Wednesday October 3, 2007

Travel operator: Have sustainable eco-tourism

KUALA LUMPUR: Limiting the number of people at environmentally sensitive resorts will be a good way to protect the nation's eco-tourism assets, a leading eco-travel operator said.

“I know Sipadan has a carrying capacity but not many resorts do. We must use our tourism resources to carry out sustainable eco-tourism and not damage our assets,” said Lee Choon Loong, executive director of Discovery Travel and Cuisine Sdn Bhd.

Other ways were forbidding divers from walking on corals, having a regulation on discharge of wastewater and certifying tour operators who implement sustainable practices in their operations, he said.

Lee said the environmental impact assessment used at present was a general policy and there was no specific policy or development order to protect the marine parks or coasts.

Lee said Malaysia would be able to learn from the success of other countries at the fifth Asia-Pacific Eco-tourism Conference (APeco).

To be held from Oct 27 to 28 at the Merang Suria Best Western Resort in Terengganu, APeco is organised by the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents in collaboration with the state government and the Tourism Ministry.

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