Promoting biodiversity in the tourism industry: talks to be held by MTA and MHRA

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) with the support of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) is organising a series of talks on the importance and richness of our local biodiversity for employees working within the hospitality industry.

During 2010, the World is celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity, and so this year the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) has announced that the World Tourism Day celebrations will take place under the theme Tourism and Biodiversity. The theme highlights the importance of biodiversity to tourism and the role of sustainable tourism in the conservation of life on Earth.

Peter Gingell, responsible for communications at MEPA said “Throughout this year, MEPA has embarked on an educational programme through various initiatives and a campaign to stimulate the public’s awareness on the true meaning of the word biodiversity. We are working to ensure that biodiversity does not remain an alien word for Maltese but becomes part of our vocabulary.” He added “knowing the real meaning of biodiversity is in itself another aspect of safeguarding our biodiversity.”

The talks highlighthow Maltese biodiversity is an invaluable heritage, which apart from its intrinsic values, offers other values, such as social, aesthetical, recreational, educational, scientific, cultural and ecological, while also equip employees working within the tourism industry to appreciate and share with tourists our hidden treasures.

The talks that MEPA is carrying out form part of a series of public events the Malta Tourism Authority and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism are organising to celebrate World Tourism Day.