl.travel spans 170 destinations in 76 countries, with further expansion into more than 100 destinations (including 23 new countries) in the next six months.

RON MADER – Founder, Planeta
Ron Mader is a professional journalist and the founder of Planeta.com, the web’s first site dedicated to ecotourism. Ron’s work catalyzes action and conservation about environmental conservation, responsible travel and peacemaking. Ron’s work includes facilitating online and natural-world seminars and workshops, the most popular of which is the Web Seminar that shows professionals how to make effective use of Planeta.com and improve their own web presence.

Planeta.com has won many awards, including recognition from the Mexican government for exemplary coverage of Mexico. Presidents Fox and Zedillo presented Ron with the Lente de Plata Award in 1999 and 2002. Outside magazine called Planeta.com, the virtual vanguard. Ron is also the ecotourism and Latin America contributing editor for the U.S. magazine Transitions Abroad.

KENRICK THEUS – Director, International Centre for Responsible Tourism-Belize
Kenrick Theus, a native of Belize, has worked in the hospitality industry for the past 18 years as an operations manager, chef, food and beverage manager, general manager and trainer. He is presently employed as the Food and Beverage Management Lecturer at the University of Belize for the Bachelor Degree Students. In April 2008, he joined Mr. Yashin Dujon, Technical Officer in the Ministry of Tourism in Belize, and started the International Centre for Responsible Tourism-Belize (ICRT-Belize). They are both presently working at getting International certification bodies for hotels into the country such as Green Globe and Green Deal by the end of 2009. Mr. Theus has been President of the Belize Hotel Association since 2007 and currently serves as a Director on the   Board of Directors of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

VALERE TJOLLE – Editor, Vision on Sustainable Tourism, TravelMole
TravelMole is the most highly acclaimed and largest global online community for the travel and tourism industry with over 450,000 registered newswire subscribers – travel and tourism professionals worldwide.