(News Release)
ST. MICHAEL,
BARBADOS – Seven destinations in the Caribbean & Central
America region will receive support to enhance the long-term viability of their
tourism sectors. The Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas
(SDAA) has announced its first seven destination partners: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Honduras,
Jamaica, and Nicaragua.
This announcement was made during the Organization of
American States’ 22nd Inter-American Congress of Ministers and
High-Level Authorities of Tourism in Barbados.
“Sustainable tourism
development is considered a driving force for development of the local economy
and well-being of Nicaraguan families, as well as for raising awareness of the
importance of protection of natural and cultural heritage,” said Mayra
Salinas, Executive President
of the Nicaragua Institute of Tourism. “We are confident that this initiative will help us to strengthen
public-private partnerships for shared and improved management of the
destination."
Destination
partners will receive support in the form of a Sustainable Destination Toolkit,
which was developed by alliance implementation partner and convener Sustainable
Travel International. According to an
official statement by the SDAA, this program aims to enrich the lives of the
people in these destinations and to protect the region for many generations to
come.
The Toolkit includes a
destination assessment, an action agenda with short and long term solutions,
online training courses for capacity building, a destination monitoring system
to ensure on-going success, and marketing support.
Funding for the Toolkit
is provided by two founding SDAA partners, the United States Government through
the United States Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States and Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. through its Ocean Fund.,
“The Bahamas’ participation in the
initiative is important because tourism alone provides an estimated 60 percent
of the Gross Domestic Product and employs about half the Bahamian work force.
Additionally, approximately five million tourists arrive annually at the Port
of Nassau,” shared Joy Jibrilu, Director General at The Bahamas Ministry of
Tourism. “Whatever we can do to improve, grow, and ultimately sustain the Port
in a responsible way, will benefit everyone, including visitors, cruise lines,
and Bahamians.”
The SDAA, which
launched earlier this year, is the largest-scale effort to date through which
public and private entities have united to focus on destination sustainability
in the Americas.
The full list of SDAA
partners include the Organization of American States, Caribbean Tourism
Organization, Central American Tourism Integration Secretariat, global NGO
Sustainable Travel International, leading cruise vacation company Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and the United States Government through the United
States Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States.
For more information, please visit www.sustainabletravel.org/SDAA
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About
Sustainable Destination Alliance for the Americas (SDAA)
The Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas
(SDAA) is the first-ever large-scale multi-sector initiative for sustainable
tourism destinations in the Caribbean and Latin American regions. The
initiative aims to improve the way tourism is managed and to enhance the global
competitiveness of the region, by embedding sustainability into the day-to-day
management and marketing of destinations throughout the region. www.sustainabletravel.org/SDAA
About the Caribbean
Tourism Organization (CTO)
The
Caribbean Tourism Organization
(CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the
Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30
countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well
as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position
the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination, and
its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.
Among the benefits to its members the organization provides specialized support
and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing,
communications, advocacy, human resource development, event planning &
execution and research & information technology. In addition the CTO, in
partnership with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, jointly and
equally owns the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, a marketing and
business development entity dedicated to promoting the Caribbean brand
worldwide.
About the Central American
Tourism Integration Secretariat (SITCA)
The Central American Tourism Integration Secretariat
(SITCA), with headquarters in Managua, Nicaragua, is the permanent office of
the Central American Tourism Council which is formed by the Ministers or
National Tourism Authorities of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic. SITCA provides management and
technical support for the implementation of the resolutions of the Council and
the achievement of integration programs and sustainable development of tourism
in Central America and Dominican Republic.
About the Organization
of American States (OAS)
The
Organization of American States is the
world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International
Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to
April 1890. That meeting approved the establishment of the International Union
of American Republics, and the stage was set for the weaving of a web of
provisions and institutions that came to be known as the inter-American system,
the oldest international institutional system. The Organization was established
in order to achieve among its member states—as stipulated in Article 1 of the
Charter—"an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to
strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their
territorial integrity, and their independence." Today, the OAS brings
together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main
political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In
addition, it has granted permanent observer status to 67 states, as well as to
the European Union (EU). The Organization uses a four-pronged approach to
effectively implement its essential purposes, based on its main pillars:
democracy, human rights, security, and development.
About Sustainable
Travel International
Sustainable
Travel International (http://sustainabletravel.org)
is the world’s leading organization
that is harnessing the power of travel and tourism as a force for good. We help
communities, businesses and governments build a better future for themselves
and their environments through travel and tourism. Our vision has always been
to harness the power of travel and tourism as a force for good. Since our
creation, we have dedicated ourselves to understanding the complexities of
travel and tourism around the world and spent more than 10 years developing
tools and partnerships that deliver on such ambitious goals. Today, in response
to urgent threats facing our planet, we are convening leading travel
corporations and tourism destinations to scale-up our solutions in order to
improve the lives of at least 10 million people over the next decade.
Collectively, we are redefining global travel and tourism as a force for good.
About Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd.
Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company
that owns Royal Caribbean
International, Celebrity Cruises,
Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises
and CDF Croisières de France, as well as
TUI Cruises through a 50 percent joint venture. Together, these six
brands operate a combined total of 41 ships with an additional six under
construction contracts. They operate diverse itineraries around the
world that call on approximately 490 destinations on all seven
continents. Additional information can be found on
www.royalcaribbean.com, www.celebritycruises.com, www.pullmantur.es,
www.azamaraclubcruises.com, www.cdfcroisieresdefrance.com or www.rclinvestor.com.
About the United
States Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States
The
United States Mission to the
Organization of American States (OAS) is headed by Ambassador Carmen
Lomellin, who was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as Permanent
United States Representative on November 20, 2009. As a member of the OAS, the
United States is committed to strengthening and working with the organization.
This reflects the U.S. Government's determination to make optimal use of
multilateral diplomacy to resolve regional problems and to engage its neighbors
on topics of hemispheric concern.
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