Workshop looks at sustainable coastal tourism

Sixteen senior and middle-level officials from ministries of tourism, environment and planning authorities have assembled in Malta's capital, Valletta, to learn about sustainable management of coastal leisure and recreational tourism.

The two-week meeting, which is the 4th pan-Commonwealth programme on Management of Coastal Recreational Tourism, is taking place from 19 February to 2 March 2007.

The course aims to disseminate specialised knowledge, and provide a forum for participants to discuss and consult through presentations of case studies. They are also scheduled to visit nature reserves.

The training programme, which focuses on state-of-the-art techniques for managing beaches, will teach participants about environment protection and shed light on the opportunities and constraints of developing sustainable tourism in their countries.

"Enhancing economic development while protecting natural resources is vital for the tourism industry," said Richard Gold, Interim Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat's Governance and Institutional Development Division, which is managing the workshop.

"This programme will go a long way in boosting the tourism economy while exploring different aspects of coastal recreation."

The programme is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics at the Foundation for International Studies, University of Malta. It is jointly sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation and the Malta Co-operation Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Secretariat Links:

• Governance
• CFTC