The Ministry of Transport, Communication and Tourism of the Republic of Suriname in collaboration with the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) hosted the 2nd Technical Tourism Committee Meeting of Amazon Member Countries from August 11-13 at the Torarica Hotel in Paramaribo.
The event was declared open by the Hon. Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism Ms. Richel Apinsa and close to 100 members of the Suriname Private Sector attended the opening.
Tourism Focal Points and other technical representatives from Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname discussed key areas of the Tourism programme of ACTO including Destination Amazonia Year 2009, the 3-city Road Show planned to promote that initiative, the 2009 Calendar of Events, the First ACTO Awards for Sustainable Tourism, and an initiative to establish integrated tourism circuits in the Amazon. Discussion was also initiated on the matter of a strategy to mitigate the climatic impacts of tourism travel itself.
The 2nd Technical Tourism Committee Meeting laid the ground for the 3rd Technical Meeting which will focus exclusively upon concretising preparations for the establishment of Integrated Tourism Circuits in the region.
On the last day of the 3-day event participants were taken on a guided tour of sites and villages in the Suriname Nature Reserve. This visit gave all participants a better insight into some areas of the Suriname Amazon region.
