Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 9, 1 September 1994 — Waikīkī to host ecotourism conference [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waikīkī to host ecotourism conference

Ecotourism and other forms of alternative and sustainable tourism will head the agenda at the DBEDT Hawai'i State Conference on Ecotourism. to be held at the Sheraton Waikīkī Hotel, Monday Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ecotourism - an abbreviated form of eco!ogical tourism - is, in principle, a more culturally and environmentally sensitive approach to travel. It is also more community-based. All ecotourism activities should have community input in their design, employ loeal suppliers and guides, and redirect money back to the community. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is co-sponsoring the conference and will conduct a panel on indigenous community-based eeonomie initiatives in ecotourism. OHA eeonomie development officer Linda Colburn will mt>derate the panel. Joining her will be Craig Chapman of the Ko'olauloa Hawaiian Civic Club, Eric Enos of the Ka'ala Farm Cultural Learning Center and Kai'opua Fyfe of Hui Ho'okipa O Kaua'i. Also joining the panel will be Chris Burchett, a sociologist who has worked for 25 years as an eeonomie advisor to AboriginaI communities in Australia and who is an expert in indigenous ecotourism. Burchett is a former manager of Aboriginal Tourism for the Northern Territory Tourist Commission and has worked with close to 50 groups involved in community-owned and -operated lodges, safaris, nature tours and traditional dance companies. Other sessions include a panel on Hawai'i as a healing destination, land-use planning and public policy, natural resources management, ecotourism media and marketing, natural and cultural heritage tourism. and ecotourism operators. On Sunday Oct. 2 the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Sierra Club have organized a number of narure hikes. There will also be historical tours through different parts of Honolulu. and a demonstration of native Hawaiīan taro practices at the Ka'ala Farm Leaming Center in Wai'anae. To register contact Eeo Logic Environmental Communications at (808) 533-5544 or fax (808) 5242160. Mailing address: 1 170 Waimanu Street, Honolulu, HI 96814. The registration fee is $45 and the deadline is Monday, Sept. 26. !i A limited number of scholarships are being offered to participants requiring financial assistance and ' conference organizers are interested in getting as mueh native Hawaiian participation as possible. Native Hawaiians are encouraged to apply, and ean use their Operation 'Ohana cardfor quick identification.

«■■■■ III — — — U.7.- ■— i Eric Enos talks to visitors about Hawaiian traditions at the Learning Center at Ka'aia: an alternative to mainstream tourist activities. Photo by Patrick Johnston