ATEDCo part of "Tourism & Travel in the Green Economy" Symposium

Under the initiative of the Mayor of Athens Nikitas Kaklamanis, the Athens Tourism and Economic Development Company (ATEDCo) took part in the international "Tourism & Travel in the Green Economy" symposium, held 14 and 15 September in Gothenburg, Sweden. Also taking part was ATEDCo's subsidiary organisation, the Athens Convention Bureau (ACB), in its capacity as a member of the World Tourism Organisation.

The symposium was staged by the European Tourism Commission, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and VisitSweden, with the support of the United National Environment Programme and the Swedish government. The four main positions of the tourism sector were formulated during the symposium in preparation for the Climate Change conference to take place in Copenhagen. The positions are summarised as follows:
• Restriction of emissions, particularly by transport and accommodation enterprises.
• Adaptation of tourism enterprises and destinations to climate change.
• Implementation of existing and new technology aiming at greater energy efficiency.
• Securing economic resources to help poor regions and countries.

The main goal of the symposium was to inform tourism organisations on issues related to green tourism so that immediate action can be taken and contributions be made to discussions on how to address climate change which are due to take place in Copenhagen in December.

The symposium's conclusions were based on the Davos conference on climate change and tourism, led by the UNWTO in cooperation with many other tourism organisations. The Davos messages were considered more timely than ever for the tourism industry: Adjustment, Limitation, Technology Improvement. The symposium also offered ideas and lines of action with regard to how tourism can benefit from initiatives that support a green economy.

Key to the drawing of conclusions was the role and the network of National Tourism Organisations. The symposium was featured on the Destinet Sustainable Tourism portal, a learning tool associated with environmentalist tourism.

The symposium was organised into four separate topic units: the first involved discussion of actions in the tourism sector to reduce its negative impact on the environment. Initiatives being taken on national and international levels were highlighted, as well as the ways that the tourism industry can make a positive contribution to the process. In the second, ways that new technologies could be used to achieve more environmentally friendly results in the area of transportation were discussed. Examples of how airlines and railways are operating these days were presented.

The third unit presented examples of tourism destinations that are endeavouring to combine various elements of sustainable tourism. The application of the Sustainable Consumption and Production policy in the tourism sector, as well as actions that can be taken by the accommodation sector, were also discussed.

The final unit focused on an action plan that National Tourism Organisations have an opportunity to adopt and examples of national organisations that are already applying it, such as VisitBritain, were given.

Among those to address those attending were the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson, ETC President Arthur Oberascher and UNWTO General Secretary Taleb Rifai.