ABTA is delighted to announce that Nikki White, ABTA’s Head of Destinations and Sustainability will deliver a key note address at the 5th Responsible Tourism in Destinations conference in Edmonton, Canada on 27th – 29th June 2011.

As a leading authority on sustainability, Nikki will outline the strong business case for being sustainable, explain ABTA’s engagement strategy and give examples of achievements through initiatives like the Travelife Sustainability System – a global sustainable supply chain management system. Since joining ABTA, Nikki has shaped ABTA’s sustainability engagement strategy that not only delivers across a diverse membership, but also demonstrates clear leadership on industry and destination challenges.

Nikki White said: “Consumers around the world are telling us that they want sustainable tourism products but responsibility for ensuring holidays are sustainable rests with the industry. This conference will act as a catalyst to main-stream the Canadian approach to sustainable tourism. It is an honour to be asked to attend”

For the first time, the Responsible Tourism in Destinations conference will open with a youth conference designed to share ideas and inspire tomorrow’s industry leaders to put sustainability at the heart of everything they do.

Harold Goodwin from the International Centre for Responsible Tourism commented: “Research conducted by the Canadian Tourism Commission in 2009 found that UK tourists were least likely to aspire to purchase an environmentally friendly holiday. Despite this the UK industry has arguably made more progress on making tourism sustainable than any other market. Having Nikki White at the conference will offer the chance for delegates to learn from this experience both good and bad in tackling sustainability at both  industry and destination level.”