Statia Sustainable Conference deemed a success

ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius – The second St. Eustatius Sustainable Conference which ended here late Thursday, has been hailed as a success.

ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius – The second St. Eustatius Sustainable Conference which ended here late Thursday, has been hailed as a success.

The two-day event, organized by the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation (STDF) with support from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), delved into a number of issues critical to the sustainability of this eight square mile island of about four thousand people.

Themed, “Tourism and Water: Protecting Our Common Future,” the conference explored a number of water-related issues, including who benefits from coastal management; the risks to wildlife and water along with the tourism opportunities that come with development; and water conservation in hospitality.

“The conference was very informative, very successful. I was very impressed with what was presented. A lot of what was presented will inform us as to what is available, what we must do locally; and will assist us in the further development and sustainability of our island and our people,” said Carlyle Tearr, the island’s commissioner of tourism.

The event brought together some 75 local, regional and international delegates. However, it was the participation of the locals that touched the director of tourism, Charles Lindo. In the lead up to the event, the STDF had appealed to residents to take ownership of the conference.

“I was really impressed with the number of locals who participated. It makes us feel that we have done something right. Sustainability means to maintain, to preserve, to continue and we are preserving Statia and Statia is nothing but the people,” Mr. Lindo said. “The presence of the people here has given me the added drive, motivation and fire to continue beating the drum of sustainability.”

As part of the program and to strengthen the messages delivered at the conference, delegates are spending Friday on “Study Tours” to various places of interest on the island. These include a hike to the Quill National Park, the first official national park in the Netherlands Antilles; a historical walking tour and a bus tour of the island.

Get familiar with Statia world wide
Most recently, the island of St. Eustatius won an award: No Anansi Story! – Best Feature By A Caribbean Journalist by Ms. Rickisha St. Louis of Grenada. Her broadcast feature on St. Eustatius entitled, “St. Eustatius: The Caribbean’s Hidden Treasure” has been broadcasting on the Caribbean Media Corporation’s Carib-Vision http://youtu.be/qrU-MQd0jv8.

St. Eustatius, The Caribbean’s Hidden Treasure was categorized in the Top 8 Caribbean Towns in the world http://www.lonelyplanet.com/caribbean/travel-tips-and-articles/76984 by Robert Reid of Lonely Planet. On October 19, 2012, St. Eustatius was named “The Caribbean Shangri-La” story published in the famous Washington Post http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-10-19/lifestyle/35499555_1_kapok-scorpion-crater by Scott Elder. In 1991, the Simon Doncker House Museum won an American Express Award as best example of historic preservation in the Caribbean area. In 2008, The Simon Doncker House Museum received a St. Eustatius Development Foundation achievement Award. On April 26th, 2013, the Simon Doncker Museum received an Orange ribbon from The House of Orange. The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation has a new updated website www.statiatourism.com.

About the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation

The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation is the agency responsible for promoting and developing tourism on St. Eustatius. The mission is to get the island Government to lend greater priority to tourism by providing adequate funding to effectively and efficiently promote tourism in key markets; ensuring a quality tourism product by introducing and controlling the minimum standard requirements; preparing future generations to take on greater responsibilities within this sector by means of teaching tourism as a subject on levels of the education system.

The STDF office is located at Fort Oranje, Oranjestad, St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean. Tel +599 318 2433, Fax +599 318 2433, Email: [email protected]. Please follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/page/St-Eustatius-Tourism/184630988242982

About the Caribbean Tourism Organization

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30 countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

Among the benefits to its members, the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, research, and information technology.

In addition, the CTO, in partnership with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, jointly and equally owns the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, a marketing and business development entity dedicated to promoting the Caribbean brand worldwide.

The CTO’s Headquarters is located in Baobab Towers, Warrens, St. Michael, Barbados BB22026; Tel.: (246) 427-5242; Fax: (246) 429-3065; Email: [email protected].

The CTO’s New York office is located at 80 Broad St., Suite 3302, New York, NY 10004, USA; Tel.: (212) 635-9530; Fax: (212) 635-9511; Email: [email protected].

The CTO’s London office is located at The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1BP, England; Tel.: 011 44 208 948 0057; Fax 011 44 208 948 0067; Email: [email protected].

For more information on the Caribbean Tourism Organization please visit www.onecaribbean.org. Get the latest CTO updates on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ctotourism. Connect with CTO on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CaribbeanTourismOrganization.

Statia is a council member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP), and ICTP President Geoffrey Lipman was one of the keynote speakers at the conference.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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