CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
1225 EYE STREET NO 600, WASHINGTON, DC 20005 www.responsibletravel.org

---

Organizations Filed Purposes: PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE TOURISM PRACTICES

TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE TOURISM POLICIES AND PRACTICES GLOBALLY SO THAT LOCAL COMMUNITIES MAY THRIVE AND STEWARD THEIR CULTURAL RESOURCES AND BIODIVERSITY.

CUBA: CREST IS INVOLVED IN SEVERAL PROJECTS WITH CUBAN ACADEMIC AND NGO PARTNERS RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE TOURISM POLICIES AND PRACTICES IN CUBA. CREST COMPLETED ITS IN-DEPTH STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF CRUISE TOURISM AND 'LESSONS LEARNED' FROM OTHER CARIBBEAN DESTINATIONS WHICH HAS BEEN PUBLISHED AS AN E-BOOK IN SPANISH BY THE CUBAN PUBLISHING HOUSE, TEMAS. IN ADDITION, ROUTLEDGE PRESS IN UK HAS AGREED TO PUBLISH AN ENGLISH HARDBACK AND PAPER EDITIONS OF THE CRUISE BOOK WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2019. CREST ALSO LAUNCHED A TWO-YEAR STUDY OF SMALL SCALE AND HOUSEHOLD-BASED TOURISM IN CUBA, WITH PARTICULAR FOCUSES ON PINAR DEL RIO AND HOLGUIN PROVINCES AND HAVANA. CREST CONTINUED ITS ANALYSIS REGARDING ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN CUBA AND COSTA RICA.

OMAN: THROUGHOUT MUCH OF 2019, CREST, TOGETHER WITH TWO OTHER FIRMS, WORKED ON A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MASTER PLANNING PROJECT FOR THE SOUTH AL SHARQIYAH REGION OF OMAN. THE SOUTH AL SHARQIYAH GOVERNORATE IS ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE REGIONS IN THE COUNTRY, AND IT IS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE REGIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. IT IS A REGION SITUATED AT THE INTERSECTION OFTHE RUGGED EASTERN HAJAR MOUNTAINS, THE OMAN SEA AND THE ARABIAN SEA, THE SHARQIYAH SANDS, AND OMAN'S LARGEST ISLAND, MASIRAH. THE REGION IS STEEPED IN RICH HISTORY AND CULTURE RANGING FROM ANCIENT MARITIME TRADE TO THE UNIQUE BEDOUIN CULTURE OF THE DESERT REGIONS. THE SHARQIYAH SANDS AND THE TURTLE NESTING BEACHES OF RAS AL JINZ/RAS AL HADD ARE ALREADY WELL ESTABLISHED AS STOPS ON THE GRAND TOUR OF OMAN. AS IDENTIFIED IN THE OMAN TOURISM STRATEGY, THE REGION ALSO CONTAINS MANY OTHER "JEWELS OF OMAN." THE TOURISM OPPORTUNITY IN THIS REGION IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING TO BE APPRECIATED AND REALIZED. THE SOUTH AL SHARQIYAH MASTER PLAN IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE THE BLUEPRINT FOR DEVELOPING THE REGION'S TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES IN A MANNER THAT HELPS TO DIFFERENTIATE THE REGION FROM OTHER PARTS OF OMAN, AND FROM OTHER COMPETITIVE MIDDLE EASTERN DESTINATIONS, WHILE PROTECTING AND PRESERVING THE VERY QUALITIES AND RESOURCES THAT WILL DRAW DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL VISITORS. CREST'S OMAN PROJECT TEAM IS LED BY MIKE ROBBINS, A PARTNER WITH THE TOURISM COMPANY AND CREST BOARD CHAIR. ALL FOUR STAGES OF THE TOURISM MASTER PLAN WERE COMPLETED IN LATE FALL 2019 AND SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL.

WORLD TOURISM DAY, SEPTEMBER 27: CREST AND THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES COHOSTED A 2019 WORLD TOURISM DAY FORUM FOCUSED ON IMPACT TOURISM: GIVING TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE. THE FORUM, WHICH TOOK PLACE AT THE INSTITUTE OF PEACE IN WASHINGTON, DC, FEATURED PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON KEY ISSUES IN IMPACT TOURISM, INCLUDING DESTINATION-WIDE TRAVEL GIVING PROGRAMS, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, DONOR TRAVEL, CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, VOLUNTOURISM, AND INKIND DONATIONS. BUILDING ON THE 2019 FORUM'S MOMENTUM, CREST WILL BE RELEASING AN IMPACT TOURISM HANDBOOK IN 2020 FEATURING HOW-TO CASE STUDIES FROM MANY OF THE FORUM SPEAKERS, ALONG WITH OTHER BEST PRACTICE LEADERS.

---

---

Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202003199349300135_public.xml