25 nations to join world’s first green travel mart in PH

FILE PHOTO: The 405-hectare Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area is in the heart of 3,667-hectare Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetlands, designated as internationally important under the criteria of the Ramsar Convention.
(DENR Central Luzon photo)

MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-five nations are expected to participate in the International Ecotourism Travel Mart (IETM) in the Philippines, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.

The DOT will be co-hosting the IETM in Silang, Cavite from March 29 to April 2.

In a statement, the agency said it is set to promote the country’s ecotourism destination during the IETM exhibit.

“A key event in the IETM is the two-day ecotourism forum where participants learn about best practices, do’s and don’ts about authentic ecotourism to protect nature and biodiversity while ensuring that communities living around the ecotourism sites benefit from the gains of ecotourism enterprises,” the DOT noted.

DOT Secretary Christina Frasco said the push for sustainability is not lip service nor a vague promise but “a way of life.”

Frasco, according to the DOT, pointed to the need to give life to theories on achieving sustainability and preventing the further worsening of climate change.

Plenty of lessons from the forum and the sharing of best practices may be picked up by IETM participants, she added.

The IETM is co-presented by the Asian Ecotourism Network and the International School for Sustainable Tourism.

RELATED STORIES

Travel sector mulls green future but tourists reluctant to pay

The rise of the eco-conscious traveler

PH ecotourism sites: Hurt but also healed by COVID-19 travel restrictions

House bill to declare Basilan’s Lampinigan Island an ecotourism zone filed

KGA