Keynote speaker will be Melody Johnson from the International Culinary Tourism Association, where “Food is the Attraction”. Culinary tours are whetting appetites in destinations throughout North America. Find out more about this key niche market. A trade show, educational seminars, and social functions complete the Spotlight agenda. A Spotlight Pre-Fam Tour to the destinations of Laughlin, Primm, and Mesquite NV is also available for tour operators.

Spotlight is casual and intimate. Delegates don’t just network – they build relationships at Spotlight. There are three days of inter-action in which to conduct business. The goal is to build lasting relationships. New and creative tour itineraries and special events which take place in the Southwestern USA are highlighted.

What people are saying about Spotlight:

“Spotlight on the Southwest was one of the most enjoyable conferences that I have ever attended! Many thanks go to Sue and her team for all the planning and effort that went into all the events. It was a pleasure to get meet some new friends and get reacquainted with some friends from the past. I attended the conference as a supplier, but feel like I left as a true partner, looking forward to the future with Spotlight!”

Bernadette Anthony–CasaBlanca – Mesquite NV

“Thank you for arranging Spotlight so well! The impact on my life was multi-dimensional: professional, personal & spiritual.”

Carroll Driscoll – Travel Turtle Tours

“I just wanted to thank you again for all your work on Spotlight. It was great to see people I knew and to make new friends. I got a lot out of the fams and the contacts at the trade show. Wish I’d have been doing Spotlight for all 11 years, but you can’t do everything!”

Sandy Gibson – Around and About Tours

About Spotlight on Experiences and Events:

Spotlight features destination events, and experiences that create psychological and emotional reasons for travelers to visit destinations, hotels, and attractions. It’s a great way for niche travel groups to find the destination events which determines where and when they travel. The Conference will follow the same Spotlight format and philosophy and will be open to niche travel planners in addition to tour operators.

For more information visit www.spotlightsw.com or contact Sue Arko at 480-926-5547 or sue@freespiritvacations.com.

The Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI), now in its third year, offers a ranking of countries around the world based on principles of sustainable adventure tourism and is calculated through a combination of expert survey data and quantitative data gathered from international indices.

“When we first developed the technical method for scoring countries in 2008, we didn’t know how it would be received,” said Kristin Lamoureux, visiting assistant professor of tourism and hospitality management. “Three years later, countries are using the Index to argue for sustainable tourism over less favorable types of tourism development.”

The top 10 developed and developing countries are as follows:

Developed Countries: Switzerland, Iceland, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Norway, Finland and Austria.    

Developing Countries: Israel, Slovak Republic, Chile, Estonia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Jordan, Romania and Latvia.

“The ATDI ranks countries based on key touristic value pillars including sustainable development policy and entrepreneurship, putting importance on these issues which we now know are crucial not only for communities and the environment but also for business success,” said Christina Heyniger of Vital Wave Consulting.  Heyniger originated the concept of the Index and the principles on which it is based. “Looking at this year’s rankings we see Eastern European countries again dominating the emerging-market rankings, and also the appearance of Canada in the top 10 for developed countries.”

Countries were ranked by 10 pillars organized into three factors:
•    Safe and welcoming: sustainable development, safety, natural resources and health
•    Adventure: entrepreneurship and adventure activity resources
•    Readiness: humanitarian, infrastructure, cultural resources and image

The scores are not a reflection of a country’s current popularity or visitation numbers for adventure travel, although in some cases a country’s ranking does correlate with those factors.

“The adventure travel industry is keenly aware of the potential advantages and disadvantages of adventure tourism development,” said Shannon Stowell of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. “The ATDI is an important tool our industry has to promote travel, which requires less development than traditional industry.”

With the goal of promoting and informing sustainable development of adventure tourism, the ATDI was created to support entrepreneurs and governments who want to create and market sustainable adventure tourism products and services for the benefit of communities and the environment.
To view the study, visit www.adventureindex.travel/downloads.htm.

Registration is still open for this November's World Religious Travel Show

• St-Joseph’s Oratory (Montréal)
• Notre-Dame-du-Cap Sanctuary (Cap-de-la-Madeleine)
• Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica (Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré)
• Ermitage-Saint-Antoine (Lac-Bouchette)

John and Kira's Chocolates: A Philadelphia-area favorite

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) announces the launch of Philly Homegrown™, a consumer education and tourism marketing program. Philly Homegrown™, accompanied by the tagline Real Local Flavor, promotes the people, places and flavors of the area’s 100-mile foodshed—from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties to Amish Country to the Atlantic Ocean. The initiative will highlight the region’s food scene and help locals and visitors identify fun ways to participate in the movement. (www.visitphilly.com/food)

A new tool makes it easy to find America's National Parks

Gorp.com launched Park Finder, a new tool that allows travelers to quickly search more than 850 national parks and forests, state parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands within the United States.

“There are hundreds of breathtaking national parks and other public lands across the United States, each of which has unique characteristics and attributes,” said Eric Brodnax, General Manager of The Away Network, GORP’s parent company. “The new Park Finder tool makes the searching and planning process a lot easier and helps outdoor enthusiasts find a park that perfectly suits their interests.”

Key features of the new Park Finder tool include:

• More than 850 robust park guides, including travel tips, overviews, photo galleries, and in-depth feature articles.
• Parks categorized by nearly 20 special interests, such as biking, hiking, backpacking, snorkeling, sailing, and nature viewing.
• List of top parks around the country, making it faster to access the most popular getaways.

To access the new Park Finder tool, visit: http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/index-sp.html.

Tour members get hands-on lesson in chocolate-making

Learn Great Foods is a new company that offers culinary tours in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri. Tours range from a half day to three days and typically  include cooking demonstrations or hands-on classes, gourmet meals, and chances to meet farmers, growers, butchers, bakers and winemakers.

Besides scheduled tours for small groups, Learn Great Foods can customize tours for groups of eight or more. Among the many options are a weekend retreat for chocolate lovers in Northwest Illinois, a cheese-focused day tour in Wisconsin and a day at the Fairfield (Ia.) Farmer’s Market. Tours also could spotlight wine, beef, bison, fish, herbs or mushrooms.

For bus tour groups, “Tasting” options (1½ to 2 hours) can be arranged from April to October in Mount Carroll, Ill., and Cedar, Mich., on the Leelanau Peninsula. Tastings are available for chocolate, cheeses, salts, oils, vinegars and more.  Tour members get a rating sheet, information about the growing practices in different parts of the world and the chance to ask local chefs about their use of the ingredients. Tastings can be customized and paired with a culinary demonstration and meal or snack. Prices range from $15 to $35 per person, depending on the tasting and/or meal option chosen. Up to 60 can be accommodated.

(866-240-1650, www.learngreatfoods.com)

Sustainable Travel International’s mission is to promote sustainable development through responsible travel by providing programs that help travelers, businesses and destinations protect the environment, preserve cultural heritage and promote economic development.

Ecolodges Indonesia is one of the first to pursue international sustainable tourism certification in Indonesia and is committed to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals through its ecotourism investments and operations. The company’s four lodges emphasize wildlife conservation and improving the livelihoods of local communities.

Both STI and Ecolodges Indonesia support the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism Criteria initiated by Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Foundation and United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), launched at the World Conservation Congress in October 2008. These criteria identify the minimum standard that any tourism business should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for poverty alleviation.

Specific components of the collaboration agreement include:

Eco-Certification: Starting with the Udayana Kingfisher Ecolodge in Bali, ELI will complete STI’s Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Program to become the flagship/inaugural STI-certified property in Indonesia. Each of the other ELI Ecolodges will subsequently strive to attain eco-certification.

Carbon Offsets: In conjunction with STI, ELI will develop a carbon offset program to create projects that directly support rainforest conservation in Indonesia.

Green.travel: Ecolodges Indonesia will be featured on STI’s new consumer-facing website, Green.travel, coming in 2010. Green.travel will be the go-to resource for travelers to learn about responsible travel and book trips, airfare, car rentals and more. This one-stop-shop is designed to increase awareness of green travel, highlight up-to-date information, and exclusively feature travel providers who are committed to sustainable tourism.

Travel Philanthropy: ELI will establish and provide travel philanthropy projects specifically focusing on wildlife, environment and local economic development. These projects will be included in STI’s Travel Philanthropy project database, and other market outreach opportunities.

Fair Trade: ELI and STI will work together to explore opportunities to enhance existing ELI support to further development and market access for arts and crafts produced by villages near all ELI operations. They will also assess how working with Aid to Artisans can benefit the livelihoods of local villages.

In addition, STI and ELI will work with a number of other partners, such as the Scientific – Academic – Volunteer – Educational (SAVE) Travel Alliance, National Geographic and other non-government, government and private sector organizations, to identify and utilize additional resources for sustainable tourism development. They will also address the education and training needs of protected areas adjacent to ELI operations:

• Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, near Satwa Elephant Ecolodge: www.ecolodgesindonesia.com/satwa/index.html
• Tanjung Putting National Park, near Rimba Orangutan Ecolodge: www.ecolodgesindonesia.com/rimba/activities&tours.html
• Komodo National Park, near Bajo Komodo Ecolodge: www.ecolodgesindonesia.com/bajo/index.html

To earn the certification, NEOC staff evaluated their collective efforts and tracked them in a workbook. Points are awarded for various environmental practices, such as using phosphate-free detergents, recycling waste materials and use of energy-efficient lighting, heating and water systems. Businesses scoring over 100 points earn certification. NEOC earned 125 points in the category for lodging businesses with over 12 rooms.  Highlights of their efforts included new energy-efficient heating and domestic hot water systems, use of compact fluorescent bulbs, recycling waste and installation of low-flow showerheads in guest rooms.
 
The resort will be evaluated each year and must attain an increasing number of points in subsequent years to be re-certified by the state Environmental Leader program. Earlier this year, NEOC opened the new Coveside guesthouses, built to LEED-standards. These facilities were designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s gold-level for green building. Certification for these efforts from the LEED program is expected to be completed by the summer season.
 
New England Outdoor Center is a four-season resort located near Baxter State Park in northern Maine, with a full range of activities and lodging options for individuals, families and organizations. (www.neoc.com)