Responsible Tourism Forum & Clinics

October 23 – 25, Suntec City Convention Center, Singapore

ITB Asia offers every year a great stage for a range of events relevant to tourism professionals who consider essential to be updated with the most recent changes and trends in the industry. In this context, Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism team is present every year promoting Responsible Tourism practices through its unique  efforts across the continent. Do drop by the Responsible Tourism Centre at Booth E75, Hall 402 for a chat with us.

Engage in a series of personalised clinics and talks to learn and be inspired by leading experts.

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Responsible Tourism Clinics

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Food Experiences In Travel

23 October (Wednesday), 2:00-3:00pm @ ITB Asia Clinics Area

An offbeat session to explore the responsibility and sustainability of food design and experience while traveling.

Voluntourism – Are The Extra Hands Helping?

23 October (Wednesday), 3:30 – 4:30pm @ ITB Asia Clinics Area

Speakers: Martin Stevenson and Amy McLoughlin
Voluntourism is a growing travel sector and with it comes the pros and cons of volunteering abroad. For the volunteer, it can be a travel and learning experience, a new way of seeing the world while giving back, but for the local communities it may be disruptive, intrusive to local cultures and traditions or its benefits short lived. How effective and sustainable are voluntourism programs?

Impact Of Sustainability Initiatives On Customer Choice

24 October (Thursday), 10:00 – 11:00am @ ITB Asia Clinics Area

Speaker: Kumud Sengupta
What impact do sustainable business practices by travel companies have on travellers’ choice of a travel service provider (hotel, resort, tour operator etc.)? A survey was commissioned by Market Vision in mid-2013, aimed to determine the extent to which demonstration and promotion of sustainability initiatives by travel companies can impact customer choice behaviour. The results suggest that, all else being equal, a certain proportion of travellers would be inclined to patronize a travel company whose sustainability credentials are easily visible while a larger proportion would be inclined to go with a travel company whose sustainability credentials are easily visible and are endorsed by a credible third party assessor. A smaller proportion of travellers would not care. What should eco-tourism businesses do to attract such customers and influence their choice?

Experiential Travel – Tapping Into The Secrets Of Creating Holidays That Stick!

24 October (Thursday), 11:30am – 12:30pm @ ITB Asia Clinics Area

Speaker: Tushar Khandelwal
Asia is a potpourri of different cultures, races, and economic environments. While many entrepreneurs find the diversity daunting, online travel startups thrive on it. While industry competition is brutal, a number of trends are converging to unearth a variation on the conventional travel experience. Asia’s up and coming travel startups will share with you what experiences sell and what FITs are looking for.

Be a Hero: Child Protection in Responsible Tourism

24 October (Thursday), 1:30pm – 2:00pm @ the Responsible Tourism Centre, Hall 402, Booth E75

Speaker: Patchareeboon Sakulpitakphon
The sexual exploitation of children should not be a part of the tourism reality, but it is. Although tourism is not the cause of this crime, offenders utilize the services and infrastructure of the tourism industry to carry out the crime.  Thus, the tourism industry has a responsibility towards combating the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism. The Code is a tool that allows your company to implement child protection for responsible tourism. Come to this session to learn more.

Revealing Of The Top 3 Winners of the Inspiring Stories Competition

24 October (Thursday), 2:30pm – 3:30pm @ the Responsible Tourism Centre, Hall 402, Booth E75

Come and be inspired by change setters in the tourism industry! The top 3 winners of this annual competition are operators with an amazing story to tell. They have been selected based on their exceptional efforts in preserving destinations and shaping local communities. This is your chance to glean from their experience and be inspired to make a difference! Check out our 2011 and 2012 Inspiring Stories.

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Responsible Tourism Forum & Networking 

25 October (Friday), 11:00am – 1:00pm @ ITB Asia Clinics Area

Join us for an inspiring forum session as we discuss 2 hot topics that surround responsible tourism. Speakers will push the envelope to challenge how tourism is affecting local communities and economies and share creative ideas on how to craft stories that embody the best of travel. The two topics are as follows:

Poverty Alleviation Through Sustainable Tourism Development: An Idea Or Reality?

Speakers: Chananya Phataraprasit, Djinaldi Gosana and Hannah Won
A debate has arisen over the actual effects the tourism industry has within developing countries, and to what extent it helps the poor. The concept of tourism as a means of poverty alleviation has been around for nearly a decade, but there is a continuing debate over its effectiveness. Is tourism actually helping to give families and communities a better life or are here leakages that we do not see? Hear from various credible sources including the people on the ground and decide for yourself.

Story Telling – How To Communicate Responsible Tourism (Without Sounding Boring!)

Speakers: Adrianna Tan,  Jeremy Torr and Robin Boustead
Responsible Tourism as tool for branding and marketing is slowly dulling in the background with too many cases of greenwashing and/or boring technical achievements in sustainable practices. It’s time to sharpen your marketing edge and liven up the way you tell your story without compromising on credibility and the great business practices you have adopted. Find out how others have told their story and what travellers are really looking for.

Following the forum, the Winners of the Wild Asia’s 2013 Responsible Tourism Award will be revealed. Six winners will be announced, each representing a specific category – from resource efficiency to cultural preservation, from protection of natural areas and wildlife to community engagement. The Award winners are leaders in their destinations, making change that will help shape the future of travel for the better. This is your chance to meet the people behind Asia’s leading sustainable tourism organizations.

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Event organised and supported by: