WTM Latin America 2020

WTM Latin America - Responsible Tourism Panels

In 2020 WTM Latin America has partnered with Muda! Brazilian Collective for Responsible Tourism to moderate sessions and to curate speakers at panels on responsibility in the travel and tourism industry. Supervised by Prof. Harold Goodwin (Responsible Tourism advisor for WTM travel shows around the world) and Gustavo Pinto (Responsible Tourism advisor for WTM Latin America), this year we debate on single-use plastic and decarbonisation in the sector, overtourism in Latin America and a special session where winners at the 1st WTM Latin America Responsible Tourism Awards will present how they are making places better to live and visit.

Postponed to 20-22 October 2020

April 1st, 2020 is Responsible Tourism Day at WTM Latin America 

13h30 - 14h00

Plastic Waste: What Should the Industry Do?

The issue of single-use plastic has been raised and many of us but by no means, all, have stopped using plastic straws. The challenge is bigger than that. Plastic is not the problem – single-use plastic is.
This panel will address the practicalities of avoiding creating waste plastic and what might your business do to help local communities tackle this persistent and poisonous waste products which exist from hundreds of years and contaminates our food chain.

Moderator: Polyana Oliveira Owner & Director - Viare Travel

Polyana is passionate about cultural exchange and empowering communities through travel. Born in Brazil, she was raised in the US, and has been back in Brazil since 2008. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global & Business Relations and an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Polyana is currently owner and director of Brazilian (responsible) DMC Viare Travel, and she has also recently taken on the role of president of Projeto Bagagem, an NGO that assists communities seeking to grow through community based tourism, throughout Brazil.

14h15 - 14h45

Meet the winners - WTM Latin America Responsible Tourism Awards 2020

The WTM Latin America Responsible Tourism Awards has been created to inspire the industry to change to make destinations better places to live and visit. Come and learn more about the stories behind the winners of the first edition of the Latin America Responsible Tourism Awards - their inspiration, challenges and perspectives for the future.

Moderator: Gustavo Pinto Responsible Tourism advisor - WTM Latin America
Master's Degree in Responsible Tourism at Manchester Metropolitan University - UK. Founder at Inverted America (www.invertedamerica.com), a consulting and travel agency for responsible tourism throughout South America. Member at Muda! Brazilian Collective for Responsible Tourism. Member of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) and ICRT Brazil. Project Management for Development Specialist - PMD Pro. Responsible Tourism Advisor for Word Travel Market - WTM Latin America

15h00 - 15h30

Decarbonising Travel and Tourism: Is our Industry Doing Enough?

There is a growing awareness of the climate change crisis with school strikes and the Extinction Rebellion movement. Business as usual is no longer sensible and is increasingly recognised as a poor business strategy. Our panel will share with you their views about how we address the challenge of reducing our carbon emissions – we cannot continue to leave it to others.

Moderator: Ana Duek Travel journalist at Viajar Verde Winner - Best Digital Influencer in Tourism WTM International Travel & Tourism Awards 2018.

 Ana Cecilia Duék is a Brazilian journalist with 15 years of experience in corporate communication for the tourism sector. She has a Master's degree in International Tourism and Hospitality Management from Middlesex University, London, and an MBA degree in Digital Marketing from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil. In 2015, she launched the sustainable tourism website, Viajar Verde, and, since then, advises tourism companies in communicating their sustainability practices

15h45 - 16h15 Overtourism in Latin America

Overtourism describes destinations where hosts or guests, locals or visitors, feel that there are too many visitors and that the quality of life in the area or the quality of the experience has deteriorated unacceptably. It is the opposite of Responsible Tourism which is about using tourism to make better places for people to live in and better places to visit. In this panel we discuss how successful destinations have been dealing with overtourism in Latin America.

Moderator: Marianne Costa Owner and director at Vivejar, Community-based tourism operator in Brazil
Founder and CEO at Vivejar, a Brazilian tour operator focused on transformational and responsible trips. Marianne founded Raízes, consultancy firm nationally known and awarded for local development projects. She is part of the 'Sistema B Brasil' counsel, founder and president at Coletivo Muda - Brazilian Collective for Responsible Tourism and founder of Vivejar Institute.