Parthenon: An Icon of Global Citizenship

Parthenon Marbles Colloquy Sydney 2013 November 15-17

An international colloquy titled Parthenon: an Icon of Global Citizenship will take place in Sydney from November 15-17. The event is organised by the International Organising Committee – Australia – for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles, it will attract campaigners, scholars and academics from around the world and it will concentrate on four aspects regarding the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles: education, economy, activism and litigation.

"Created over 2000 years ago, by the same people that introduced the concept of Democracy to humanity, the Parthenon immediately became an icon of global citizenship. Its influence continues in modern times as we see attempts to replicate its stature in famous buildings around the world. The temple of Athena has become a symbol of Eternal Perfection arising out of the marriage of Aesthetics and Science."

There will be open discussions with online participation on facebook and twitter click here

The Colloquy Workshops

The Workshops on the four main themes of the Colloquy will be open to the global community via Facebook and Twitter using the special hashtags (#) and the timetable as per table below.

The participants in the auditorium where the discussion is taking place will be able to see on the big screens the Social Media activity. The moderators will also be updating the online discussion with key points as discussed in the auditorium.

To register on Facebook:

Like our Page (www.facebook.com/ParthenonMarblesAU). When the Workshops start you will be able to comment by using the # of the Workshop.

Telavi festival promotes tourism to Telavi

Tourism, Culture and Handicrafts Pave the Way for Telavi’s Success

November 8, 2013

Various events were held in different parts of the town, but the main venue was Nadikvari Park recently renovated under the World Bank financed Regional Development Project.
Telavi festival in Kakheti region was held for a week from Oct. 13, 2013, to promote tourism to Telavi, famous for its cultural heritage, crafts, nature, and wine-making.
The festival was co-sponsored by the World Bank under the Regional Development Project.
The objective of the project is to improve infrastructure services and institutional capacity to support the development of a tourism-based economy and cultural heritage circuits in the Kakheti region.


Photos: Telavi Festival

Just a few years ago, Tornike Tsikhistavi could not have imagined running a modern cafe in Telavi. Today, he owns one called “Bravo,” near a park in the small Georgian city he was born in and has never left. 

6th November World Responsible Tourism Day

Wednesday 6 November is WTM World Responsible Tourism Day 2013

Wednesday 6 November is WTM World Responsible Tourism Day 2013 it is marked around the world with special events, communications and consumer promotions, demonstrating the industry’s determination to make a real difference. This year the themes for World Responsible Tourism Day are Water, Climate Change, Child Protection, Volunteering and Accessibility. And looking across the logo users for this year, it is easy to find examples of pioneering and successful responses to these issues. When it comes to water and climate change, company after company is implementing resource efficient measure depending upon their situation, or encouraging local travel and food, installing renewable energy sources etc.

Nevertheless, what is WTM Responsible Tourism?
An effort to help build a solid, sustainable future for travel and tourism.
In 2002, 280 representatives from all sectors of tourism from 20 countries attended the Cape Town Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, preceding the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. A declaration on responsible tourism was agreed.


The 2002 Cape Town declaration agreed that responsible tourism:

WTM London events brochure 2013

 The World Tourism Market Brochure of Events 

View the WTM London brochure of events 5-7 November 2013

Αυξημένες κατά 10% εμφανίζονται οι προκρατήσεις προς την χώρα μας από την Βρετανική αγορά για το 2014 σε σχέση με το 2013

Δήλωση του Προέδρου του ΣΕΤΕ, κ. Ανδρέα Ανδρεάδη επ' ευκαιρίας της World Travel Market

05.11.2013

Με αφορμή την έκθεση τουρισμού World Travel Market στο Λονδίνο ο Πρόεδρος του ΣΕΤΕ, κ. Ανδρέας Ανδρεάδης έκανε την ακόλουθη δήλωση:

«Αυξημένες κατά 10% εμφανίζονται οι προκρατήσεις προς την χώρα μας από την Βρετανική αγορά για το 2014 σε σχέση με το 2013, από ένα πρώτο δείγμα 200.000 προκρατήσεων που αποτελούν περίπου το 10% του αναμενόμενου συνόλου επισκεπτών από την χώρα αυτή. Σε σχέση μάλιστα με τους κύριους ανταγωνιστές μας, την Ισπανία και την Τουρκία, όπου οι προκρατήσεις είναι στα ίδια με πέρυσι επίπεδα, φαίνεται ότι κερδίζουμε μερίδιο αγοράς, ενώ και η Αίγυπτος παρουσιάζει σοβαρή υποχώρηση. Αυτά αποτελούν μία πρώτη θετική ένδειξη συνέχισης της φετινής δυναμικής του ελληνικού τουριστικού προϊόντος.

Η άλλη θετική ένδειξη είναι ότι έχουν προγραμματισθεί, για δεύτερη συνεχή χρονιά, επιπλέον 1.000.000 νέες αεροπορικές θέσεις προς την χώρα μας. Εάν η πορεία της Βρετανικής αγοράς εμφανισθεί και στις άλλες χώρες, όπου ακόμη δεν ξεκίνησαν ουσιαστικά οι προκρατήσεις, προδιαγράφεται ως εφικτή η επίτευξη του στόχου για το 2014 των 18 εκατ. αφίξεων και των 13 δισ. Ευρώ σε άμεσα έσοδα, μαζί με την κρουαζιέρα. Απαραίτητη προϋπόθεση είναι η χώρα να συνεχίσει να εκπέμπει εικόνα σταθερότητας, αποφασιστικότητας και προσήλωσης στην υλοποίηση των βασικών της στόχων, πράγμα για το οποίο είμαστε όλοι υπεύθυνοι»

Source:sete.gr

Travelers drawn to areas steeped in history and unique local flavor is big business in the U.S

Conference deals with how to preserve America's cultural sites

 1/11/ 2013
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Americans drawn to historic areas where they can connect with the nation’s past, their family’s roots or just take in the sights are fueling tourism that’s in the spotlight during a national gathering of preservation experts this week in Indianapolis.

The National Preservation Conference is being held at Indianapolis’ historic Union Station and other sites. Wide-ranging seminars include sessions toasting some of the success stories historic preservation can foster by helping spark revitalization in neighborhoods and city centers.

Cultural heritage tourism — travelers drawn to areas steeped in history and unique local flavor — is big business in the U.S. Nearly 130 million Americans make such pilgrimages each year, contributing about $171 billion to local economies, according to a report this year from Mandala Research LLC.

That study also found that eight in 10 leisure travelers visit cultural or heritage sites and spend more than other travelers, said Amy Webb, field director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Denver field office.

“If you’re going to travel, you want to see something you can’t see at home. So they go someplace where there are unique buildings that have stories to tell of that place,” she said.

Such travelers typically visit an area’s shops, parks and restaurants to sample the local scene, giving them what Webb calls a “multidimensional experience that’s not just about going to a museum.”

The economic benefits of cultural heritage tourism is another argument local preservationists should make when they fight to save old buildings or other sites in danger of being razed, said Webb, who is among about 2,000 preservation experts attending the five-day conference, which ends Saturday.

A free cultural heritage and tourism success

Cultural heritage and tourism: who pays for preservation?

October 21, 2013 by Harold Goodwin

Bushman rock art in Kamberg, South Africa. Who ensures its preservation?

The brief answer is no. Many regard access to a nation’s or a community’s heritage attractions as a “Merit good”. The belief is that people should have free, or low cost, access to their heritage as it is theirs, because enjoyment of it contributes to their education, and because there is a public interest in the maintenance of culture. In the UK the major national museums are free to enter; yet some 40% of visitors are internationals who are enjoying a freebie for which they make no contribution as a taxpayer. The British Museum was the UK’s most popular visitor attraction in 2012 – a status which it has enjoyed for the last six years. In 2012 it attracted 5.6 million visitors, 60% of them were international visitors making no contribution to its maintenance.