26.9.2008
From Colombo News Desk

Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism, Renton de Alwis, has been invited by the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to speak at a special Think Tank event to be held in Lima, Peru, on September 27, 2008, the Word Tourism Day.

The conference theme is “Tourism: Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change”. This interactive thinktank is hosted by HE Dr. Alan Garcia Perez, President of the Republic of Peru and HE Dr. Mercedes Araoz Fernandez, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru in conjunction with UNWTO.

The forum will cover state-of-the-art of global thinking on Tourism and Climate Change with a strong focus on solutions. Discussions will include the UN roadmap, to adapt, mitigate, use new technology and provide financing for developing countries.

It will also cover the UNWTO/UNEP Davos Process on how to implement it around the world.

In October last year, Sri Lanka Tourism launched a pioneering initiative “Tourism Earth Lung Towards Carbon Clean Sri Lanka,” at UNWTO/UNEP/World Economic forums, conference held in Davos, Switzerland, details of which are available on the website www.earthlung.travel.

Organisations such as, UNWTO and PATA have recognised this initiative as one with potential to grow to be a global initiative for tourism destinations.

This year in Sri Lanka, World Tourism Day celebrations will focus around making Yapahuwa an eco-destination where general measures will be adopted to ensure the greening of its environment.

“Tourism Earth Lung: Towards a Carbon Clean Sri Lanka”, initiative aims to mitigate carbon related climate change issues though catalytic actions of the tourism industry working closely with the Ministry of Environment Natural Resources and all other stakeholders in the service, production and other industries.

The Peru event is to be broadcast globally through all media and will feature Sri Lanka Tourism Earth Lung initiative recognising its pioneering status. The initiative focuses on the areas of stopping deforestation, reforestation, use of conserving energy initiatives and mitigating pollution at the source. It aims to make Sri Lanka a carbon neutral to assist destination by 2018, with all stakeholders and the people of Sri Lanka mobilised towards the effort.