TIES Joins the ATTA's 2009 Adventure Travel World Summit to Co-Lead Sustainable Tourism Trade Forums

Washington, DC, August 25, 2009 – Two newly featured forums scheduled for the Adventure Travel Trade Association's 2009 Adventure Travel World Summit, both addressing sustainable tourism, will gain heightened conservation expertise and perspectives through the first-time conference collaboration between the ATTA and The International Ecotourism Society (TIES).

ATTA and TIES, which for years have together explored common interests in promoting responsible tourism and sustainable practices, are co-developing and will co-lead the Meeting of the Minds and Collaborative Learning interactive forums. The ATTA’s trade-only Adventure Travel World Summit is set for October 19-22 in Charlevoix, Québec Province, Canada.

"Tackling matters such as sustainable tourism requires the best minds,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “The Summit offers a timely and high quality setting to join minds, debate openly, share resources, bring common visions together, and to ensure these discussions continue long after conference. With the ATTA and TIES collaborating, we've got an incredible opportunity to create the perfect forum for the subject."

ATTA and TIES guided, the two-part Meeting of the Minds "Sustainability" forums will address key challenges and opportunities concerning a variety of topics (e.g., carbon offsets, voluntourism, education, outreach, training, etc.) brought forth by the global adventure travel industry for collective brainstorming, dialogue and debate. Whereas the Meeting of the Minds “think-tank” forums will focus on broad industry matters, the two Collaborative Learning "Sustainable Tourism in Emerging Destinations" forums will provide delegates the chance to share and explore their own real-world case studies to build understanding, to gain practical tools, insights and action plans for organizational implementation.

"Participating in the ATTA's Adventure Travel World Summit is a great opportunity for our two organizations to visibly convey our shared interests in sustainability initiatives," said TIES Chair Dr. Kelly Bricker. "We're thrilled to represent TIES global network at the Summit, where sustainability is at the forefront of innovative and interactive discussions. TIES will be able to contribute to and help strengthen the industry-wide efforts to mainstream sustainability through education, collaboration and proactive outreach."

Others actively contributing sustainability expertise to these forums include:

• Dr. Rachel Dodds - Icarus Foundation
• Richard Edwards - Planeterra
• Megan Epler Wood – EplerWood International
• Sarah Fazendin - The Fazendin Portfolio
• Christina Heyniger - Xola Consulting
• Nadia LeBon - Mountain Lodges of Peru
• Brad Nahill - SEE Turtles
• Wallace J Nichols - OceanRevolution.org
• Daniella Ruby Papi - PepyRide
• Valere Tjolle - VISION on Sustainable Tourism

Adventure Travel World Summit sponsors include: Host Destination Tourisme Québec and Aventure Ecotourisme Québec; Major Sponsors ExOfficio and Men’s Journal; and Key Sponsors Alpine Tourist Commission, Archaeology Magazine, Best of the Alps, Brazil, Tourism Promotion Corporation of Chile, Eddie Bauer, Innovation Norway, and National Geographic Adventure. Summit registration and program information is available on the Summit website.

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About The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)

TIES is a non-profit association committed to promoting ecotourism, which is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people" (TIES, 1990), through outreach, education, and collaboration. TIES' global network supports and is supported by members from over 90 countries, who are leading the vital efforts to make travel and tourism more sustainable. A global source of knowledge and advocacy, TIES' Your Travel Choice Blog offers an interactive platform to engage, educate and inspire everyone to make travel choices that make a difference.

About the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)

Established in 1990, the ATTA is a global membership organization dedicated to unifying, networking, professionalizing, promoting and responsibly growing the adventure travel market. ATTA members include tour operators, destination marketing organizations, tourism boards, specialty travel agents, guides, accommodations, media and service providers. Host of the annual Adventure Travel World Summit executive trade conferences, the ATTA also makes possible www.Adventure.Travel, the traveler's hub of physical, cultural and nature-based adventure travel and guide to trusted tour operators from around the globe.

Matava Resort- das Tor zum Great Astrolab Reef - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

Im Im August 2009 besuchte ich das Matava-Resort auf Kadavu, der südlichsten der Fidschi-Inseln. Hauptprogramm meines Urlaubes war das Tauchen und dafür ist die Lage des Resorts ideal: auf der Südseite der Insel gelegen, bietet es mit Bootsfahrten von max. 40min Zugang zu insgesamt ca. 20 verschiedenen ausgewiesenen Tauch-Spots am Great Astrolab Reef, aber auch die Möglichkeit, das Riff an anderer Stelle zu erkunden. Die Philosophie des Resorts ist die Umweltverträglichkeit/ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit und die Kooperation mit den umliegenden Dörfern. Die Unterkünfte selbst liegen verstreut an einem kleinen Hügel, teils direkt am Strand, teils ein Stück bergauf. Doch jede der traditionell eingerichteten Hütten, von den Einheimischen Buré genannt, bietet einen einzigartigen Blick auf die vorliegende Lagune mit einer kleinen Insel sowie dem Riff. Die einzelnen Hütten sind für max. 3 Personen ausgelegt. Ausgestattet sind sie mit Doppelbett mit Moskitonetz, wenn nötig Einzelbett mit Moskitonetz, Schrank und Sitzgruppe. Das Bad ist über die Terrasse erreichbar und bietet WC, Waschbecken und Dusche mit Gaswassererhitzer. Licht gibt es nur über Solarenergie, Steckdosen sind in den Hütten keine vorhanden. Akkus etc. können aber in der Hauptburé geladen werden- vorausgesetzt, die Sonne scheint. Insgesamt sind die Hütten schlicht und einfach, aber dennoch gut ausgestattet. Der Service begeisert mit einer mir bis dahin unbekannten Offenheit und Freundlichkeit. Fragen, Wünsche oder Probleme wurden sofort in Angriff genommen und immer mit vollster Zufriedenheit erfüllt. Das Essen ist sehr abwechslungsreich und bietet eine große Fülle an unterschiedlichen Küchen (Indisch, Thai, Lokal u.vm.), eine vielseitige Auswahl von Früchten aus dem resorteigenen Obst- und Gemüsegarten sowie vielfältigste Variationen von fangfrischem Fisch, der teils von den Gästen selbst geangelt wurde. Angeln und Angelausflüge sind jedoch nur einer vielen möglichen Aktivitäten. Egal ob Schnorcheln oder Baden, Vogelbeobachtungen, Besuch von Dorf und Einheimischen, oder einem Spaziergang mit einem einheimischen Medizinmann- für jeden Geschmack ist was dabei. Eine große Rolle spielt im Matava auch das Tauchen. Der integrierte Tauch-Shop ist mit allem für einen erfolgreichen Tauchgang Nötigen ausgerüstet. Es ist ein großes Tauchboot vorhanden, aber bei größeren Gruppen werden auch mehrere Boote eingesetzt. Die Boote sind immer mit Sauerstoffkoffer und Notttelefon ausgerüstet und im Falle eines Notfalles existiert auch ein Notfallplan, der auch aushängt. Des Weiteren bietet der Tauch- Shop die Möglichkeit zur Aus- und Weiterbildung von Tauchern auf Basis des PADI-Ausbildungssystems.

Weiterhin als positiv zu nennen ist die familiäre Atmosphäre sowohl zwischen Gästen und Personal, als auch zwischen den Gästen untereinander. Aufgrund der geringen Anzahl von Gästen kommt man schnell miteinander ins Gespräch, egal ob bei den Mahlzeiten, bei der traditionellen Kava-Zeremonie oder den unterschiedlichsten Aktivitäten.

Zusammenfassend lässt sich also sagen, dass das Matava Resort durchaus ein Geheimtipp für all jene ist, die sich ausschließlich auf Sonne, Strand, sportliche und kulturelle Aktivitäten konzentrieren möchten und Abstand vom Alltag suchen. Und das alles in einer sehr freundlichen, offenherzigen und kommunikativen Atmosphäre!!!

Matava Resort- das Tor zum Great Astrolab Reef - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

IGFA August Hot Catches

Fishing the waters of Fiji, Tim Simpson, Coomera Waters QLD, Australia, guided by Capt. Adrian Watt, landed a wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) on June 17, weighing 31.6 kg (69 lb 10 oz) on 4 kg (8 lb) Platypus Lo-Stretch test line.

Simpson, the editor of the South Pacific specialist offshore gamefishing magazine Bluewater said he was fishing the coral reefs at 200 fathoms, 30 miles off Kadavu Island, Fiji aboard Watt’s boat Bite Me, using Halco Laser Pro 190 trolling minnow lures which he reported are phenomenally successful for wahoo.

He and top American marine photographer Bill Boyce were on a mission to attempt world records on light-tackle for wahoo and sailfish. Over the past four years Simpson has been pursuing the current IGFA record of 56 lb 11oz (25.71 kg) caught off Bermuda a decade ago. Both he and Boyce were locked into a double hookup, battling their tooth laddened fish which each sizzled off 500 meters of line, sometimes straight down and in opposite directions several times.

Full details, plus all the secrets of how Simpson achieved the pending record, will be published in a spectacular feature article in BlueWater Issue 75 – on sale in early September. See www.bluewatermag.com.au for more.

IGFA August Hot Catches

Travel Green Guide - The International Ecotourism Society - TIES

Coming in Fall 2009: Travel Green Guide 2009 will be available for FREE download here.

>> Please sign up for TIES eNewsletter or join as a free Traveler Member to be notified once the guide becomes available.

Travel Green Guide - The International Ecotourism Society - TIES

Waterfall and adventure in Kadavu, Fiji

Cool vid by Dja!

Matava - Getting away from it all - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

Matava - Getting away from it all - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

Our trip consisted of 5 nights at the Matava Eco Resort on Kadavu, three nights at the Pearl South Pacific, Pacific Harbour, Nadi and six nights at Paradise Tavenui on Tavenui.

The three islands each offered a different experience, which combined to make a wonderful trip.

On arrival in Kadavu, we were met by a member of the Matava staff and driven to a small harbour for the start of a 45 minute boat trip to the resort. We were warned that that the trip would be a wet one, so duly donned the wet weather gear provided. Whilst it did prove to be a wet journey, we enjoyed every minute as we anticipated our arrival at Matava. We weren’t disappointed. We were met by Maggie with the offer of a hot or cold drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and lunch. After a few formalities, Maggie escorted us to our Bure. With its wooden deck overlooking the ocean, it was the perfect setting.

The Bure was simply furnished. The dominant feature being the queen sized bed. It was clean and well-maintained.

In the evening (using Oil Lamps to light the way) we met the other guests and began to get to know them and the staff over a few drinks and our excellent dinner.

The following morning, after a simple, but more than adequate breakfast, we went out on our first dive trip.

The boat was suited to around 6-8 divers. It had an awning to provide shade and protection from the rain (which we experienced quite a bit of throughout our stay in Fiji), but no facilities for cameras. That said this didn’t prove a problem.

We undertook 10 dives in total. The only site which we dived twice was Manta Point, which was on our final day’s diving. On our first dive of the morning we were privileged to witness a solitary Manta, which spent around 20 minutes in the area. The dive site, with or without mantas, was the best we experienced on this bit of our trip. The corals were in excellent condition and the fish life was abundant. We’ve never seen so many anemone fish together in a single area. It was very special. This sentence really describes Matava for us. We loved the fact that it was out of the way, that you had to make an effort to get there. We liked the simplicity. The staff were great. They were helpful, courteous, friendly and fun to be with. They genuinely wanted their guests to have the best possible time that they could.

It is certainly on our list of places to go back to.

Matava - Getting away from it all - Review of Matava - Fiji's Premier Eco Adventure Resort, Kadavu Island, Fiji - TripAdvisor

Major first for resorts - Fiji Times Online

DIVE students of Matava Resort will not only learn how to dive but given an opportunity to participate in conservation projects.

This is after the Kadavu-based resort became the first in the Asia Pacific region to sign up for Project AWARE C-Card scheme.

Project AWARE Foun-dation works in partnership with divers and water enthusiasts to combat challenges facing underwater environments.

The project inspires conservation by incorporating its messages in dive training materials as well as creating awareness and education campaigns.

The AWARE certification card scheme ensures that all of the resort's PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) students, whose cards are processed online, automatically receive one of the three new Project AWARE versions of their PADI certification card.

"The donation will be paid for out of Matava's profits, and not be charged to the student.

"The student will be given the chance to further donate to Project AWARE at the end of their course, as is normally offered on every PADI course worldwide.

"This effort shows Matava's support for underwater conservation by issuing Project AWARE's limited edition c-card as every PADI certification or replacement card." Matava director Richard Akhtar said.

The donations will support underwater and shoreline clean-ups and marine debris prevention, coral reef monitoring and conservation, shark protection, research and education improved resource management, environmental education for divers and children.

"This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Project AWARE and they depend on support from divers and dive centres such as us to enable them to continue with ongoing projects that are essential for the long term protection of the underwater environment." said Mr Akhtar.

Major first for resorts - Fiji Times Online

You May Already be a Nature Nerd

By Betsy Franz

When I was growing up, there were two distinct types of people: the cool people and the nerds. The cool people were the football players, the cheerleaders, and anyone in a rock band. The nerds were the ones who got good grades, wore black rimmed glasses and were much more likely to have a microscope or a telescope at home than they were to have a date on Friday night.

Generally speaking, the birdwatchers and the backyard botanists fell into the nerd category. Cool kids didn’t even know what a chrysalis was much less have one in a jar in their bedroom.

But times have changed. Protecting the planet and all of its creepy crawly inhabitants is not only sociably responsible AND socially acceptable but it is also suddenly cool.

Sure, there are many different shades of ‘green’, and environmental responsibility takes many forms. Every day citizens and celebrities alike are proud to proclaim their passion for solar energy and hybrid automobiles. But how many of them are ready to come out of the closet when it comes to the more nerdish pastimes such as bird watching and butterfly gardening? How many of them are ready to admit that they not only hug trees, but they also fondle flowers and even caress critters from time to time?

Certainly we can imagine animal activist celebs such as Mary Tyler Moore and Ellen DeGeneres getting eye-to-eye with the bunnies and squirrels in their yard. And Martha Stewart must surely appreciate the serenade of songbirds in her flower filled gardens.

But what about other well-known environmental celebrities? Do nature lover Darryl Hannah and inner-city gardener Bette Midler welcome the wonders of wildlife to their backyard landscapes? Has Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Bacon or Ed Begley Jr. ever marveled at the metamorphous of a butterfly? Do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pierce Brosnan hang nectar feeders to attract hovering hummingbirds? Has Ted Danson, Willie Nelson or Robert Kennedy, Jr. ever pulled out a magnifying glass to help identify an unknown insect?

If they haven’t, then perhaps they should. It’s a wonderful cause to want to save the planet but it isn’t a planet of asphalt and steel and carbon spewing monolithic factories that we are trying to save. It’s the miniscule miracles. The sights that, in the past, only the nerds have taken the time to notice. And it is there, perhaps, when one gets eye-to-eye with the birds and the butterflies and the creatures that visit our gardens and wander through our yards, that we realize what it is we are working so hard to protect.

So whether you are a star studded celebrity, a prima ballerina or a single parent , it’s time to admit your nerdiness to the world. Go ahead and get excited about the tadpoles in your garden pond and the butterflies eating your herb garden! Grab the magnifying glass and a good nature guide and share the great outdoors with the ones you love.

And if you still aren’t sure whether you want to admit that you are a nerd or not, here are a few questions to help you decide:

You may be a nature nerd if: See here: The GenGreen Blog » You May Already be a Nature Nerd

Ecotourism at ECOCLUB®, the International Ecotourism Club™, a global ecological tourism network

ECOCLUB^® - International Ecotourism Club™ promotes social & ecological change through & within Tourism. An acclaimed news & social network with Members, individuals & organisations worldwide! It was founded on July 1, 1999 and is based in Athens, Greece (European Union). Our correspondence address is: ECOCLUB S.A. PO BOX 65232, PSIHICO, ATHENS 154 10, GREECE. ECOCLUB^® is co-directed by Antonis B. Petropoulos & Frosso K. Dimitrakopoulou. The word and mark ECOCLUB^® is a registered trademark of ECOCLUB S.A. Contact us

We support the philosophy and practice of Social Ecotourism / Ecosocial Tourism worldwide. We participate in tourism policy & decision-making processes, conferences, and the worldwide progressive movements. On a day to day basis, we act as an alternative, low-cost ecotourism consultancy, promoting environmentally-friendly holiday options & related services, supporting ecotourism practitioners, academics and students, offering resources such as specialist news coverage, networking and career opportunities, information about upcoming events, new publications, consultancy and funding opportunities and much more. ECOCLUB, the International Ecotourism Magazine™, our electronic publication, is packed with exclusive ecotourism news and views and interviews with tourism & environment leaders & pioneers. We also promote quality cooperative, ecological and organic products at low prices via the ECOCLUB.com Shop.

Ecotourism at ECOCLUB®, the International Ecotourism Club™, a global ecological tourism network

$863 -- Fiji from Los Angeles (Roundtrip), incl. Taxes

$863 -- Fiji from Los Angeles (Roundtrip), incl. Taxes^*

Fares to Fiji from Los Angeles have been slashed to an amazing price of $863 roundtrip, including taxes. This fare is available for travel June 10 - Dec. 30 on Air Pacific to Nadi on Fiji's the main island of Viti Levu.

This sale ends July 14.

Click here to purchase tickets directly with Air Pacific. Look for the "Get Packing" fare at a base fare of $565. Final price will include approximately $298 in taxes and fees.

Cheap Flights - Flight Specials - Air Pacific