The Directorate of Sustainable Tourism (DST) of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) hosted the video conference entitled, “Models of Tourism Development in Costa Rica with an emphasis on the Experience of Rural Community-Based Tourism”. The Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in collaboration with the Department of Sustainable Tourism of the State University of Distance Learning (UNED, for the Spanish acronym) featured presentations to promote the capacity building initiatives.  This event was as a result of collaboration between the Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica and the ACS Directorate of Sustainable Tourism.

This highlights the advancements that have been made within the Work Programme of the Directorate of Sustainable Tourism, and especially through the Community-Based Tourism’s thematic area which seeks to support community-based tourism initiatives. These initiatives are aimed at promoting social inclusion, sustainable development as well as the development of tourism-related Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) through regional partnerships and collaboration to contribute to their sustainability and growth, maintaining cultural heritage and the environmental integrity of ecological areas.

The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) remains committed to ensuring that collaboration and cooperation thrives among all the countries of the Greater Caribbean. The ACS Directorate of Sustainable Tourism expresses its pleasure to have had the opportunity to host this video conference in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and UNED, taking in consideration that the success of sustainable community-based tourism lies in advancing cooperation and integration to build better economies and lives for our people.