Expected to attract members of the travel industry from across the globe, the world's first summit dedicated to "green tourism" will be held next year in Abu Dhabi.
The World Green Tourism Conference was introduced in London yesterday at the opening of the World Travel Market.
The Abu Dhabi event, created in a bid to tackle the growing environmental challenges facing the travel industry, is being organised by the UAE's Streamline Marketing Group (SMG) in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).
Dayne Lim, the product development director of the ADTA, told a news conference in London yesterday that the event reflected the core values of the Abu Dhabi Government's 2030 plan, which identified tourism as a key driver of economic diversification.
"It also identifies environmental sustainability as an underlying fundamental of all we do," he said. The summit, part of a congress in December 2010 that will also embrace a green tourism exhibition, will highlight ecotourism initiatives and the solutions currently being applied in a bid to counter increasing concerns over the environmental damage being caused by travel and tourism.
Rich Theobald, from SMG, described the case for Abu Dhabi hosting the event as a "powerful" one.
"It is the capital of the UAE, easily accessible from Europe and Asia, and has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the environment by establishing a core network of organisations to address the 'green' issue," he said.
"The summit will also reinforce Abu Dhabi's very healthy reputation as a determined and tangible supporter of environmental protection. We anticipate in the long run that the congress will help establish Abu Dhabi as an international leader in responsible tourism and as a destination of choice for the environmentally aware traveller."
The conference is expected to attract about 200 delegates from around the world while the accompanying exhibition is expected to feature about 100 companies and be visited by 1,500 travel trade professionals.
Mr Theobald said he hoped the event would help "effect change in business practices in the UAE and the Gulf region as a whole".
dsapsted@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Company%20Profile
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
WE%20NO%20LONGER%20PREFER%20MOUNTAINS
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