Global Sustainable Tourism Conference: Themes & Speakers

GSTC & UNWTO

Luigi Cabrini, Chair of the Board, GSTC	Randy Durband, CEO, GSTC
Cathy Parsons, Chair, Accreditation Panel, GSTC, Australia	Dr. Dirk Glaesser, Director, Sustainable Development of Tourism Programme, UNWTO

MARKETING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Sustainable development isn’t effective if travelers don’t buy the more sustainable products. Marketing is key. But we’ve learned that labeling products as “sustainable” or “responsible” or “green” does not work well in the marketplace. In these sessions, Dr. Xavier Font of Surrey University in the UK, a leading thinker in the marketing of sustainable tourism, will provide a keynote address and lead panel discussions on best approaches to marketing sustainable product to both business travelers and leisure travelers, and considering the realities of travel to both urban destinations and nature-based or rural destinations.

Prof. Dr. Xavier Font, University of Surrey UK	Dr. Jane Ashton, Director of Sustainability, TUI Group, UK
Jim Sano, Vice President for Travel, Tourism and Conservation, WWF	Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director, Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office
Willem Niemeijer, CEO, YAANA Ventures Thailand	Hyungseok Byeon, CEO, Travelers’ MAPSouth Korea

SUSTAINABLE CITY TOURISM & SUSTAINABLE MICE

We will consider these two topics both separately and jointly. Keynote speaker Roger Simons will open the theme by speaking to holistic approaches in management that speak to the needs of business travelers, leisure travelers, and local residents. Breakout sessions will explore leading-edge sustainable management of cities and MICE business from a number of perspectives.

Roger Simons, GMIC President and MCI Regional Sustainability Director APAC, Singapore	Catharina Cecilie Aas, Convention Project Manager, Wonderful Copenhagen, Denmark
Hannah Jamieson, GM External Relations, Business Events Sydney (BESydney)	Nichapa Yoswee, Director of MICE Capabilities Development, Thailand Conventions & Exhibitions Bureau (TCEB)
Noor Ahmad Hamid, Regional Director APAC, ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), Malaysia	Steven Cheung, CEO, Infinity (Int’l) Travel Holdings, Hong Kong
Catherine Germier-Hamel, CEO & Founder, Millennium Destinations, South Korea	Dr. Daekwan Kim, Professor, College of Hotel and Tourism Management, Kyunghee University
Phil Chung, Director, Convention Businesses, Corporate development, Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX)	Dr. Byeong-Cheol Lee, Professor, College of Tourism Sciences, Kyonggi University
Darren Morrish, General manager, InterContinental Seoul	Byeongtae Kim, Director, Tourism Division, Suwon Ciy

ECOTOURISM & COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Most of the best case studies of sustainable tourism are found in the realm of nature-based tourism, ecotourism, rural tourism, and community-based tourism (CBT). While many mass tourism destinations are facing over-crowding, the less urban and less accessible destinations see great potential for growth. Experts in these areas will share the latest strategies for tapping into that growth potential while remaining true to the highly sustainable aspirations of these forms of tourism.

Dr. Mihee Kang, Research Professor, Seoul National University, South Korea	Kazuhiro Arai, Representative Director, Daisetsuzan Nature School, Japan
Haksoo Kim, Chair, Korean Ecotourism Destinations Network, South Korea	Susan Santos Cárdenas,President & CEO, Society for Sustainable Tourism & Development Inc. (SSTDI), Philippines

STANDARDS & CERTIFCATIONS

GSTC develops and maintains global baseline standards for sustainable travel & tourism; the famous GSTC Criteria. As such, leading experts in the world on standards and certification are either within GSTC or engaged with GSTC, and some of those key leaders will join us in Suwon to discuss the growing application of standards and the latest trends in certification.

Tienen Li, China Standard Conformity Assessment (CSCA)	André Russ, Vice President Sales, EarthCheck, Australia
Rod Hillman, CEO, Ecotourism Australia	Cathy Parsons, Chair, Accreditation Panel, GSTC

GOVERNMENT POLICY FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Two levels of government engagement will be reviewed: tourism policies at the national and provincial levels, and destination management. Emphasis will be placed on public authorities engaging with the private sector for true partnerships in managing and promoting sustainable tourism activities and destinations.

Dr. Yeonghyeon Hwang, Chair, Asia Pacific Tourism Association and Professor, Dong-A University	Muhamad Daud, Head, Culture and Tourism Unit, ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC), South Korea
Cheng-Kuang Fang, Director, Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Administration, Taiwan Tourism Bureau	Dr. Sungtae Lee, Chief Researcher, Korea Culture & Tourism Institute

CULTURAL HERITAGE DESTINATIONS

Destinations featuring cultural heritage monuments and sites face special challenges in balancing preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage while maximizing the economic benefits of tourism for the community and to support preservation. Experts on creating that balance will speak to these issues. Following the presentation, all participants will travel from the conference venue to the nearby Hwaseong Fortress, a cultural UNESCO World Heritage site and the venue of the Suwon Cultural Festival underway during our visit.

Yuzhen Lv, Director of Tourism Management Office, Mt. Huangshan (China) Administrative Committee	Dr. Jaturong Pokharatsiri, Professor of Architecture, Thammasat University, Thailand and Vice-President of ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee
Scott Walker, Country Manager Korea, Tourism Australia	Daisy Park, Representative, Samoa Tourism Authority Korea