Tourism, Organisations & Operators,

Quito is the ideal destination for mountain bikers due to its wonderful landscapes, uneven terrains and perfect places to ascend and descend on all surface types. It also offers a wide range of nature tourism, whereby taking some small trails you can cross the moorland and shaded forests, while admiring the biodiversity of the area.
Tourists can enjoy cycle routes through rivers, waterfalls and forests, with different levels of difficulty, from the easiest for novice cyclists to real challenges for the more experienced.
Also, Quito offers bike rental services and protection equipment for safety guarantee during the trip, as well as experienced tour guides to accompany visitors on their routes, offering information on the history, culture and biodiversity of the region.

El Chaquiñán RouteADVERTISEMENTEl Chaquiñán is a cycle route that passes through the parishes of Cumbayá, Tumbaco and Puembo and crosses a stretch of the old railway.
It is a simple path which does not present great difficulties. Due to its longitude, it is recommended for cyclists with previous experience in routes of at least two hours of cycling.
·      100% cyclable route·      Difficulty: Low·      Distance 20.5 Kilometres
Ruta Lloa – Palmira
The path from Lloa a Palmira has short elevations and gentle descents. It offers natural viewpoints with incredible views, such as those of the Guagua Pichincha and Atacazo volcanoes.
Over the course of the route, you will find various farms that offer dairy products, such as cheese, milk and yoghurt.
·      100% cyclable route·      Difficulty: Low·      Distance: 12.4 Kilometres

Ruta Pululahua
Descending from the Mirador del Pululahua to the heart of one of the few inhabited craters in the world, its dramatic descents have been the scene for multiple races.
In the area, you can take various routes with different levels of difficulty and modality such as the return from Moraspungo to Pondoña, the route between Tanlahua and Pululahua, among others.
·      100% cyclable route·      Difficulty: Medium·      Distance: 6.5 – 26 Kilometres

Ruta Pacto – Mashpi
In the parish of Pacto, 70 km from the capital, there are wide paths surrounded by mountains ideal for sport. This route crosses a large part of the Conservation and Sustainable Use Area of Mashpi-Guaycuyacu-Sahuangal, the first Protected Natural Area of the Metropolitan District.
·      100% cyclable route·      Difficulty: Medium·      Distance: 39 Kilometres
Ruta Nono – Alaspungo
Its 13 km stretch reveals less travelled paths, as well as beautiful and unique landscapes. It offers some prolonged ascents, that gift the cyclist with spectacular views of the Rucu and Guagua Pichincha volcanoes towards to east, and a cushion of clouds that covers the land below.
·      100% cyclable route·      Difficulty: Low·      Kilometres: 13.3 Kilometres

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“Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races” Returning in June Extending an Invitation for Teams

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The Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races is making a return in June after a four-year hiatus! The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that the HKTB and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association will co-organise the “Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races” on 24- 25 June (Saturday & Sunday) in Victoria Harbour.
Both the general public and visitors from around the world can enjoy the exciting races along the promenade from Tsim Sha Tsui East to the Avenue of Stars.This year, the event will invite local, Mainland, Taiwanese and overseas dragon boat teams to participate. For the first time, cash prizes will be awarded to the winning teams in the four major races.With the world’s top dragon boat athletes gathering in Hong Kong, both the general public and visitors to Hong Kong will once again be able to experience the glamour of a major sports event in town!Interested teams can register on the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association website https://hkcdba.org/en/2023hkidbr from 20 March.
Details of the event can be found at the following links:- HKTB event website: (https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/what-s-new/events/dragonboat-races.html )

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The announcement follows ongoing work by the three associations to raise the challenges faced by school travel with Government, including a joint letter sent to the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, on Monday 6 March. 
The letter asked for action to ease the situation which has not only led to significant falls in visits, estimated at a drop of 84% compared to 2019, but also school children and youth groups’ welfare to suffer due to excessive waiting times at entry ports and having to travel at extremely unsociable hours.
ABTA, The School Travel Forum and UKinbound have called for the establishment of a new youth-group visa application process that is fully digitalised, works in collaboration with Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) and supports the 2025 UK Border Strategy. It would allow students under the age of 18 that have an ID Card, and therefore the right to live in the EU, and third country nationals that have settled in the EU to travel to the UK as part of an educational or cultural group if accompanied by a teacher or supervisor over 18 years old that is travelling on a passport.
The Governments are still to confirm the details of the new arrangements and the associations have already been in touch to follow-up on the commitments made.
Luke Petherbridge ABTA Director of Public Affairs said:  ADVERTISEMENT“The Prime Minister and the French President commitment to easing school group travel between France and UK will be welcomed by the school and youth travel sector. Our members have been reporting challenges related to recent border policy changes, and they will now be eager to hear more about the details of what is being proposed. Working with our industry partners, The School Travel Forum and UKinbound, ABTA will be in touch with the relevant government officials and will provide more information as soon as we have received it.”
Gill Harvey, CEO The School Travel Forum commented:
“The school/youth travel sector has been forgotten for far too long. We welcome these discussions within Government and look forward to young people being able to enjoy and benefit from the same opportunities and experiences as their older schoolmates.”
Joss Croft OBE, CEO of UKinbound commented:
“Many of our members’ businesses are heavily reliant on organising and bringing in school groups to the UK from France and other countries in the European Union but this sector has dropped off a cliff since the requirement for all EU visitors to travel with a passport rather than an ID card changed in October 2021.
“In 2019 this sector of the market was worth over £1 billion in export value to the UK economy, as well as providing a route to demonstrate Global Britain in practice. It is a relief therefore that the Government has announced it is committed to making this process easier going forward and implementing the changes needed to recover this valuable inbound business for the UK.” 
The joint announcement from the two countries stated “Cooperation and policy exchanges on school education, facilitation of school trips and exchanges, including in the field of vocational education, opportunities for language learning will be expanded. On school travel, the United Kingdom committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France. France commits to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for children travelling on organised school trips from the United Kingdom and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.”

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MEA region expected to return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel spend by 2024

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The World Travel & Tourism Council ( WTTC ) and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center have unveiled groundbreaking new data detailing the climate footprint of the Travel & Tourism sector in Germany.
In one of the largest research projects of its kind, WTTC can for the first time ever, accurately report and track the impact the sector has on the environment.
According to this groundbreaking new data, Germany is one of just a few major countries where Travel & Tourism has continued to grow, while reducing its absolute emissions.
In 2019, the sector was responsible for 10.3% of total greenhouse gas emissions across Germany.
This dropped more than four percentage points, to reach 5.9% in 2020 and 5.8% in 2021, mainly due to the reduced activity in the sector during the pandemic period.ADVERTISEMENTBetween 2010 and 2019, Germany’s Travel & Tourism sector decoupled its greenhouse gas emissions from its growth.
During this period, greenhouse gas emissions decreased on average by 1.1% per year, while Travel & Tourism’s total contribution to Germany’s economy grew 1.5% on average annually.
The figures also show that the sector’s emissions intensity continues to decrease.In 2010, for every €1 generated by Travel & Tourism in Germany, the sector emitted 0.55 kg of greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2019, when Travel & Tourism was at its peak, this figure dropped by 22% to 0.43 kg per €1 created, and continued to fall in the following years, to a low of 0.36 kg per €1 in 2021. This significant
decline illustrates the impact of changes implemented by the German government and business leaders to create a more sustainable sector.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Our data shows that Germany is one of the few Travel & Tourism powerhouses which is decreasing its absolute emissions while continuing to grow year-on-year.
“The Travel & Tourism sector has decoupled its economic growth from its greenhouse gas emissions and continues to reduce its emissions intensity, but we know there is still work to be done. To reach our goals and ambitions, we must make bigger and bolder steps to reduce our absolute emissions.
“We need government support in accelerating the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels which will have a significant impact on our footprint, as well as bringing in more renewable energy to our national grids.”
Energy Usage
The global tourism body also provides insights on the sector’s energy usage and efficiency, and shows that between 2010 and 2019, the sector’s total energy usage increased by only 0.2% annually.
This demonstrates that while Travel & Tourism continued to grow, it also became more energy efficient.
Between 2019 and 2021, the sector has reduced its energy intensity by 18.3%, highlighting the strides made by Travel & Tourism to slash energy usage.
This comprehensive research covers 185 countries across all regions and will be updated each year with the latest figures.
This research was made possible thanks to the partnership between WTTC and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center. Under the Saudi green Initiative, more than 60 initiatives have been launched in the past year, representing more than $186BN USD of investment in the green economy.

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The official website of Mekong Tourism has been re-imagined with a range of dynamic new digital elements for a variety of visitors – from consumer travellers to academics and researchers, from journalists to sustainable tourism advocates.Managed by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), the new-look mekongtourism.org aims to position itself as a major online start point and research asset for travel and tourism in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
The new website is easy to navigate and offers quicker search than previously. The site has been designed for mobile responsiveness and compatibility. It has been created to work well on desktop, tablet and mobile phone.
If you are a traveller, for example, there are specialist sections on festivals in the six countries, farm and community tourism, markets, caves, palaces, motorbike travel, ethical tourism, and more.“The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office has revamped the official Mekong Tourism website, MekongTourism.org, to help the whole region bounce back after three difficult years,” said Ms Suvimol Thanasarakij, Executive Director of the MTCO . “We are proud to present a new website that focuses on responsible, sustainable and inclusive tourism that gives back.”

There are Q&A interviews with leading private, public and third-sector tourism leaders. They all give their take on what the new era of tourism in the Mekong region should look like following the massive Covid-era slow down.ADVERTISEMENTFor students, researchers and academics, there is also a library of the latest tourism-related research papers by UNWTO, ADB, WTTC and various corporate organisations.
There are also dedicated pages to the Mekong Tourism Forum which takes place 25-27 April in Sihanoukville in Cambodia and is open to leading stakeholders in Mekong Tourism.
Visit MekongTourism.org to start your journey around the Mekong region.

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Climate protection and human rights are closely linked. In the Studiosus interview at ITB Berlin 2023 experts outlined their various perspectives and positions.
Studiosus managing director Peter-Mario Kubsch: “The industry has begun to shift, but it is all going too slowly.“ Michael Windfuhr of the German Institute for Human Rights added: “Bold steps are needed that must be taken now. In ten years time it will be too late.” Luís von Randow, Fridays for Future spokesman: “In the end, only travelling less will help.“
Michael Windfuhr of the German Institute for Human Rights: “Climate change will become the biggest and most important cause of human rights violations.“ Whether droughts or flooding: the right to a home, employment, a healthy existence and water supplies was affected everywhere. As such, climate protection could not be viewed separately from human rights. Moreover, climate policy measures could also impact human rights if for example wind farms were installed on indigenous peoples’ lands.
Harald Zeiss of the Institute for Sustainable Tourism Inatour: “Climate protection is a very complex topic and added to that tourism is a very complex industry. Many people wonder where to begin.” The danger was to carry on as before, with devastating effects. The Germans were climate offenders who were worried about the climate: “We need to take a new look at mobility and our leisure activities.”
Luís von Randow, Fridays for Future spokesman: “Climate protection must be viewed as a socially binding obligation. What is needed are socially fair concepts to ensure that ultimately not only the rich can afford to travel.” Taxing kerosene was absolutely necessary, coupled with a social compensation scheme.ADVERTISEMENTStudiosus managing director Peter-Mario Kubsch: “Human rights should be the principle underpinning all efforts. We cannot talk about climate protection on its own without making tackling poverty and peace efforts a part of the argument.” Tourism had an issue with climate protection because mobility was the biggest source of emissions, but without mobility there could be no tourism. As an interim solution until the arrival of climate-neutral aviation only offsetting could help. “We now offset all trips by investing in biogas climate protection projects. That is included in the price and our customers pay it. The days of a voluntary contribution are over.”

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CLIMATE EMERGENCY: HOW DO DESTINATIONS BECOME MORE RESISTANT?

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Crises caused by climate change are becoming more frequent, with a direct and severe impact on destinations. Are there ways that could help to make destination areas more resistant? What conceivable strategies are there to create a greater sense of responsibility towards the climate? These questions were examined by a panel of experts at ITB Berlin 2023. They concluded that more cooperation and a willingness to listen to one another provide a basis for finding solutions. “We have to know our capabilities in order to be able to act effectively“, according to Shannon Stowell, chair of the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
Shannon Stowell, Adventure Travel Trade Association: “Many people in the travel industry have finally begun to adopt measures. Everyone must now answer the question of what they are doing to make the world a better place.“ Travel must be developed on the basis of what the destination needs. “Thanks to our worldwide networks we are able to react rapidly to crises“, Stowell stated. “We must work together and utilise the knowledge of everyone involved. Once we know our capabilities we also know what strengths we can apply.“
Lars Peter Nissen, director of the humanitarian group ACAPS: In many destinations the largest part of the critical infrastructure is intended to meet the needs of tourism, Nissen explained: ”These are the people who have trucks, generators and everything else need to keep things running.“ The knowledge and capabilities of these people must be incorporated in every strategy.
Gopinath Parayil, chair of The Blue Yonder: “Given the effects of the climate crisis in the destinations the tourism industry’s networks, with all their available expertise, can and must be a relevant part of the solution. If there are no more destinations then there will be no more tourism. We need a platform where we can come together and combine our strengths.“ Travel companies have access to accommodation, foodstuffs and drinks, as well as to highly qualified personnel that can be deployed very quickly. These are all things that the humanitarian sector needs during a crisis, and are lying idle in the tourism industry.
Dr. Sreeja K.G., director of EQUINOCT Community Sourced Modelling Solutions LLP: “The main concern is for the basis of existence of local people. Various sectors must work together to protect them, and not just the tourism sector on its own. Properly functioning communications are the most important thing. There is not just one approach that works for everyone. We have to listen to local people, all sit around a table and contribute all our capabilities. What is needed is shared responsibility.“ADVERTISEMENTSamuel Karani, general manager for East Africa at Intrepid Travel: “Environmental protection can help to improve tourism.“ In this respect it is important to work together with local communities because, after all, it is their basis for life that is at stake.

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MORE FEELING AT THE DESTINATION

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Responsible tourism must place a greater emphasis on the social components and move away from a purely economic orientation. This was one of the lessons from the latest crises, according to Professor Dr. Harald Pechlaner, professor of tourism at the Catholic University Eichstätt and head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, in his lecture at the ITB Convention on Thursday at the trade fair. As he pointed out, even if at first glance it seems that tourism has returned at full strength after the pandemic, the industry is now learning that not everything is allowed or accepted as it was before.
As Pechlaner explained, the pandemic has also shown that travel is indispensable for creating a feeling of freedom. One new feature, however, is that many destinations are not just banking on expansion but are, in some cases, declaring “tourism saturation” and do not want to see any further increase in tourist numbers. For travellers and for most destinations the message should be that tourism should bring “not only an added economic value but also new values for their money“. There must be a change in the industry, which should develop a conscience about destinations, instead of simply occupying space and leaving others to deal with the consequences.
During the panel discussions under the heading of “Is Destination Thinking Still State Of The Art?“ Pechlaner was praised by Dr. Heike Döll-König, chief executive of Tourism NRW. She was critical of the fact that no one had previously spoken about tourism in a cross-sectoral sense: “We should not be selling tourism as a product but should also regard all stakeholders as ’customers‘, and cooperate with them“, she stated.
This model has already been implemented in Malaga, described by the director of the local tourism authority, Jonathan Gómez Punzón, as ”the Silicon Valley of Spain“. Tourist data is recorded in a fully digitalised form, which not only logs and analyses the routes taken by visitors but also their emotions This also enables the entire infrastructure to be optimised for the benefit of the local inhabitants.
On Vancouver Island in Canada the entire tourism authority has been converted into a “social enterprise“, to ensure that sustainability and social responsibility are at the forefront of all initiatives. “Tourism revenues are to be invested in important social projects, guided by globally recognised programmes and principles“, explained Anthony Everett, president of the new company ”4VI“ (For Vancouver Island). “Don’t be afraid of altering the status quo“, he told his audience, and Pechlaner added: The aim is to create a feeling of belonging between travellers and those they visit, and possibilities for digital and social interaction are available. They just have to be used.ADVERTISEMENT

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