Workshop Stresses Need For Sustainable & Community-Based Nature Tourism

Bhubaneswar: A workshop on sustainable ecotourism was jointly organised by the departments of Tourism and Forest & Environment at Mayfair Convention Hall here on Wednesday.

Sharing the objectives of the event, Tourism Director Nitin B Jawale said, “The workshop aims to demystify the concept of sustainability in every day tourism business by breaking it into steps that are easy to emulate and apply. With a belief that the way forward involves setting corrective and curative measures with ecological sensitivity and conservation of nature and community development, we look forward at practical implementable steps in community-based nature tourism.”

These practices were highlighted by speakers who practice them in their businesses and benefit financially along with creating a lighter footprint and supporting the local communities and environment, Jawale added.

Forest and Environment Additional Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Tourism Department Vishal Dev and CMD, Indeco Hotels Steve Borgia were present on the occasion.

The workshop was attended by officials from Tourism and Forest departments, tour operators and community representatives who are involved in sustainable ecotourism models.