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A presentation of the Sommets du tourisme Web site and Network

Christophe DEVOUASSOUX - Vice-chairman of the Mont-Blanc Leman Observatory, Archamps, France

 

It is my privilege to present the web site and ST network, which is both an enthralling and tricky task. Before I do so I would like to point out that this presentation uses a prototype web site which is not yet on line and which therefore cannot yet be accessed by all internet users.

Because of new and recent applications, this web site will be tested first by a limited number of partners for about two months, so that it may be perfected. It will then be available to all, especially those wishing to become members of the network.

The aim of the web site and network is, with a vast number of players, to encourage global reflection of tourism in the 21st century, by exchanging information and experiences. The idea of sustainable tourist development, which takes into account ecological, economic and social aspects, will be emphasised. Indeed it will show analysis and outlooks relating to the economic, cultural, social and ecological challenges of sustainable development.

The network's originality of purpose is to act as an interface between the various groups; these types of players notably academic tourist specialists, political institutions and economic associations are often separated from each other.

Presentation of the ST web site

The ST web site will consist of two separate sections :

• One section will be open to all Internet users and will provide information to the general public with the aim of increasing awareness.
• The other section is reserved for members of the ST network (with access using a password, but I will come back to the matter of members later), and will be used to develop an international network of competencies open to all players in tourism (governments, towns, tourists, companies, associations, professional consultants, NGOs, etc.)

The section open to all Internet users consists of the 6 subdivisions as follows :

The ST region : this section will present the region, namely Chamonix in association with Geneva and the Summits of Tourism congress, but it will also show the region in the wider sense, taking in Lyons, Grenoble and Turin. It will show the work, research and experiences of this region, which highlights the ST ambition and is a melting pot for reflection and experimentation.

The Summits of Tourism : in this section you will find all the necessary information concerning the preparation, agenda, accounts and minutes of annual ST meetings: in other words, the framework for deliberation, the programme, the participants, past events, etc. (The Sommets du Tourisme are a series of conferences and next year we will be looking into the tourism and growth theme).

The players : this section will offer a classic database, as up to date as possible, of all the potential players concerned by sustainable tourism.
These players are listed in alphabetical order as well as by subject, type of organisation and by country, etc.
This database will notably include : Professional associations, training centres, government and non governmental organisations, journalists and specialist media, sustainable development specialists, tourist offices, economic players (hotel groups, airlines, transport companies, travel agencies and insurance companies, etc.), ministries concerned with tourism without forgetting financially active bodies concerned with sustainable development on an national and international level.

The foundations of sustainable development : this section will provide information and documents explaining the notion of sustainable development, i.e. legislation, agreements, regulations, action programmes and indicators.

Practical information : as the name suggests, this section will provide statistics as well as information on available training schemes and the calendar of events.

The press section : this section is reserved for journalists. It will contain all the press articles relating to the ST as well as press releases, dates of press conferences and all other events likely to be of interest to journalists.

The members only section

This is the interactive part of the site and is also the most innovative as it uses brand new applications. For members only, this section must be used as a true working tool to complement the network that the ST hopes to develop.

This section will consist of the following five parts :

• The network partners : Giving simply the names, addresses and references of network members.
• The foundations of sustainable development : This will provide a modifiable data base concerning the application of sustainable development to tourist activities, i.e. indicators and various other reference documents for practical purposes.
• Reference documentation : this is in fact a documentation centre relating to sustainable tourism and which will be used on certain themes (for example, tourism and climatic change, tourism and heritage management, etc.). It will also contain relevant documents, articles and pieces of work listed under themes such as tourism and growth, tourism and culture, etc.
• Current reflections : review of the workshops, notes and products emanating from the interaction of network members:
• The exchange of experiences : I would like to develop this section slightly and will illustrate our approach using a few examples :

 

 

 

A few words about the tool and the innovative structure relating to how the network functions :

Oracle Web DB

The aim of this independent interactive section is to exchange thoughts, methods and experiments being carried out, before publication. If this section is only used to share experiences which have already been carried out and even assessed, it will merely be a documentation centre and nothing more. However we believe that its purpose should be to encourage players to work upstream and improve upon current reflections and experiences: to respect other people's ideas, network members must be bound by high ethical standards.

This charter of ethical standards is important and we will be inserting a draft charter into the "current reflections" section so that each person can comment on it and offer ideas or changes.

We invite you all to register as a member of the network and to take part in this electronic initiative. This network will enable you to :

• become one of the players of sustainable development
• be involved in establishing the principles and guidelines of sustainable development
• broadcast your work, research, experiences and actions relating to sustainable development
• have first hand access to information
• nd finally to have access to a global range of experiences which can be used as a basis for innovative actions

There are still many things that need explaining but unfortunately I have run out of time.

Thank you for your attention.