Masses of benefits for destinations: masterclass focuses on food, profits, sustainable marketing

Catherine Gazzoli re-launched Slow Food UK at Highgrove with HRH The Prince of Wales

This year’s autumn sustainable tourism masterclass is to be focused on helping participants to develop tourism that brings masses of benefits to destinations.

Said masterclass convenor Valere Tjolle "We used to think that developing tourism was a good thing in itself, then we believed that getting mass tourism was an answer. Now we know that tourism has to add real value to a destination to be worthwhile."

"The challenge for this autumn’s masterclass is truly getting masses of value from tourism for destinations, whilst providing great experiences for tourists – and doing it all very sustainably. A combination of good food and wine, good economic benefits, good value and good marketing are clearly major parts of the solution"

The autumn sustainable tourism masterclass "Masses of destination benefits" is focused on identifying and understanding how destinations, destination tourism providers and other local organizations and individuals can develop tourism that brings them major sustainable returns.

Who will be leading the masterclass:

Mark Watson is director of Tourism Concern – He was the campaigns director of the human rights charity Stonewall and the Executive Director of One Planet Products before founding the charity UK Foundation for AIDS Research in 2009. He is passionate about tourism and development and is well into his first year envigorating Tourism Concern and orchestrating tourism & human rights campaigns.

Catherine Gazzoli re-launched Slow Food UK at Highgrove with HRH The Prince of Wales and has since been named by Channel 4’s 4Food as one of "Britain’s most inspiring foodie ladies."  She has an enviable network of some of Britain’s best chefs behind her, supporting Slow Food’s ethos.

Gopinath Parayil is the Founder and Chief Executive of The Blue Yonderand Nila Foundation, Chief Ideator at The Blue Yonder Assocaites,Co-founder of Responsible Tourism Networking to name a few of his social and commercial enterprises. Outlook Business magazine has featured Gopi
amongst the 50 Social Entrepreneurs in India. The Blue Yonder has won multiple international awards and recognition for their responsible tourism initiatives.

Professor Stefan Gossling is one of the world’s leading authorities on climate change and tourism, recent books include "Carbon Management in Tourism: Mitigating the Impacts on Climate Change",  "The Future of Tourism: Can Tourism Growth and Climate Policy be Reconciled? A Climate Change Mitigation Perspective" and "The future tourism mobility of the world population: Emission growth versus climate policy". He is contributing author to the 4AR of the IPCC.

John Firrell is director of the Considerate Hoteliers Association . After a successful Naval career as an officer specializing in catering, he moved to the private sector and management of The American Club in Hong Kong, John returned to the UK and managed a range of hotels. He was chairman of the CHA in 1995 and has been director since 2000. He is a member of the Institute of Hospitality and retains an acute passion for care of the environment, social responsibility and responsible/considerate hotel keeping. In the UK and, shortly, abroad.

Benedetta Cassinelli has extensive experience of both online and offline travel market having worked throughout the industry in organizations such as Travelselect.com and Western and Oriental where she was Business Development Director and in charge of online strategy. Benedetta is Italian from Turin and another foodie. She is a director of Meridian Advisory, a company advising on sustainable tourism and a fellow director with John Firrell of Considerate Hoteliers

Jeremy Smith is an award-winning writer and consultant in ecotourism and sustainable business. He is the co-author (with Richard Hammond) of Clean Breaks – 500 New Ways to See the World (Rough Guides, 2009), the bestselling guide ever to the finest examples of sustainable and community tourism around the world. The book won Planeta’s Travel Book of the Year and received positive reviews in publications ranging from the New Yorker to the Sunday Telegraph and Wanderlust. To research the book he spent a year visiting over two hundred of the best ecotourism operations worldwide, interviewing leaders in this field on 5 continents.

Valere Tjolle (convenor and moderator) is editor of Vision on Sustainable Tourism newswire, Sustainable Tourism editor of TravelMole.com and principal of TotemTourism.com. He is an expert consultant to: UN World Tourism Organisation, UN Environment Programme, European Union, World Bank, and has worked in the travel and tourism industry for over 40 years as an entrepreneur and latterly as a writer and consultant.

Subjects discussed will include:

• ALL INCLUSIVE ARRANGEMENTS: cruises, day trips: important ways for destinations to benefit
• VOLUNTOURISM: Voluntourism: applications in a wide range of destinations
• FOOD AND WINE AND TOURISM: Food and tourism – the enormous current impact of food and wine on tourism- in particular the slow food movement and sustainability.
• STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: Branding & social media: destinations as all-embracing brands for powerful marketing
• COMMUNITY TOURISM, DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION: Sustainable community tourism as a disruptive innovation: a real opportunity to change the face of tourism: Integrated Tourism Destination Development – multiplying destination benefits from – and opportunities to get – tourism.
• DROPPING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PREFIXES: Dropping niches and prepositions: What does sustainable,ethical, responsible, eco mean as far as tourists are concerned?
• TOURISM FINANCING: How to get sustainable tourism financing and quick payback.
• TOURISM & CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate change, carbon emissions, fuel costs, food and water resources

Sustainable Tourism Masterclasses have been held for the last five years and have attracted full houses of attendees and top speakers of global repute.

A full synthesis report is circulated to all attendees and all attendees are invited to join the masterclass network and the closed online group.

The Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2012 is supported by: ABTA – The Travel Association, ITB Berlin, Discover Ltd., Club Med, Innovation Norway, Thomas Cook Ltd., FourBGB, Cape Town Tourism, Bord Failte, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Green Tourism Business Scheme, MCI Business School Innsbruck

Previous masterclass attendees include: Tourism Paris, UNWTO, TUI, Virgin, Ogilvy, Tourism Concern,  Green Traveller, CoaST, Our Land,  Streetwise,  STI, Sustainable Restaurant Association, Oxford University, Forum for the Future

This autumn’s full day intensive  sustainable tourism masterclass (9am – 9pm) is scheduled for 14 September at the eco-lauded Lancaster Hotel London – cost £500 per person including all meals ( lunch and light supper). To keep individual focus and encourage full participation the masterclass is restricted to a maximum 25 participants.

Get a 40% discount and BOOK NOW HERE Just £300 per person

For further information:
RING +44 1225859766,
EMAIL [email protected],
SKYPE valeretjolle
TEXT +44 7710 173005

SPECIAL OFFERS (Subject to availability):
Community tourism destinations very special offer £100 (save £400)
Travel agents special offer £200 (save £300)
Tourism Masters students special offer £150 (save £350)
Earlybird discount £300 (save £200)
To apply for a discounted rate email [email protected]