MATTA gears up for annual ecotourism conference

http://apeco2014.com/

The Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) will organise its annual Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference (APECO) in Sabah next month.

Held from October 16 to 18 at The Pacific Sutera Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, the two-day conference is themed Adding Value Through Eco-Tourism Development and comes with a one-day pre-conference workshop.

Attendees can expect 16 speakers from four continents sharing their knowledge and experiences with ecotourism. This includes: Masaru Takayama, executive director, Japan Ecolodge Association, who will talk about ecotourism’s contribution to conservation; Alison Pritchard, manager, Mulu National Park in Sarawak who will speak on the place of tourism in park conservation and on developing ecotourism facilities in national parks; and Ross Dowling, who will speak on geotourism and geoparks.

Organising chairman, Albert Teo, said: “This will also be a great opportunity for academics, industry experts and practitioners to network and share their expertise and know-how on the latest trends in marketing, conservation, ecolodge design and operations, and community-based projects during the coffee breaks, workshops and post-conference tours.

“Delegates will learn to manage, market and maintain ecotourism facilities, products and services using sustainability, community benefits as the guiding principle.”

Hamzah Rahmat, MATTA president, added: “The conference and pre-conference workshop is meant to share best practices and to give participants a better understanding of more effective methods and technologies for ecotourism and sustainable development. “

APECO is open to both MATTA, non-MATTA members, and students. For further details of this conference, email secretariat@apeco2014.com.

-TTG Asia.