Keynote Speakers

Luigi Cabrini (UNWTO)

Luigi Cabrini is the Director of the Sustainable Development of Tourism Programme, which contributes to one of the strategic goals of the World Tourism Organization with special focus on the Millennium Development Goals. The Programme undertakes research, develops manuals and provides guidance and training to the Member States and other tourism stakeholders on sustainable tourism policies and their application to tourism destinations. Its specific areas of work include: green economy, climate change, biodiversity, poverty alleviation, cultural and natural heritage and their relations with tourism. More information can be found on the UNWTO Sustainable Development of Tourism website.

Dr Natarajan Ishwaran (UNESCO)

Dr Ishwaran is the Director of UNESCO Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences Paris, and Secretary of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. He has negotiated UN treaties on heritage and the environment with many governments. Since 1986, he held several key posts within UNESCO including the Chief of the Natural section for UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. Dr Ishwaran gained undergraduate and masters degrees in zoology and animal ecology at Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka. A Fulbright-Hays scholarship then sent him to Michigan State in the USA to study for his doctorate in wildlife ecology and management in 1985. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Queensland, Australia. More information can be found on the UNESCO Ecological Sciences website.

Professor Richard Butler (University of Strathclyde)

Professor Richard Butler has degrees in Geography from Nottingham University and the University of Glasgow and spent thirty years at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, before joining the University of Surrey (1997 to 2005), and then the University of Strathclyde. He has published numerous journal articles and book chapters, and sixteen books on tourism. His principal research interests are the development of tourist destinations and the impacts of tourism. He is a former president of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism.

Dr Stephan Harrison (University of Exeter/Oxford)

Dr Stephan Harrison is Associate Professor of Quaternary Science at Exeter University and a Senior Research Associate at Oxford University Centre for the Environment. He has 25 years research experience on mountain responses to climate change in Patagonia and Asia. He advises the UK Health and Safety Executive on climate changes risks for nuclear sites in the UK. He has also advised, UK, US, Indian, Georgian, Chilean and Romanian Governmental organisations on climate change adaptation and impacts. More information can be found on the University of Exeter Geography website.

Mr James Whittingham (TUI Travel PLC)

James has more than 10 years experience in environmental management having spent nearly eight years with First Choice Holidays, now TUI Travel. Prior to working in tourism, James worked in consultancy advising clients in aviation, construction, finance & healthcare sectors. He holds a Masters degree in environmental technology from Imperial College London. His current role primarily focuses on reducing TUI Travel’s carbon emissions and helping the business cut its use of natural resources. He works closely with TUI UK and colleagues from across the Group including TUI Travel Airlines, Cruise, Hotels & builds capacity in many other departments to address the sustainable development challenge. More information can be found on the TUI Travel PLC Sustainable Development website.

Representative from the UNEP DTIE SCP Branch, Paris

Representative from the Tourism Unit European Commission, Brussels