Expedia, Inc. and the UN Foundation
launched the first two programs to be carried out by the World
Heritage Alliance, the umbrella organization they created jointly
in the fall of 2005.
The two programs
are the Expedia Employee Program and the World Heritage Alliance
Industry Training Program on Responsible Tourism. Both programs are
taking place in Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula June 19 to 30.
According to a
statement from the organization, the programs are designed to
benefit the World Heritage sites in the region and the communities
nearby, the travelers who visit the sites and Expedia
employees.
The Expedia
Employee Program will assign five Expedia staff members to a
locally and predominantly Mayan-owned tourism cooperative called
Community Tours Sian Ka'an to help the group enhance its
sustainable tourism offerings to Sian Ka'an, a World Heritage site
a few hours drive south from Cancun. The five Expedia employees
were selected from 60 who applied.
The program will
focus on ways to ensure the protection of the delicate ecosystem of
the region, which includes coral reefs, mangroves, clear deep water
pools and forests.
The World Heritage
Alliance Industry Training Program on Responsible Tourism is
designed to encourage hotels, tour operators and other tourism
companies in the region to promote responsible tourism to the World
Heritage sites, of which the Yucatan Peninsula has five: Chichen
Itza, Uxmal, the City of Campeche, Calakmul and Sian Ka'an.
The training
program will be conducted at four sites in the Yucatan Peninsula:
Campeche, Merida, Cancun and the Riviera Maya. Its goal is to help
employees at concierge desks, activity desks or other customer
service positions to promote World Heritage and explain to
travelers the benefits of responsible tourism.
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to David
Cogswell at [email protected].