Toronto celebrates the International Year of Ecotourism

Immediate Release January 24, 2001

Toronto celebrates the International Year of Ecotourism!

Let the Green Tourism Association open the door to winter urban green tourism activities!

Toronto’s Green Tourism Association announced the launch of its new website today. This unique site includes information making it the local source on The International Year of Ecotourism and its upcoming events in 2002. The website also features new sections on Day Trips and winter activities. Join us in exploring ‘ecotourism in the city’!

The year 2002 has been designated the International Year of Ecotourism by the United Nations and World Tourism Organisation. Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector in the tourism industry – now it’s going urban! People want more options when exploring a city and are looking for a wide range of exciting, new, and off-the-beaten-track environmental, cultural and heritage options in urban travel. Toronto’s Green Tourism Association provides this urban green tourism information.

The newly designed website – www.greentourism.ca – provides accessible information for visitors and residents wanting to explore the OTHER side of Toronto. It is a comprehensive source of urban green tourism options in the city and contains information about Toronto’s green attractions, parks, ravines, trails, where to shop, eat and stay. The website profiles urban ecotourism products and resources such as The OTHER Guide and The OTHER Map of Toronto, Day Trips, newsletters, publications, resource centre and urban ecology tips and facts, including a section on Being a Green Tourist.

Explore Winter Ecotourism! Did you know you can come to Toronto in the winter and:
 Cross country ski in Canada’s first urban national park, Downsview Park?
 Ice-skate amidst magical downtown city lights?
 Downhill ski or snowboard in Centennial park?
 Sip a fair trade coffee in the Beaches, Chai tea in Little India, or a latté in Little Italy?
 See snowy owls, cardinals, blue jays and some of the other 370 bird species in Toronto?
 Enjoy ice shows, street performances and more at the annual Winter Fest?
 Celebrate Chinese New Year in January?
 “… Relish a winter skate on a natural pond, where two hundred years of skaters have enjoyed a restful quiet broken only by the rise and fall of wind and the rustle and crack of trees. Feel the numbing din of traffic melt away as you turn your back to the road and bike, in-line skate, or walk along a still, inner city trail. Discover a long-forgotten stream, tread the marsh wetlands, or find living history among a garden of graves – some, more than two hundred years old.” (cover copy from The OTHER Guide to Toronto)

The mission of the Green Tourism Association is ‘to develop and cultivate a green tourism industry within the Toronto region; an industry which is ecologically sound, fosters appreciation of and respect for diverse cultural and natural heritage, and strengthens local economies and communities’.

So if you’ve got Cabin Fever and need to get outside – IT’S ALL THERE AT WWW.GREENTOURISM.CA!

For more information check out www.greentourism.ca or call Rachel Dodds, Marketing and Business Development Manager at 416-338-5084. Please send a tear sheet for publications.