06
Feature
ESTC 2012
Sustainable Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals At the ESTC12, TIES’ new publication, “Sustainable Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals: Effecting Positive Change” (Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012) was launched, with the editors and some of the contributing authors sharing key case studies from the book. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions - income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusionwhile promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. The book highlights best practices in sustainable tourism businesses, and projects that contribute in a tangible manner to these goals. The case studies presented at the ESTC12 include: climate impact assessment of safari tourism in Namibia; wildlife conservation and volunteer travel projects by SEE Turtles, a non-profit ecotourism project supporting community-based conservation through tourism; and tourism’s
impact on community health and wellbeing, through the eyes of host community members in Fiji.
International Voluntourism Guidelines At the ESTC12, TIES also announced the
launch of the new e-publication “The International Voluntourism Guidelines for Commercial Tour Operators”, which was developed in partnership with the Planeterra Foundation and an international advisory committee comprised of voluntourism industry practitioners and experts.