Two representatives of the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation (STDF), Maya Leon–Pandt, Product Development & Research Manager and Sharmin Turner, Office Assistant, are to attend the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC-14) to be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, April 15 – 18.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has been staging its Annual Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development since 1997.

“The Sustainable Tourism Conference, organized by CTO is a very important conference, where sustainable information is concerned. I have learned a great deal from attending these conferences and also made some great contacts”, said Maya. “Tourism and sustainability is vital for the economic survival of our communities”.

The conference addresses multiple ways to examine and enrich visitor experiences beyond stereotypical urban and rural tourism products, one could expect to be taught from winning destinations’ good practice models in tourism sustainability, how member states can design and implement sustainable tourism policies and programs, offering a regional forum for information exchange on the successes and pitfalls of national, regional and international initiatives.

The conference Themed “Keeping the Right Balance: Enhancing Destination Sustainability through Products, Partnerships and Profitability” will feature focused panel discussions, special presentations and interactive workshops to create opportunities for delegates to interact with leading local, regional and international experts and tourism practitioners.

Two days of discourse via panel discussions and focused learning sessions will be balanced by a full day of exhilarating study tours to reveal the diversity of Trinidad & Tobago employed by various sustainability models.

St. Eustatius Tourism, www.statiatourism.com