• Reflection is a call to protect our destiny and culture    

• Ecotourism, respect for the environment, people and tourists  

As part of the celebration of the International Day of Tourism, the Departmental Government organized a conference on sustainable tourism, which included entrepreneurs who have been implementing environmentally friendly tourism practices. However, the most important assistance was that of young islanders, who contributed posters alluding to the protection of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, as part of a contest that was promoted as one of the activities in the celebration of the date.         

The winning poster was made by Sara Arango, student from the Modelo Adventista High School. As a prize, the student received a diving course, while the second and third place winners where Nicole Hernandez and Gillian Gordon from Cajasai High School.         

During the conference, young people had the opportunity to know the ancestral traditions of the Raizal culture, which contributes to reduce the negative impact that is generated in the ecosystems due to the traditional tourist exploitation.  

"We want young people to realize that tourism is the main economy of the Archipelago and we have to learn how to handle and exploit it in a sustainable manner. We are in a key moment, in which we have to start changing the way we behave in order to continue enjoying our destination”, said Paola Toro, Departmental Secretary of Tourism.       

Issues such as overpopulation, proper use of water, few fish in the ocean, coral bleaching and alternative gastronomy were some of the concerns adolescents raised with the panelists, which highlights the current concern of young people for the state of the environment in the island territory.         Finally, the Secretary of Tourism, Paola Toro, announced that next year the Secretariat of Tourism will begin to execute the tourism and maritime carrying capacity studies in order to be able to design the Departmental Tourism Policy, which is a necessity to be able to stop the excessive growth of this sector and begin to move towards a more sustainable Archipelago.              

OFFICE OF PRESS AND COMMUNICATIONS