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The three-day Asia Pacific
Ecotourism Conference (APeco) ended on a high note on Sunday night with
the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding at the farewell
dinner held here.
The MOU is groundbreaking as it is the first time that ecotourism
associations and NGOs from different parts of the world commit to
jointly work together to enhance the promotion of ecotourism principles
based on equal partnership in their respective countries and around the
world.
Signatories of the MOU are The International Ecotourism Society, Japan
Ecotourism Society, Ecotourism Association of Australia and the APeco
organising committee.
To achieve this objective, the signatories have identified several
mechanisms. These include information exchange and networking,
coordination of ecotourism events, sharing of expertise among ecotourism
practitioners and related industries, and aligning marketing strategies
for mutual benefit.
They also agree that progress within the MOU will be updated quarterly
to enhance cooperation and magnify results.
 From next year, APeco will become an annual event. Although the 2003
APeco will be held again in Malaysia, in Pulau Langkawi from 2-5
October, the organisers have opened the event to bids. The idea is to
have Malaysia host it one year and alternate it with another country
within the Asia/Pacific region the next (e-Daily, 4 October)
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