PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2012 (AT&RTCM2012) is a four-day event that brings together people involved in adventure travel and responsible tourism to discuss creating new opportunities for promoting environmental protection and social sustainability within the industry.

The PATA AT&RTCM 2012 will be held in the historic town of Paro in the south west of Bhutan. Paro boasts of numerous sacred sites and historical buildings that would pique the interest of adventure travellers. It is also home to the Paro Valley, recognised to be one of the most beautiful places in Bhutan.

Come and join us in Bhutan for another memorable PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart.

(Forimmediaterelease.net) Brunei became the latest country to join the Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign when His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’Izzaddin Waddualah accepted an Open Letter on the importance of travel and tourism.

“We will do our best to support tourism,” said His Majesty the Sultan upon receiving the Open Letter from UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General, Taleb Rifai. Tourism is of strategic importance for Brunei, His Majesty said, and is based on two principal resources: the country’s pristine rainforest in the heart of Borneo, and its spiritual and cultural heritage. Environmental protection and conservation must, therefore, lie at the heart of any tourism development, he stressed.

“By accepting the Open Letter, Brunei has become part of an increasingly important group of world leaders advocating for tourism as a means of economic growth and development including in Asia: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea,” said Mr Rifai.

The first UNWTO Secretary General to visit Brunei, Mr. Rifai praised the country’s tourism strategy based on the two pillars of nature and culture. “The strength of Brunei tourism lies in its uniqueness,” said Mr Rifai, applauding the country for focusing on its own unique assets, “In this way, Brunei is carving its own model of responsible tourism, which will no doubt serve as an example to the rest of the world.”

David Scowsill, President&CEO of the World Travel&Tourism Council (WTTC) said: “Signing the Open Letter reiterates Brunei’s commitment to tourism, and demonstrates the country’s leadership role in the travel and tourism industry. This underlines that Brunei truly understands the impact on job creation and the positive economic impact that travel and tourism brings to global GDP. Travel and tourism made a contribution of 5.8 percent of GDP in 2011 to the Brunei economy and supported 14,000 jobs, 6.9 percent of total employment.”

Mr. Rifai also met with Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Hon Pehin Dato Yahya, who identified tourism as key to the economic diversification of Brunei. UNWTO has committed to work closely with the Ministry over the coming years, including in the implementation of Brunei’s tourism master plan, the exchange of experiences with other destinations in coastal and eco-tourism development ,and capacity building.

MEDIA CONTACT: Anja Eckervogt, Media Relations Manager, Phone: +44 (0) 2074816484, Email:anja.eckervogt@wttc.org

(Forimmediaterelease.net) LOS ANGELES, California – Green Globe Certification today announced a new partnership with OrganicEra based in Istanbul, Turkey. OrgenicEra is a leading supplier of hotel towels, bed linen, and other textile items manufactured with organically-certified materials.

Green Globe CEO Mr. Guido Bauer said: “This is an interesting and exciting new partnership for Green Globe Certification. For some time we have been looking for a new partner with experience from the travel and tourism supply chain. At the same time we have also needed a partner to cover the important tourism regions of Turkey.

“OrganicEra offers qualifications in both fields, and we look forward to working with Ms. Nur Begen and her team in delivering sustainability certification across Turkey.”

OrganicEra is a supplier of high-quality textile products such as towels, bathrobes, and bed linen, made of both organic and conventional cotton. OrganicEra also supplies 100 percent organic clothing like T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, underwear, and sleepwear, even kids toys. All OrganicEra organic products are made with pride in Turkey from the finest quality cotton certified by Control Union, a Dutch certification organization.

OrganicEra CEO Ms. Nur Begen said: “As OrganicEra, we have been in the organic textiles business for the last five years and have noticed the shift in public awareness toward ecological and organic items. We are currently the one and only brand in Turkey which sells a certified range of organic towels, bathrobes, and bed linen. This year we will also be launching a new line exclusive to hotels and include certified hotel amenities as well.

“Many people are aware of Turkey’s world-renowned tourism industry and we believe that the hotels will be very interested in becoming certified Green Globe. Together with my partner, who has nine years’ experience in the hospitality industry, we are very proud to be able to create awareness and publicity, which will encourage hotels to move towards sustainable management and become more conscious about their impact on the environment.”

ABOUT ORGANICERA

OrganicEra supplies private-labeled products manufactured in Turkey by Control Union certified suppliers. OrganicEra presents all of its customers with detailed market research on their requested goods and follows up all the processes from the receipt of the order until the final inspections. In the OrganicEra product range, only Control Union /IMO certified organic cotton is used without any harmful chemicals. For example, gentle hydrogen peroxide is used for whitening, and low-impact dyes are used for colors, so there is no toxic waste from the manufacturing process.

Contact: Nur Begen (M.SC), Perpa, A Blok, 11. Kat, 1475, Okmeydani
Istanbul, Turkey, 34180, Phone + 90 (212) 221 07 08, + 90 (541) 431 24 13, Fax + 90 (212) 221 67 57, Email: nur@organicera.com , Web: www.organicera.com

ABOUT GREEN GLOBE CERTIFICATION

Green Globe Certification is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally-accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe Certification is based in California, USA, and is represented in over 83 countries. For information, visit www.greenglobe.com .

MEDIA CONTACT: Green Globe Certification, Phone: +1-310-337-3000, Fax: +1-310-626-9982, Email: pr@greenglobe.com , Web: www.greenglobe.com

(Forimmediaterelease.net) Reed Travel Exhibitions Chairman of World Travel Market (WTM), Fiona Jeffery, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in Queen Elizabeth’s II New Year’s Honors list.

Jeffery’s award of the OBE is for her services to the travel and tourism industry during her 26 years at WTM, the leading global event for the travel industry.
She joined the marketing department of Reed Exhibitions in 1986 and became Group Marketing Manager in 1988, before being promoted to Marketing Director in 1991.

In 1992, Jeffery helped launch Arabian Travel Market before becoming WTM Exhibition Director and then assumed the same role for British Travel Trade Fair in 1996.

In 2000, she was appointed WTM Managing Director before assuming her current role of WTM Chairman in 2008.

Throughout her time in the industry, Jeffery has championed responsible travel, creating an international environmental initiative in 1996 before launching World Responsible Tourism Day in 2007.

The 2011 New Year’s Honors list was chosen based on the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameroon Big Society initiative, which is focused on people making a real difference to communities through volunteering, fundraising, social action, and philanthropy.

In 1998, Jeffery launched travel industry water aid charity, Just a Drop, which aims to reduce child mortality caused by unsafe water. The charity has undertaken more than 92 water aid projects and helped more than 1.5 million children and their families in 29countries.

“I was genuinely stunned, but it’s a great honor, and I’ve received lots of wonderful emails and texts over the last week,” Jeffery said. “The best thing is being able to share it with so many colleagues both at Reed Exhibitions and within the travel industry who have all played their part over the last 26 years in making World Travel Market what it is today, and also the many people who have also latterly helped support and grow Just a Drop.

“The joy others have taken for the award has been particularly nice to see and [has] given me the greatest of pleasure. My sincere thanks go to colleagues and those in the industry who have worked with and supported me over the years.”

Fiona is a trustee of the charity The Travel Foundation and she received the Shine Woman of the Year Award in 2008.

PHOTO: Fiona Jeffery, Chairman, World Travel Market / Image via wtmlondon.com

MEDIA CONTACT: Nicole Collett, Press and PR Executive World Travel Market, Tel: +44 (0) 20 8910 7836, Fax: +44 (0) 20 8334 0624, Web: www.wtmlondon.com