UNWTO Green Tourism Meeting 2012 to Open in Chiang Mai

The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) will organise the Regional Conference on Green Tourism from May 3 to 5, 2012 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This event will follow the 24th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia.

 

This is billed as a “warm-up” event in preparation for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June. It will introduce recent tourism research results by the United Nations on the role of a green economic sector, and highlight challenges and opportunities that public and private sectors face. The conference will also present the practical experience of many countries in developing sustainable tourism and the green economy in the Asia -Pacific region.

 

In 2011, there were 980 million tourists worldwide and the UNWTO expected the growth to continue. In 2012, the world will have one billion tourists. The rapid growth in both domestic and international tourism is posing significant challenges. Accordingly, the Regional Conference on Green Tourism will be a forum for industry experts, scholars, ministers and national representatives to discuss methods for the green economy to contribute to sustainable development and address existing challenges.