PAST THINK TANK: THINK TANK XIII

Objectives

Communities are the key resource upon which sustainable tourism relies. Without meaningful community input that transcends mere tokenism, sustainability in tourism will remain unattainable. There are a number of challenges in developing community-based tourism and encouraging meaningful local participation in decision making and ownership. The theme of this conference targets several of the UN millennium development goals through the development of sustainable tourism at a local level, such as ending poverty and hunger, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and life-wide learning. Engagement of stakeholders beyond the private and public sectors may refer to host communities, third sector organisations or interest groups.

This conference invites you to join the Building Excellence in Sustainable Tourism, an Education Network (BEST EN) in its important work of developing resources for educating present and future managers on the principles of sustainable development, and the role of creating and disseminating knowledge on sustainable tourism as well as in promoting and implementing more sustainable practices in tourism.

The opportunity to meet in Kuala Lumpur offers delegates the chance to:

• Create knowledge in the form of educational and research materials on mobilities and sustainable tourism
  
• Network with fellow researchers, educators and organizations in the field of sustainable tourism,
  
• Learn firsthand about the importance and challenges of sustainable tourism and community engagement,
  
• Discuss how to better position the case for sustainable tourism, and
  
• Share their work and experiences with the participants and fellow researchers in the field.
  

Acknowledging the important role of learning for sustainable tourism, tangible outcomes of the Think Tank will include a proposed special issue of the Journal Of Sustainable Tourism where selected full papers from the Think Tank will be considered for publication, a research agenda from the Think Tank topic, online teaching tutorials on sustainable tourism and community engagement for integration in undergraduate courses as well as an agenda for future research.