Anna Spenceley PhD

Presentation Title: A decade of progress in sustainable tourism in protected areas

Dr Anna Spenceley is a tourism consultant focusing on sustainable tourism based in South Africa.  In particular, she works in areas of high biodiversity in developing countries, through her company STAND.  Anna is Chair of the IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, a Senior Research Fellow with the University of Johannesburg, and sits on the editorial teams of several journals including the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.  She is also the editor of the book "Responsible Tourism: Critical issues for Conservation and Development" and also co-editor of "Evolution and Innovation in Wildlife Conservation".  See www.anna.spenceley.co.uk, http://annaspenceley.wordpress.com and www.slideshare.net/AnnaSpenceley

Title: A decade of progress in sustainable tourism in protedted areas

The IUCN World Parks Congress (WPC) is held once a decade, and brings together thousands of the world’s experts on protected areas. In 2014, the Sydney WPC and the parallel event, Global Eco, provided a platform for 125 presentations relating to tourism and visitation.  This paper presents a synthesis of the body of work shared at Sydney, including some of the cutting-edge issues, best practices, and inspiring initiatives relating to sustainable tourism.  In particular, it compares issues that were highlighted at the 2003 WPC, and how they have evolved and progressed over the past decade. The paper highlights the role of different stakeholders from different corners of the world in promoting sustainable tourism practices.  It also considers the relevance of tourism to the themes of the WPC, and how the sector is reflected within the official records of the 2003 and 2014 WPCs. The paper looks forward to the next ten years, and particularly the implications of the recent UN Resolution on sustainable tourism, and the Convention on Biological Diversity's decision on tourism and biodiversity.  The paper reflects on specific challenges, gaps in knowledge and areas for further research and outreach.