Tourism and sustainability seminar kicks off in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 21 (acn) From today until Wednesday, scholars from various nations will meet in this capital for the Fourth International Seminar on Tourism, Development and Sustainability, with the aim of promoting good practice in a key sector for emerging economies.

The Aula Magna of the University of Havana (UH) will host today the opening of the event, which opening remarks will be given by Lourdes Cisneros , dean of the Faculty of Tourism, and Monica Velarde, president of the International Network of Researchers in Tourism, Development and Sustainability.
One of the main lines to achieve sustainable development is the formation of professionals linked to tourism, central theme of the lecture to be delivered by Ramon Martin, professor at UH, to open the scientific sessions of the meeting.
On the opening day, participants will also know about the Master Plan for the Historic Center of Havana, through which this city, selected as one of the seven wonder cities of the world, has regained much of its heritage values.
Eros Salinas, professor at the Faculty of Tourism and member of the organizing committee of the seminar, told ACN the sessions will move to San Geronimo de La Habana University College on Tuesday 22, to continue discussions on how to propel, from the Academy, responsible tourism and in harmony with the environment.
The organizers also foresee trips to Viñales and the community of Las Terrazas in Sierra del Rosario, in the western province of Pinar del Rio, in order to demonstrate the potential of Cuba to promote sustainable tourism, to help welfare and local progress.
The seminar is the result of work done since 2012 by the International Network of Researchers in Tourism, Development and Sustainability, composed of academics from universities in Costa Rica, Guadalajara (Mexico), the Autonomous University of Nayarit (Mexico), the one in Lodz , Poland, and the house of higher learning in the Cuban capital.
In the third edition, held in Costa Rica in October 2014, Cuba highlighted among the countries putting more efforts in terms of development of a tourism of peace, health and safety; hence its selection as host of the upcoming edition.
The event also coincides with the opening tomorrow of the 10th International Meeting of Nature Tourism, Turnat 2015, which will run until September 27, which tries to place Cuba as an attractive destination for this kind of activity, with the presentation of new products related to trekking, diving and fishing.