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University of Kent lecturer to address World EcoTourism Conference
15 July 2009 — 17 July 2009
Kent, University of
The University of Kent’s tourism development expert Dr Mark Hampton has been invited to be a keynote speaker at a prestigious international conference.
Dr Mark Hampton, who runs the University’s Tourism Management degree, which is based at the Medway campus, will be addressing the World EcoTourism Conference. It takes place from 15 to 17 July in Vientiane, Laos, South-East Asia.
The annual conference brings together government officials, tourism chiefs, business leaders and academics from across the globe, and addresses a host of issues vital to the future of the tourism industry, such as conservation, environmental protection, preservation of ethnic communities and impacts of climate change. The conference will be officially opened by Bouasone Bouphavanh, the Prime Minister of Laos.
Dr Hampton, who is the University’s Director of CENTICA – the Centre for Tourism in Islands and Coastal Areas, part of Kent Business School – will be speaking on the topic of ‘Responsible Backpacker Tourism in South-East Asia’.
He has previously carried out a major research project, funded by the Malaysian government, to assess the importance of backpackers to the tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.
Dr Hampton said it was exciting to have the opportunity to share his findings into the backpacker market with so many significant figures within the global travel and tourism industries. ‘Backpackers once suffered from a poor image as low-budget travellers, but now we are finding that they are hugely important for the economies of developing countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos,’ he said.
‘Backpackers tend to stay for longer than average tourists, and the majority of the money they spend stays in the local economy. By eating in local restaurants, travelling on local buses and staying in locally-owned accommodation, for instance, they can be more valuable than conventional tourists, who often stay in foreign-owned hotels consuming imported food and drinks.
‘Backpacker tourism could therefore play a major role in ensuring economically and environmentally sustainable forms of tourism. At the same time, it’s important to consider whether backpacker tourism can be truly responsible in developing countries, and whether, if backpackers arrive en masse, the social and cultural impacts might start to become negative for local host communities.
‘Overall, it’s a great honour to be invited to speak at the conference. It’s also gratifying to see that many government tourism planners in the Asia Pacific are now starting to pay attention to the economic potential of backpacker tourism.’
In 2007, Dr Hampton was honoured by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia by being appointed Visiting Professor of Tourism. His other research projects have included a study of the economic and social impacts of international dive tourism in Malaysia.
http://www.kent.ac.uk/news