ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

This year we will celebrate World Tourism Day under the theme "Tourism and Biodiversity".  It provides a unique opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity to tourism and the role of sustainable tourism in the conservation and preservation of our fragile eco-system.
As the leading growth sector and economic activity in Antigua and Barbuda, sustainable tourism has an important role and responsibility in managing and conserving our biological and natural resources and at the same time, generates significant revenues for conservation and community development.

In observance of this year’s theme, the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Antigua Hotels and Tourism Association (AHTA), and the Environmental Division hosted two community initiatives. On Saturday, September 25, the Ministry of Tourism along with tourism stakeholders, civic organizations and private citizens conducted a beach cleanup exercise. Later today, we will be conducting a tree planting project at the Body Pond Area. These initiatives are designed to raise public awareness of the mutual interdependency of biodiversity and tourism and to demonstrate how tourism can contribute to preserving life on Earth and its unique biodiversity.

For us here in Antigua and Barbuda biodiversity is much more than just a theoretical concept. It is a phenomenon that affects the sector in tangible ways.  Nature has been good to us. It provides us with a rich diverse eco-system that is ideally suited for the development of the tourism industry. Our endemic species of flora and fauna, our beautiful white and in the case of Barbuda pink sand beaches, coral reefs, coastal beauty, scenic valleys and hills, natural historic and cultural sites and other attractions are powerfully linked to biodiversity.

In this respect the development of tourism needs to meet the economic expectations and environmental requirements established by international tourism organizations like the World Travel and Tourism Council and the UN World Tourism Organization. That is, sustainable tourism development must integrate economic, environmental and social values during planning; distribute benefits equitably across socioeconomic strata and gender upon implementation; and ensure that opportunity of continued development remains undiminished for the future generations.

The fact is, biodiversity based tourism represents an important source of income and employment opportunities in both developing and developed countries. For the world's poorer population (70% of whom live in rural areas), depend directly on biodiversity for their survival and well-being. On the other hand, statistics have shown that in Europe, for example, one job in every six depends on the environment in some way. And more EU residents work in the environment industry than the auto or chemical sectors – and the number continues to rise.

But biodiversity is not just a conservation issue. Protecting or losing biodiversity has impacts on our food, water, security, finance, employment and health. For us in tourism biodiversity is a key tourism asset and is fundamental to its sustained growth.

The challenge therefore is to ensure that growth and development of the tourism industry is in harmony with environmental considerations. Sustainable tourism can generate employment and income, thus providing a strong incentive for conservation. It can also raise public awareness of the many goods and services provided by biological diversity, and of the needs to respect traditional knowledge and practices. Sustainable tourism has the potential to reconcile economic and environmental concerns and give a practical meaning to sustainable development.

The Ministry of Tourism is committed to strengthening the existing protected area network like the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA) and the Codrington Lagoon Park Management Authority as well as encouraging the role of protected areas as key locations for good practices in the management of sustainable tourism and biodiversity. Furthermore we are committed to creating sustainable funding mechanisms to encourage the channeling of tourism revenues towards supporting the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, such as conservation of protected areas, education, research programmes, or local community development; and encouraging all stakeholders, including the private sector, to actively support the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components.

In 2011 the Ministry of Tourism will implement Schedule Two of the Tourism Authority Act which calls for the establishment of the Tourism Consultative Committee; we will also complete our environment audit and will be launching our service excellence programme which will be slanted to ensure a more sustainable tourism development.

 The Consultative Council will strengthen the role of, as well as encourage the participation of, non-government organizations (NGOs), workers organizations and the private sector in initiating programs for tourism development and environmental protection.

It would be remiss of me not to say a special word of encouragement to our young generation. As tomorrow's leaders, you must be prepared to learn, and become more involved in shaping and development of the industry, including the protection of our natural resources, especially the endemic species.

I would therefore encourage our young people, particularly our fourth, fifth and six formers to become more involved in our Tourism Cadet Corp, run by the Ministry of Tourism, and the Environment Cadets organized by the Environment Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.  You have a wonderful opportunity today, to shape the type of society you would like to grow up in tomorrow.

Finally, Antigua and Barbuda is committed to the UN approach to provide a coherent response to the current challenges facing the tourism industry, including the environmental sustainability, as one of the UN's Millennium Development Goals. We are convinced that not only must biodiversity considerations must be integrated into the development agenda, but tourism can and must play its part in providing solutions to the challenges resulting from the loss of biodiversity.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all our tourism partners and other stakeholders that participated in the activities on Saturday and today, including the hundreds of volunteers, residents and visitors, who rubbed shoulder to shoulder with us, to protect our tourism industry and help safeguard the range of unique species and ecosystems that make our twin island nation state a leading tourism destination regionally and internationally.