Barcelona City Council in cooperation with the Provincial Government of Barcelona, the Catalan Tourism Agency and Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR), are organizing from next 17 to 19 May 2017, the International Conference on Sustainable Tourism for the Development in the framework of the New Urban Agenda.
The event is part of the agenda of the United Nations that declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for the Development, in which cities are a priority field of application of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Local governments have become promoters and guarantors of sustainable and equitable urban development, especially regarding: job creation, sustainable consumption and production, conservation of cultural and natural heritage and fight against climate change. Cities also face the challenge of building a sustainable tourism offer, where visitors and citizens live together in a balanced way, minimizing the negative impacts of tourism and strengthening its link to local economies.
The conference will include the participation of experts in sustainable tourism, climate, innovation and coexistence, among others, as well as of representatives of local governments and business operators and agents. The event will conclude with the presentation of a statement and some guidelines to which all the cities, committed to sustainable tourism, may join.
Thursday, May 18 th
| Title | Participants | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Session | ||
| Jaume Collboni. Second Deputy of Business, Culture, and Innovation, Barcelona City Council | ||
| Tomás Azcárate. President, The Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR) | ||
| Taleb D. Rifai. Secretary-General, WTO |  |
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| Joan Clos. Executive Manager, UN-Habitat | |
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| Mercè Conesa. President, Barcelona Provincial Council | ||
| Jordi Baiget. Minister of Business and Knowledge, Catalan Government | ||
| Keynote: Tourism and its impact on territory from a sustainable perspective | ||
| Presentation of the new standard of urban tourism | Erika Harms. Representant, Biosphere USA and Canadá | |
| Round table: Tourist sustainable and resilient cities, their commitment to climate | ||
| Moderator | Xavier Suñol. Responsible of Strategic Projects of Sustainable Tourism, Barcelona City Council | |
| Speakers | Marc Castells. Vice-President of the Economic Development Area, Barcelona Provincial Council and Mayor of Igualada | |
| Jeremie Fosse. President, eco-union | ||
| Esteban León. Head of Technical UN-Habitat Advisory Program City Resilience Profiles | ||
| Janet Sanz. Deputy Mayor for Ecology, Urbanism and Mobility, Barcelona City Council | ||
| Relatoria | Chiara Ronchini. Heritage Directorate, Scotland’s Urban Past | |
| Keynote: Tourism marketing for sustainable destinations | ||
| Xavier Font. Co-director of the International Center for Responsible Tourism, Surrey University | |
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| Round Table: Organizational innovation for sustainability in urban tourism (innovation and applied intelligence) | ||
| Moderator | Patrick Torrent President of Network of European Regions for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism (NECSTouR) and Executive Director of the Catalan Tourist Board | |
| Speakers | Boudewijn Bokdam. Project Manager Development and Market Intelligence, Amsterdam Marketing | |
| Susana Conde. Chief Executive Officer of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) | ||
| Marta Farrero. Technical Manager of the Tourist Board of the Tarragona Provincial Council | |
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| Antonio Paolo Russo. Professor of Geography, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona/td> | |
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| Relatoria | Àngel Díaz. President Advanced Leisure Services (ALS) | |
| Round Table: Heritage and creative capacity of cities | ||
| Moderador | Peter Debrine. Senior Project Officer, UNESCO World Heritage | |
| Ponents | Caroline Couret. Creative Tourism, Barcelona | |
| Diane Dodd. Director of International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism, Barcelona | |
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| Rosa Serra. Local Economic Development Area Coordinator, Barcelona Provincial Council | ||
| Petra Thomas. Directora Fòrum Anders Reisen, Germany (TBC) | ||
| Relatoria | Cipriano Marín. The Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR) | |
Friday, May 19th
| Title | Participants | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Round Table: Application of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to urban tourism | ||
| Moderator | Yolanda Perdomo. Director of UNWTO Affiliate Members | |
| Speakers | Xavier Font Urgell. Head of the Technical Office of Tourism, Barcelona Provincial Counci | |
| Nerea Melgosa. Councillor for Employment and Sustainable Economic Development of Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council | |
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| Josep Roig. General Secretary, United Local Cities and Goverment (UCLG) | ||
| Reporter | Herbert Hamele. President, Ecotrans | |
| Keynote: Decent work conditions to tranform tourism | ||
| Ernest Cañada. Coordinator at ALBA SUD | |
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| Round Table: Citizens and tourists, generating spaces of coexistence | ||
| Moderator | Antonio López-Gay. Investigator, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED), Barcelona | |
| Speakers | Younjung Choi. Assistant Manager / Strategic Business Team, Seoul Tourism Organization | |
| Agustí Colom. Councillor of Enterprise and Tourism, Barcelona City Council | ||
| Miquel Forns. Tourism Councillor, Barcelona Provincial Council and Sitges Major | ||
| Ignasi Uñó. CEO & Founder Innovat Hotels | Twentytú Hi-Tech Hostel | ||
| Maria Youngsin Lim. Representative Citizen Campaign Transformation of Tourism Imagine Peace, Seoul | |
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| Representant. Association of Neighbourhoods for Sustainable Tourism (ABTS), Barcelona | ||
| Reporter | Javier Gallego. President, Product Club, Castellón | |
| Closing session and conclusions | ||
| Tomás Azcárate. President, The Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR) | ||
| Barcelona Declaration | ||
| Agustí Colom. Councillor of Enterprise and Tourism, Barcelona City Council | |
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