Social
and ecological responsibility in tourism is a key subject at ITB
Berlin this year, where numerous events are again being used to
address various aspects of sustainability and socially responsible
travel.
The
programme in the Adventure & Responsible Tourism Hall 4.1b
includes discussions and papers dealing with human rights, travel for
the deaf and developments on the Caribbean island of Haiti three
years after the disastrous earthquake. This year environmental
protection and social responsibility have also been taken into
consideration in the production of the ITB Berlin catalogue and ITB
Quickfinder, which have been printed using a climate-neutral process
with the aim of supporting a geothermal project in this year’s
partner country, Indonesia.
Dr.
Martin Buck, Director Competence Centre
Travel & Logistics Messe Berlin: “For
many years ITB Berlin has recognized the importance of corporate
social responsibility. As a result of a growing awareness among
travellers the next few years will see increased demand in this
sector. This is a development that we, as the world’s
largest travel
trade show, reflect and actively promote
through our events by featuring various aspects of the subject on our
agenda.” The compensation derived from climate-neutral printing of
the ITB Berlin catalogues is being used by ITB Berlin in some
innovative ways this year, which include the support that it is
providing for a geothermal project on the Indonesian island of Java.
By supporting this climate protection project valuable jobs are
created there, local people are being trained in new technologies,
the availability of electrical power is being improved and support is
also being provided for a school for the benefit of girls in
particular. On Friday, 8 March, this year’s partner country is
presenting some other ecological and sustainable projects on the
small stage in Hall 4.1.b. In addition the ITB Berlin Convention is
offering some fascinating insights into the innovative “STREAM
project” (Sustainable Tourism through Energy
Efficiency with Adaption and Mitigation
Measures in Pangandaran).
A
fresh impetus and details about sustainable tourism
This
year the eighth Pow
Wow for tourism experts in Hall 4.1b will
focus on “Earth’s Wetlands &
Geoparks – Celebrating Earth Heritage, Sustaining Local
Communities”. Marking the tenth anniversary of the Adventure &
Responsible Tourism hall the English-language presentations there
will feature workshops, panel discussions and papers dealing
with wetlands, wildlife watching and
biodiversity. Mariana McGill, founder and general manager of Latin
America World, one of the co-organizers of the Pow Wow from
its earliest days on behalf of ITB Berlin, will be launching the
programme at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 6 March. Dr. Tobias Salathé,
Senior Advisor for Europe, Ramsar Convention Secretariat, is one of
the leading experts on wetlands and he will be describing
how sustainable tourism can provide a way of preserving these
sensitive ecosystems. Geoparks are another important aspect of the
eighthPow Wow this year and this subject will be presented by
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Zouros, Coordinator, European Geoparks Network,
along with other prominent representatives of this organization and
of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
A
number of parks from different parts of the world will be presenting
their own eco-friendly concepts. Another of the topics will be the
protection of animals living in the wild. This year’s Convention &
Culture Partner of ITB Berlin, Azerbaijan, will be providing details
about its own sustainable tourism concept.
And
there will be plenty of other opportunities to find out more about
corporate social responsibility in tourism. Taking place for the
third successive year on the main stage on 6 March will be an event
organized by German Tourism Watch on the subject of human rights in
tourism. The main stage will also be the venue on 7 March for
representatives of the political party “Die Linken” in the lower
house of parliament, the Bundestag, when the slogan for their
discussions will be “Travel for Everyone”. On 8 March details
will be provided about climate-neutral school
trips.
Barrier-free
travel and child protection
Travel
organized by the deaf for the deaf will be featured at 12.30 p.m. on
Friday, 8 March, on the small stage, using a fascinating project in
Tanzania as an example. This will be followed by a paper on
“Accessible Tourism in India”, which is aimed at making the Taj
Mahal accessible to everyone. Barrier-free travel is also one of the
topics covered by the ITB Berlin Convention: on 8 March, the ITB
Destination Day, Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO, will
introduce the Keynote Panel on Barrier-Free Tourism.
Important
advice about child protection is provided on the combined stand of
ECPAT, whose initials stand for End Child Prostitution, Child
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, in Hall
4.1, where there will also be details about the Child Protection
Code. ITB Berlin supports these multi-stakeholder initiatives, which
are intended to help the tourism industry to develop measures to
prevent the sexual exploitation of children in tourism. On the
morning of Friday, 8 March, this initiative will be represented on
the stage, and in addition the ITB Berlin Convention will be
addressing this important topic during the CSR Day, on 7 March.
Information
about emissions compensation is available on the small stage on 8
March when a paper will be presented by Atmosfair, the compensation
partner of ITB Berlin, and the participants in the panel from
Lufthansa and Forum Anders Reisen. The MyClimate Awards will be
presented in Hall 4.1 on the same day.
Valuable
contacts can be made at the traditional ITB International Responsible
Tourism Networking Event on Friday at ITB starting at 6 p.m. The Blue
Yonder, the ITB Responsible Tourism Partner, is inviting entries to a
social media competition: between now and 20 February “Inspiring
Stories” about travel destinations can be submitted on Facebook.
The three winners will be presenting their stories live during the
ITB Berlin Networking Evening. For two days, also in Hall 4.1b, The
Blue Yonder will again be holding its successful “RT Clinics”,
where experts will be offering suggested courses of action on
specific topics. Blue Yonder is hoping to interest visitors in a new
project promoting responsible tourism. In Hall 4.1 Der
Reiseveranstalter is creating an interactive “Alphabet of
Responsible Tourism from A to Z” and everyone is invited to get
involved to produce an international, joint vision of the future.
This
year the Study Group for Tourism is attending ITB Berlin once again
with a wide and varied programme. On 6 March the main stage in Hall
4.1 will be the venue for the presentation of the ToDo! Awards, for
outstanding international projects in the field of
socially responsible tourism. On 9 March the TOURA D’OR Film Prize
will be presented to filmmakers dealing with the subject of
sustainable tourism. In addition the Study Group for Tourism will be
presenting its latest publications in the series known as “Sympathie
Magazines”. Over the years “Zwischenrufe”, an event organized
by the Study Group for Tourism, has acquired an outstanding
reputation and this year it is being held as part of the ITB Berlin
Convention for the first time, when its subject will be
crisis-stricken Greece.
Once
again the ITB Berlin Convention will feature papers and discussions
about various aspects of corporate social responsibility during the
ITB CSR Day on 7 March 2013 in Hall 7.3, Europa Room.