TOURISM AND THE CITY

TOURISM AND THE CITY

The challenge of sustainability

A Multisectoral perspective and a collective responsability

An International Conference proposed by

The International Urban Development Association - INTA

World Tourism Organization, WTO, Madrid

CEIM - Madrid

COMEN - Mediterranean Conference

Madrid, Spain, 10-12 November 1999

The Conference will take further the conclusions of the WTO: Sustainable tourism in sustainable cities is a multisectoral perspective and a collective responsability.

While there has been a noticeable diversification of tourism destinations, products and services over the last twenty years, the main flows of tourists continue to concentrate in cities, which in turn have diversified their offer to attract even larger numbers of visitors. The most recent trends and forecasting studies by the World Tourist Organisation indicate that cities will continue to be in high demand by tourists of all sorts and the problems associated with the handling of these tourists will have to be more systematically tackled by parties concerned.

The Conference will address these issues in an attempt to establish some general good practice criteria on the contribution of urban tourism to sustainable development through the exchange of successful experiences and define areas for future co-operation and research.

The Conference will gather representatives from a wide variety of national and international institutions and professions, public and private, which are concerned with the development and management of tourism in cities, all over the world:

Private Sector i.e. airlines, hotel chain operators and owners, tour operators, credit card companies, tourist attraction operators (theme parks, events etc.), real estate agencies;

Public sector i.e. city managers (from the historic city to the seaside resort), transportation planners, bus and train operators, information departments, economic development agencies, national parks, national tourist organisations;

Touristic Institutions i.e. museums, art galleries, historic facilities (e.g. the national trust) and educational organisation.

PROGRAMME

The Conference will follow three tracks identified as important both for the tourism industry and cities:

Products - the anticipated changes necessary from tourist attraction providers; theme parks, operators of events (sports, shows, fairs), museums and hotels. What are their plans, how do they respond to the anticipated growth?

Information - How does a city make itself more tourist friendly? What are the information systems available to tourists? How do tour operators deal with this growing demand? How to accumulate information on customer preferences and requirement, seasonal changes, age groups etc.? How to develop enduring attractions which will provide sustainable development? What information does the city provide in order to attract tourist attraction providers ?

Impacts - economic and development opportunities as well as the impact of tourism growth on sustainable development, transportation, cultural and environmental, social and economic aspects.

Theses tracks will examined in respect to selected tourism industry areas or segments:

Conference and incentive tourism in cities, development and management of convention centres, etc.

Tourism in large seaside cities, including such aspects as regeneration of seafront areas and old port installations, harbour facilities for cruise tourism, etc.

Cultural tourism in cities, including museums, urban archeological sites, historic city centre, music festivals, etc..

Finally, the Conference will consider, in a concluding debats, the roles or responsabilities of local governments on the one hand, and the private sector on the other, in ensuring a successful, sustainable tourism industry in the city.