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NEWS AND FEATURES
1. New Partnership Addresses Issues of Sustainable Business Practices and Responsible Travel
2. Universities Collaborate with Non-profits to Emphasize Sustainable Development in Tourism Programs

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Boulder, Colorado - The Center for Sustainable Tourism (CST) and Sustainable Travel International (STI) have formed a new partnership aimed at promoting responsible travel and sustainable business practices - the triple bottom line of environmental conservation, social responsibility, and economic profitability - within the tourism industry, one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world.

Together CST and STI are creating educational training courses to increase awareness and demand for sustainable tourism. The programs are designed for tourism industry professionals, students, and the growing market of LOHAS (lifestyles of heath and sustainability) consumers. By educating the market place about the ways sustainable business practices and responsible travel can help mitigate negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts while enhancing positive economic impacts and community development, CST and STI can be effective at addressing both causes simultaneously.

In recent years, the global tourism industry has made an effort to address some of the environmental, socio-economic and cultural problems associated with travel, however the industry and consumers generally have yet to become fully aware of or accept responsibility for their negative impacts. "If we travel, we should do so with the knowledge that our tourism brings with it potential damage. However, educating consumers and members of the tourism industry about sustainable tourism will provide us with the ability to mitigate the damage caused while making positive contributions to the natural, social and cultural environment" cites Brian T. Mullis, President of STI.

"Providing all constituents with greater knowledge of the environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts of tourism is a fundamental first step in positioning tourism as an economic engine that does not destroy the unique cultural and natural resources of a destination," adds CST Co-Director and CU Professor of Tourism Management, Dr. Patrick T. Long.

A myriad of sustainable tourism educational training courses ranging from executive education, continuing education, and distance learning programs, to one-hour lectures, half-day and full day seminars, are either under development or are currently being offered by CST and STI.

Another program component, being pursued in conjunction with the Journal for Sustainable Tourism, is a National Conference on Sustainable Tourism, tentatively scheduled for March 2005 in Colorado. "The concept of sustainable tourism has a low profile in the United States", says Brian T. Mullis. "This conference will compliment our educational offerings while helping to raise the profile of this important issue."

This multi-dimensional program builds on the mission of the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business which focuses on balancing profitability and social and environmental responsibility. A web site is currently being developed to provide information on the program and other international efforts related to sustainable tourism development.

Individuals, groups and organizations interested in learning more about CST and STI's educational training courses or in having CST and STI present at seminars, conferences and speaking engagements are requested to contact Brian T. Mullis at brianm@sustainabletravel.com or (720) 273-2975.

About the Center for Sustainable Tourism (CST) - www.sustainabletourism.org. Since 1999, CST has been contributing to the development, testing, and refining of analytical models and research tools to better explain the benefits and costs of travel and tourism in terms of net impacts on financial, environmental, and social capital formation. CST has also encouraged collaboration with groups within and outside of the University of Colorado to develop innovative means to help students, businesses, decision-makers, and the general public in order to better understand sustainability issues related to tourism. For more information, contact Dr. Patrick Long (303) 492-2381 or patrick.long@colorado.edu.

About Sustainable Travel International (STI) - www.sustainabletravelinternational.org. Sustainable Travel International (STI) is a non-profit, membership-based organization whose mission is to ensure responsible tourism around the globe by building awareness, appreciation and respect for local people and their environment within the tourism industry through education and outreach. For more information, contact Brian T. Mullis (720) 273-2975 or brianm@sustainabletravel.com.

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Boulder, Colorado - As the travel industry lures an increasing number of college students toward exciting careers, universities throughout the U.S. are answering this call by offering related fields of study. In doing so, the best are incorporating the concept of sustainable development into their tourism programs in order to help students meet the future challenges of the world's largest industry.

Along with university programs, environmental and sustainable development organizations are spearheading this movement toward the responsible growth of the travel industry. Sustainable Travel International (STI), for example, has developed the only sustainable tourism eco-certification program designed for the U.S.'s varied tourism industry. Its mission is to educate U.S. travelers and tourism providers about the ecological, socio-cultural and economic impacts of travel while maximizing benefits to local communities. This chimes in well with what students are learning.

"Whether their interest is in recreation management, eco-tourism or adventure travel, university students across the globe are addressing some of our greatest challenges by entering these undergraduate and graduate programs," cites STI VP Peter D. Krahenbuhl. "What we've known all along," he continues "is that young people love the excitement and adventure of traveling to new places. Now they are learning about the industry implications and efforts that are needed to move us toward a sustainable future."

Though academic institutions, private companies and non-profit organizations often approach similar problems from a different perspective, cooperation between these stakeholders is providing true progress in the travel industry. Combine academic, private and public efforts to preserve the Earth's natural heritage while pursuing economic development, and you can see why travel and tourism programs that focus on sustainable development are leading the way.

Krahenbuhl cites personal experience as an example: "As a graduate student, I was involved in a conservation program in an Ecuadorian cloud forest that evolved into a community development and ecotourism project. The project was a collaborative effort between the university, volunteers, students, the local community and several non-profit organizations. As a result, there is now an entire bio-reserve in this part of Ecuador and the community has benefited economically."

Numerous prestigious university programs across the U.S. and beyond are pursuing similar projects. George Washington University's International Institute of Tourism Studies, for example, is working with the non-profit VolunTours to promote travel that combines education, cross-cultural exchange and 'volunteerism.' Stanford University partnered with the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development to research and publish findings about ecotourism, traveler's philanthropy and sustainable tourism certification. And Texas A&M continues to work with the Canadian Tourism Commission to disseminate the latest in applied tourism research, technologies, and methods.

STI itself is collaborating with the University of Colorado's Center for Sustainable Tourism to develop educational material related to responsible travel and sustainable tourism. "We've seen an incredible response from our students," cites CU Business Professor Dr. Patrick T. Long. "They love the idea that being involved in the travel industry - both for business and pleasure - can have a positive impact across the globe. And students really do want to become involved, which works well with STI's hands-on approach to solving real world problems."