By Steve Thomas Observer Nevis Editor
(Washington, D.C.) ” Two major players have joined forces in an effort that could bring more tourists and their dollars to the Caribbean and Latin America. The Inter-American Development Bank and the National Geographic Society are working to promote initiatives aimed at developing sustainable tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, the IDB announced this week. IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno and John Fahey, President of The National Geographic Society, signed a memorandum of understanding at NGS headquarters in Washington, D.C. “Members of the IDB’s Office of Outreach and Partnerships and the bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund attended the signing ceremony. “This initiative focuses on engaging other private and public sector partners and foundations into scaling-up the financing and implementation of innovative programs that adhere to geotourism principles,” Mr. Moreno said. Geotourism, as defined by NGS, stands for ‘tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place ” its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and well-being of its residents.” In recent years, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis have attracted a growing number of visitors interested in exploring the sea and islands” natural beauty. The same trend has also sent more visitors to areas that were once fairly remote in Central and Latin Last year, tourist arrivals rose by 14 percent in Central America and by 13 percent in South America, in contrast with the 5 percent average growth rate for tourism activities in the rest of the world during the same period. Earlier this year, National Geographic and Ashoka Changemakers launched the Geotourism Challenge:” Celebrating Places, Changing Lives, a global competition to highlight and recognize innovators in geotourism., according to a statement from the bank. Also this year, and building on the IDB’s experience in sustainable tourism, the MIF’s Donors Committee approved a line of up to US $ 10 million in grants to finance projects that meet geotourism criteria. Within the IDB, ORP and the MIF will work together to mobilize additional partners and resources to further sustainable tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, where tourism has become a growing source of income. As agreed in the MOU, the MIF will share with National Geographic all its lessons learned, best practices and methodologies developed for sustainable tourism in recent years, which include experiences from more than 25 projects in 20 countries. ORPs mission is to develop, expand and strengthen the IDB Group’s relationships and strategic alliances with public and private sector partners of the development community, including foundations, corporations, individual philanthropists, multilateral and bilateral institutions, IDB donor countries, and other organizations.
