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RPTA PLANNING TWO MAJOR CONFERENCES IN 2011

By Kalli Sandberg (RPTA '13), Staff Writer

The RPTA department is looking forward to a very busy year. This year, the RPTA department has taken on the huge endeavor of planning both the California Sustainable Tourism Summit and the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference. And according to the Dave Wehner, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences (CAFES), these opportunities are precisely the type of "learn-by-doing" projects that help make Cal Poly such a special place. Both projects have multiple RPTA students involved in integral roles, and Kendi Root is serving as the lead faculty member and liaison for both opportunities.

The California Sustainable Tourism Summit is put on by the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC). The 2011 event will be held in Los Angeles and is being planned by a team of four RPTA students; Carrie Nasby, Torey Gilmore, Lauren Rosen, and Devon Carlstrom. These individuals were enrolled in Kendi Root’s RPTA 412 class and took an interest in planning a Sustainability Summit. Nasby stated, “I am passionate about the cause, sustainable travel and tourism. It was also something at the time I wanted to learn more about. Since I'm from the Los Angeles area, I figured that being a part of this event would be a great networking opportunity with individuals in the industry in the Los Angeles area.” Nasby explained the planning process and the collaborative efforts of the team, “To split up the tasks to be completed for this Summit, we divided certain jobs to each person. Although we all are assigned to a job or two, we basically all work together and help each other out with each individual task. My role has been to help with theme development and finding sustainable partners in the LA area for multiple areas of the event. We also have conference calls with individuals at CTTC once or twice a month.”

Cal Poly RPTA students are also busy planning the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC) held annually by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES). The 2011 conference will be held in Hilton Head, SC from September 19-21, 2011. Melissa Crist is working on a special events planning concentration and is helping plan the conference. Crist said, “ESTC is in its fifth year and focuses on the latest sustainable business strategies as well as new developments in our attempts to 'go green.' The conference has four tracks attendees can follow with specific speakers for each area. This year the four major topics to be discussed are Business Sustainability Practices, Conservation and Communities, Partnerships in Press Policy and Politics, and Places and Experiences.” Crist is in charge of meeting logistics, speakers, and audio-visual (AV). Meeting room layout, room changes for nightly functions, speaker accomodations, speaker-audience communication, volunteer training, and AV equipment management are just a few of her many responsibilities. Crist is just one of the many individuals involved in the intricate planning of this event.

The RPTA department is honored and privileged to have the opportunity and resources to plan these two amazing conferences. With a focus on the importance of sustainability in the tourism industry, these two conferences are setting the standard for future “green” conferences and sustainability efforts.

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