Conference Photos

Bongani Lodge
South Africa
February 24 - March 2, 2001

On February 24-March 2, 2001, BEST convened its first Think Tank at the Bongani Lodge, just outside Kruger National Park in South Africa. The objective of the Think Tank was to produce a model curriculum on sustainable tourism that will be distributed to hospitality and tourism education programs throughout the world. Follow-up activities included development of course syllabi, applied case studies, and teacher and student study guides. Participants brought a broad array of expertise to the table that included economic, environmental, political, and socio-cultural proficiency. They also have significant research, teaching, consulting, and/or management experience in the field of sustainable tourism.

Conference Board/BEST Initiative Address Educating Next Generation of Travel Professionals with Global Think Tank, January 25, 2001

South Africa First Stop In Development of Curriculum

Forty representatives from leading universities in the U.S., South Africa, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Fiji and other countries, will convene to develop a curriculum for hospitality and tourism educational programs worldwide. The first forum will be held February 24 - March 2, 2001 at Bongani Mountain Lodge in South Africa. The goal of the conference is to ensure the creation of a pool of travel industry leaders familiar with the sustainable travel and tourism practices that benefit not only the travel industry, but also destination communities and the environment. An initiative of The Conference Board and The World Travel and Tourism Council, BEST (Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel) serves as a leading source of knowledge on innovative travel industry practices that advance community, business, and travellers' interests.

Based on the representatives' collective knowledge of the economic, environmental, political and socio-cultural dimensions of the travel and tourism industry, the curriculum developed will include course syllabi and modules, bibliographies and applied case studies as well as teacher and student study guides. Subsequent conferences will be held in Costa Rica and Hawaii. According to Dr. Abraham Pizam, Professor of Tourism Management, Director of the Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies at the University of Central Florida, and moderator of the Think Tank series, "The modules created will meet the needs of those entering the hospitality industry as well as those attending industry-based training programs. It is of the utmost importance that future managers have the knowledge to practice social, cultural and environmental responsibility."

Michael Seltzer, Director of BEST added, "The hospitality industry is in a unique position to enrich destination communities. The fact that these forums are being co-sponsored by The United Nations Environment Programme, the International Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the Africa-America Institute and SATOUR (the South African Tourism Authority) clearly indicates the importance that the industry attaches to sustainability."

Mr. Seltzer also stated that Bongani Mountain Lodge was selected as the location for the first Think Tank because, "CCAfrica, which owns and operates the property, has at its core the principles of sustainable travel. It incorporates these ideals in its approach to staff training and its commitment to its surrounding communities through the CCAfrica Foundation, which builds schools, provides healthcare, assists farmers, builds roads and protects local wildlife. CCAfrica's sustainable practices enable both the community and the lodges to prosper."

	Lisa Applebaum, Program Associate, Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel The Conference Board lisa.applebaum@conference-board.org United States		Thomas Bauer, Assistant Professor, Department of Hotel and Tourism Management Hong Kong Polytechnic University hmthomas@inet.polyu.edu.hk Hong Kong
	Robert B. Bentley, Director Sustainable Tourism Development Associates rbbentley@compuserve.com Spain		Tracy Berno, Coordinator, Tourism Studies Programme University of the South Pacific berno_t@usp.ac.fj Fiji
	Andy Blackmore, Assistant Director: Intergrated Environmental Management Ezemvelo Kzn Wildlife ablackmore@kznncs.org.za South Africa		Juan Carlos Bonilla, Ecotourism and Business Manager Conservation International bonilla@nbict.nbi.ac.za South Africa
	Kelly S. Bricker, Assistant Professor, Tourism Studies Programme University of the South Pacific kelly.bricker@mail.wvu.edu Fiji		Robyn Bushell, Head, Tourism School of Environment & Agriculture University of Western Sydney r.bushell@uws.edu.au Australia
	John D. Chidzomba, Chairman, Human Resources Committee Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe dmc@africaonline.co.zw Zimbabwe		Jaimie Cloud, Founder and Director, The Sustainability Education Center American Forum for Global Education jaimie@sustainabilityed.org United States
	Erik Cohen, Professor of Sociology & Anthropology Hebrew University of Jerusalem mserik@mscc.huji.ac.il Israel		Dimitrios Diamantis, Head, Tourism & Hospitality Research Centre Les Roches Management School d_diamantis@hotmail.com Switzerland
	Frédéric Dimanche, Associate Professor, College of Business Administration University of New Orleans fdimanch@uno.edu USA		Allan Doherty, Tourism Policy Advisor Industry Canada doherty.allan@ic.gc.ca Canada
	Larry Dwyer, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business University of Western Sydney l.dwyer@unsw.edu.au Australia		Shirley Eber, Consultant Tourism Concern / University of North London shireber@waitrose.com United Kingdom
	Eduardo Galicia, Wildlife Manager, Alternative Tourism Program University of Quintana Roo galicia@correo.uqroo.mx Mexico		Sue Geldenhuys, Director, Department of Tourism Technikon University geldens@techpta.ac.za South Africa
	Martha Honey, Director, Peace & Security Program Center for International Policy Studies avirhoney@starpower.net USA		Tazim Jamal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences Texas A&M University tjamal@tamu.edu USA
	K.J. (Jithu) Jithendran, Assistant Professor of Tourism, Kerala Institute of Tourism & Travel Studies The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde jithu@strath.ac.uk UK		Andrew Jones, Senior Lecturer Swansea Institute / University of Wales Assc. College andrew.jones@sihe.ac.uk UK
	Norma Jongilanga njongilanga@ozone.pwu.gov.za South Africa		Claudia Jurowski, Associate Professor, School of Hotel and Restaurant Management Northern Arizona University claudia.jurowski@nau.edu USA
	Lucy Kaplan, Consultant Mafisa Works lucyk@icon.co.za South Africa		Eddie Koch, Consultant Mafisa Works eddiek@icon.co.za South Africa
	Jill Lankford, Professor, School of TIM University of Hawaii at Manoa lankford@hawaii.edu Hawaii		Janne Liburd, Adj. Faculty, Anthropologist University of Houston, Clear Lake liburd@sitkom.sdu.dk USA
	Patrick Long, Professor, Tourism Management Program, College of Business University of Colorado at Boulder patrick.long@colorado.edu USA		Rory MacLellan, Senior Lecturer in Tourism, Strathclyde Business School The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde l.r.mclellan@strath.ac.uk UK
	Lindisizwe M. Magi, Professor University of Zululand lmmagi@pan.uzula.ac.za South Africa		Margo Manning,Consultant Foundation for International Training tmanning@fox.nstn.ca Canada
	Ted Manning, Director, Sustainable Development and Environmental Management Consulting and Audit Canada ted.manning@cac.gc.ca Canada		Yoel Mansfeld, Head, Center for Tourism, Pilgrimage, and Recreation Research University of Haifa yoel@geo.haifa.ac.il Israel
	Earlston McPhee, Project Coordinator, Sustainable Tourism Bahamas Ministry of Tourism emcphee@gobahamas.com Bahamas		Kevin Mearns, Professor Vista University merns-kf@acaleph.vista.ac.za South Africa
	Graham A. Miller, Lecturer in Tourism University of Westminster g.miller01@westminster.ac.uk UK		Larry Neal, (Retired) Professor University of Oregon llneal@oregon.uoregon.edu USA
	Thandi Nzama, Coordinator & Senior Lecturer, Center for Recreation & Tourism University of Zululand tmahaye@pan.uzulu.ac.za South Africa		Abe Pizam, Dean, School of Hospitality Management University of Central Florida apizam@mail.ucf.edu USA
	André Proctor, Consultant Mafisa Works aproctor@worldonline.co.za South Africa		Arie Reichel, Professor, Associate Dean, and Department Chairman, Dept. of Hotel and Tourism Management, The School of Management Ben-Gurion University of the Negev arier@nihul.bgu.ac.il Israel
	Abigail Rome, Consultant Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation abirome@aol.com USA		Alvin Rosenbaum, Senior Visiting Scholar, School of Business and Public Management George Washington University arosen@gwu.edu USA
	Ed Sanders, Director Ecotourism International ed_sanders@attglobal.net		Tom Selälnniemi, Manager for Sustainable Tourism Finnair Travel Services tom.selanniemi@aurinkomatkat.fi Finland
	Michael Seltzer, Director, Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel The Conference Board michael.seltzer@conference-board.org USA		Ercan Sirakaya, Assistant Professor Texas A&M University esirakay@rpts.tamu.edu USA
	Lawrence Sisitka, Associate, Goldfields Centre for Environmental Education Rhodes University heilaw@imaginet@co.za South Africa		Ginger Smith, Director, Accelerated Master of Tourism Administration George Washington University condado@juno.com USA
	John Snyder, Senior Associate Ecotourism International snyderj@edaw.com USA		Anna Spenceley, PhD student, Tourism, Conservation, & Sustaiable Development University of Greenwich, Institute of Natural Resources spenceleya@nu.ac.za South Africa
	Ray Spurr, Director, Centre for Tourism Policy Studies University of New South Wales r.spurr@unsw.edu.au Australia		Jamie Sweeting, Director, Travel and Leisure Industry Initiatives Conservation International j.sweeting@conservation.org USA
	Jonathan Tourtellot, Senior Editor National Geographic Traveler jtourtel@ngs.org USA		Carolyn Wild, President WILD International wild@travel-net.com Canada
	Eugenio Yunis, Head, Sustainable Development of Tourism World Tourism Organization eyunis@world-tourism.org Spain