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| ASEAN Tourism Conference (ATC) |
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26 January 2010, Tuesday
0900 to 1200
This event is sponsored by BEDB
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KEY NOTE ADDRESS
By Hitesh Mehta, HM Design
Topic: Sustainable Tourism In Transboundary Conservation Areas
Hitesh's advocation for Transboundary Parks planning is inspired by the lyrics of John Lennon's famous song, Imagine:
"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace"
The call for transboundary conservation to facilitate people's harmonious living with their natural environment is more important now than ever. In addition to harnessing peace and cooperation among peoples, nations and communities, transboundary conservation ensures that the people living in or adjacent to these wilderness areas will profit from them via Sustainable Tourism, thereby making these areas sustainable. Sustainable Tourism helps encourage private sector and local communities to develop 'out-of-park' tourism enterprises such as mountain biking, canoeing on rivers and lakes, visits to caves and cultural sites, cultural performances, community walks and tours, local markets and handicraft demonstrations.
Hitesh's keynote address will demonstrate how Sustainable Tourism in Transboundary Parks is creatively merging the opportunities that ASEAN offers with economics and planning, that can lead to successful low impact tourism destinations. Doing so will enable the people of ASEAN to prosper for years to come. Hitesh will also present a new way to physically plan Transboundary Parks - an approach that addresses the quadruple bottom line of sustainable tourism development: economic, environmental, social and spiritual sustainability.
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| About Hitesh Mehta |
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Mehta's vast experience in sustainable landscape and architectural design projects, eco-lodge and eco-resort design, environmental and protected area planning across continents has earned him the reputation of being one of the world's foremost leading authorities on eco-tourism.
Currently an adjunct professor at the Florida Atlantic University in the US, Mehta runs his own landscape architecture and planning firm - HM Design - with ongoing projects in Costa Rica, Indonesia, Panama and Dominica and the West Indies. His works have been featured in notable international magazines, newspapers and books, including the Conde Nast Traveller, Action Asia and National Geographic (Adventure). He has also authored the "Wild Beauty Accommodation Handbook" and the recently published "Authentic Ecolodges", on top of eco-tourism related literature.
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| PANEL DISCUSSION |
| Moderator: |
Hitesh Mehta, HM Design |
| Panelists: |
Tony Charters, Tony Charters and Associates
Anthony Wong, Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel Sdn. Bhd |
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| About Tony Charters |
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Originally trained as an environmental scientist, Tony Charters went on to attain his Masters, specialising in protected area planning and protected area management, nature-based recreation and world heritage area management. For the past 15 years, Tony has been closely involved in leading projects that have pushed the boundaries of protected area management and tourism, producing outstanding results.
Tony's many years of experience in natural resource and tourism planning and management, particularly in nature-based recreation and ecotourism developments, has led him to serve in high positions across both public and private sectors in Australia including Brisbane Forest Park Authority, Queensland Recreation Areas Management Board, Wet Tropics Management Authority, Tourism Queensland, Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village and Ecotourism Management Australia.
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About Anthony Wong |
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A budding entrepreneur at a young age, Anthony began Asian Overland Services Tours & Travel (AOS) back in 1976 and has since turned his venture into the leading inbound tour operator for eco-tourism, adventure, experiential learning and special interest & incentive tours in Malaysia.
His love for nature has led him to pursue several eco-tourism projects including the opening of Taman Negara - the largest national park in Malaysia, initiating the Green Guide Certification with the help of Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and Tan Sri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor and developing Jungle Lodge Alang Sedayu into a natural landmark used for summer camps, team building and motivational courses, family days and many more eco activities.
In recognition of his efforts to promote eco-tourism in the region, Anthony has won numerous awards. He was most recently appointed as Honorary Consul of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire to Kuala Lumpur by H.E. BOA Liliane Marie Laure, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire to Japan on June 18 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. Anthony continues to be an active member in both the tourism and M.I.C.E. industry and holds positions in ICCA, PAT and UN Global Compact Network Malaysia, amongst others.
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