Roster of keynote speakers - past conferences

The Statia Sustainability Conference is designed to challenge tourism planners, policymakers, stakeholders and the general public to develop and implement strategies and practices that can sustain Statia’s limited resources. The St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation has been committed to the sustainability conference since the journey started in 2012. 

Tourism Motto: To Inform, To Motivate To Educate. 

The 6th Annual event of will be held at the Mike van Putten Youth Centre December 6 & 7, 2017. The theme of the conference this year is "Sustainability: a Tool for Development."

Roster of keynote speakers past conferences

2012
Keynote Speakers:

Hon. Haydn Hughes
Parliment Secretary/First nominated member
Chief Minister Officer & minister of finance the secretariat

2012
Conference theme:
"Powering Sustainable Development."

With much of the world's economies evolving - with all of the agriculturally dependent islands in the Caribbean now moving aggressively to carve out their piece of the Tourism pie, Statia too is looking to ensure that they get their fair piece of the pie in that it is a country that is opened to tourists and visitors and letting the world know they are! I must admit, this is the first time I have been to Statia but many Anguillians, including some of the leading bands from my island paradise, have visited and love it here. 

2013
Keynote speaker

Hon. Hugh Riley
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)

2013
Conference theme:
"Tourism & Water: Protecting our Common Future." 

The head of the Caribbean region’s tourism development agency has called for legislation to regulate the disposal of waste in Caribbean waters. Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 2nd Sustainable Conference in St. Eustatius, Hugh Riley, the secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), said the Caribbean had a responsibility to protect and preserve its water resources. The theme of the conference is Tourism and Water: Protecting Our Common Future. Water is at the core of the Caribbean’s efforts at sustainability and that it is important that the necessary policies be put in place to safeguard this vital resource. There are significant risks to wildlife and tourism opportunities that come with development; and water conservation in hospitality. So it’s up to the hotels to maintain safe and eco-friendly practices with respect to coastal waters.

2013
Keynote speaker

Professor Geoffrey Lipman
Director greenearth.travel, a global think tank network, promoting green growth and travelism - strategy, innovation, and funding.

2013
Conference theme:
"Tourism & Water: Protecting our Common Future." 

In his intervention, Professor Lipman focussed on the numerous Green Growth and Travelism (Travel & Tourism) opportunities within the region generally and for Statia in particular.  He said that “renewable energy projects are absolutely in the sweet spot for Green Growth and the wind and solar potential of the Caribbean are enormous. Through our partner GATEtrip, we will source new impact investment for green growth projects driven by clean energy technology and benefitting communities in the region.

2014
Keynote speaker

Earlston Mcphee
One of the Caribbean's leading advocates for sustainable tourism development.

2014
Conference theme:
"Tourism and Development in the Community."

“For the most part, we in the region continue to ignore consumer trends and demand for vacations that offer experience. The new consumers through surveys are saying that they want to experience our food, our music, our heritage; they want to get to know who we are as a people. Yet we continue to cater to the visitor of yesterday and offer products solely based on sand, sun, and sea. “We ignore the offerings of our rich history and culture, great tasting dishes, the pulsating sound of our Junkanoo, our steel pan. These are the real assets that differentiate us from other competing destinations and allow our visitor to return to their home with a sense of place of our islands.  in order to successfully face the competition, the Caribbean must develop effective leadership, develop linkages with other sectors in order to stem leakages, differentiate the product based on the characteristics of the destinations and the rich history, culture and heritage; promote and provide incentives and a conducive environment to attract international and domestic investors and move away from using increasing arrivals as a yardstick to measure success.

2016
Keynote speaker

Ian Blanchard
Managing Director/Coach CILC Action of Barbados

2016
Conference theme:
"Sustainable Accessibility" A Growing Business Venture."

There are conferences like this held annually around the world, where there are numerous discussions on issues relating to:

Sustainable development, Climate change, Rising water levels, the damage to the ozone layer, Food safety, and security, renewable energy and many other topics on how we care for and preserve ourselves on planet earth. The reality is, however, the in-spite of the numerous discussions and conversations enough is not being achieved. The sustainability of our families, communities, countries and the world is not achieved through knowledge alone, but through consistent application and practice of sustainable behavior by each one of us. 


Media contact: 
Teena V. A. Lopes 
Public Relations Officer 
St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation 
teenalopes@statia-tourism.com 
www.statia-tourism.com