MALAYSIA CAN ADOPT UNWTO'S GREEN TECHNOLOGY GUIDELINES

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is welcome to adopt
the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) green technology
guidelines to develop a sustainable tourism industry, says UNWTO
secretary-general Taleb Rifai.

He said the United Nations agency had produced specific and clear
guidelines on the subject two years ago, which are available as a reference, and
could be adopted by many countries in developing a sustainable tourism industry.

"We have done some studies on green technology and produced manuals for the
benefit of industry players in boosting the industry. We also have the
guidelines ready for countries to refer in relevant practices.

"The manual covers all issues of environmental responsibility from the planning
to conceptual stages," he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Tourism
Conference (WTC) 2010 here Tuesday.

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had Monday urged the UNWTO to
develop measures for green tourism that can be adopted by nations developing
their tour industry.

Rifai said the Madrid-based organisation had been involved in issues of climate
environment and tourism since seven years ago and held discussions and studies
on the subject.

"I hope with the production of the manuals, we will be able to put the tourism
industry as a pioneer in energy conservation and environmental responsibility,"
he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Tourism Minister Dr James Dawos Mamit said the two-day
conference which ended Tuesday, had yielded great success especially in
uncovering the secrets of leading destinations and organisations in the tourism
industry.

"We have had productive discussion and shared insights on mega trends,
innovation and tourism success stories. It has captured our interest not only in
terms of product development and marketing but also from the policy formulation
perspective.

"It is my hope that the fruits of discussion and paper presentations will be
consolidated into a UNWTO publication as a record of the proceedings to be
disseminated to all so that this precious knowledge could be shared by all in
the tourism fraternity," he said.

Themed 'Tourism Success Stories and Rising Stars', the conference is a platform
for policy-makers and industry stakeholders to share experiences and discuss
tourism issues.

Some 500 delegates attended the conference, among them ministers from Brunei,
Timor Leste, Gabon, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Chad, Nepal, Laos and Swaziland.