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RTD11 The 11th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations 14th - 15th April 2014Â
The first International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations took place in Cape Town in 2002, it was organised with Western Cape Tourism as a side event to the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg ten years on from Rio.
The Cape Town Conference established the city as the birthplace of the idea of Responsible Tourism in Destinations. The 2002 conference brought together tourism businesses, governments and inter-governmental organisations to discuss how the ideas of Responsible Tourism developing in Europe could build on the South African national policy adopted in 1996. The Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism endorsed by 280 delegates from 20 countries placed the City has been at the forefront of Responsible Tourism implementation in South Africa and globally. The World Travel Market’s Responsible Tourism programme used the Cape Town Declaration’s definition of Responsible Tourism. The World Travel Market 2014 Industry Report published in November 2014 reported that 86% of respondents perceived sustainability to be important to their business and more than 60 per cent of respondents said that responsible tourism will increase over the next three years, 30% say it will increase significantly.
The 11th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations will be held on 14 and 15 April 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. An academic day on 13 April will precede the conference. The conference will be co-chaired by the City of Cape Town, Professor Harold Goodwin (Manchester Metropolitan University and International Centre for Responsible Tourism) and Heidi van der Watt (Responsible Tourism South Africa). It takes place during Africa Travel Week 2015, incorporating WTM Africa, hosted by the City of Cape Town and organised by Thebe Reed.
Responsible Tourism formed a cornerstone of the first Tourism Development Framework adopted by the City of Cape Town in 2004. 10 years and 10 conferences on, RTD11 presents an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved in Cape Town, South Africa and elsewhere around the world, to document good practices applied by different producer groups, and set the agenda for change for the next 10 years. The conference will result in Responsible Tourism Practitioner’s guide to realizing Responsible Tourism in destinations - reflecting the input on what works from keynote speakers, panellists and delegates. This conference, like the one in 2002, aspires to review practice and set the agenda for the next decade and to identify the best answers to the question: How can tourism be used to make better places for people to live in, and better places for people to visit?
Conference discussions will focus on practical solutions that create prosperous and sustainable urban destinations, the responsibility of tourism producer groups and the partnerships needed to make it work.
The conference will
* explore responsible tourism and how to secure competitive market advantage from it;
* discuss the issues of inclusion of marginalized citizens as producers and consumers of tourism and identify ways of making tourism more inclusive; and
* identify how the design of tourism products using Responsible Tourism principles can contribute to making better places for people to live in to live in and for people to visit.
CONFERENCE CO CHAIRS
Tuesday 14th April 2015
09:00 Welcome and Opening
09:45- 10:15 Keynote 1
Prof Harold Goodwin, Manchester Metropolitan University and
International Centre for Responsible Tourism, United Kingdom
10:15- 10:30
Video Interview:
Garry Wilson, Mainstream Product & Purchasing Director, TUI Group, United Kingdom
10:30 - 11:00 Keynote 2
Matthias Leisinger, Vice-President of Corporate Responsibility, KUONI, Switzerland
Tim Williamson, Director, responsibletravel.com, United Kingdom
11:00-11:30 Tea & Coffer break
11:30 - 13:00 Panel 1: Tourism by Design
Four presentations followed by a panel discussion and questions from the floor
13:00 - 14:00 Networking Lunch on the Roof Terrace
14:00- 14:30 Keynote 3
Tim Williamson, Director, responsibletravel.com, United Kingdom
14:30 - 15:30 Panel 2: Responsible Tourism in Marketing
Four presentations followed by a panel discussion and questions from the floor
15:30 - 16:00 Tea and Coffee Break
16:00-16:30 Keynote 4
Adama Bah, ASSET Gambia, The Gambia
16:30 - 17:30 Panel 3: Inclusive Tourism
Adama Bah, ASSET Gambia, Gambia
Manisha Pande, Director & General Manager, Villageways, India
Paul Miedema, Director, Calabash Tours, South Africa
Heidi van der Watt, Director, ICRT, South Africa
17:30 Close of Day 1
Wednesday 15th April 2015
09:00 - 09:30 Review of the first day – the key questions and issues emerging.
09:25 - 09:40 A Decade of Responsible Tourism in Cape Town
Nombulelo Mkefa, Director: Tourism, City of Cape Town
09:40 -09:55 The South African Experience of Responsible Tourism
Bekithemba Langalibalele, Director: Responsible Tourism, National Department of Tourism,
09:55 - 10:10 Briefing: A User's Guide to Realising Responsible Tourism in Destinations
Prof Harold Goodwin, Manchester Metropolitan University and International Centre for Responsible Tourism, UK &
Anton Groenewald, Executive Director: Tourism, Events and Economic Development, City of Cape Town, South Africa
10:10 - 11:15 Official Opening of World Travel Market Africa
11:30 - 13:00 Taking Responsibility - Producer Group Working Session 1
Using Tourism to Make African Destinations Better Places to Live In
13:00 - 14:00 Networking Lunch on the Roof Terrace
14:00 -15:30 Taking Responsibility – Producer Group Working Session 2
Solutions: Overcoming Challenges
15:30 - 16:00 Tea and Coffee Break
16:00 - 17:00 Working Group Feedback
17:00 - 18:00 Closing Statements
