The European Cultural Tourism Network organised the 11th International Conference for Cultural Tourism, and Interpret Europe was there.

The 11th International Conference for Cultural Tourism in Europe took place in Pafos, Cyprus, from 25-27 October. An EYCH event, it contained a rich programme with presentations and workshops that covered trends, case studies, best practice, methods and concepts of sustainable tourism, from different European countries.

The European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) took great care to ensure the conference was of high quality, and the Pafos Region made sure that all conference participants enjoyed the always generous Cypriot hospitality.

I had the pleasure of representing Interpret Europe at this event, invited by ECTN, whilst also promoting our training programme – that raised the interest of many. My presentation on how IE’s Certified Interpretive Host courses can promote sustainable tourism in a region, stirred many discussions, and seemed to be what lots of people working in the tourism sector are looking for. 

Furthermore, I had been asked to talk about IE and our training programme as one of the presenters on the final panel of the conference. In this case, I chose to talk about the quality criteria of our courses, and explain how these are implemented in the course for Certified Interpretive Guides. Again, people’s response to a course that improves guides’ competences was very positive and it may even lead to CIG courses in northern Europe!

Finally, the conference included the customary Awards ceremony for Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism 2018, which this time were offered along with Europa Nostra and the European Travel Commission. 

As for all conferences, discussions between participants during the breaks, meals and visits were as valuable as the presentations themselves. Exchange of ideas, development of relationships and building connections with tourism organisations are always welcome. And in this case, Interpret Europe was seen as a respected network of experienced professionals promoting heritage interpretation as a key factor for the future of sustainable tourism in Europe.

Valya Stergioti is IE’s Training Coordinator and works as a freelance Interpretive trainer and planner. She can be contacted at: valya.stergioti@interpret-europe.net

To cite this article:
Stergioti, Valya (2018) ‘Heritage interpretation for the future of sustainable tourism’. In Interpret Europe Newsletter 4-2018, 6.
Available online:
www.interpret-europe.net/fileadmin/Documents/publications/Newsletters/ie-newsletter_2018-4_winter.pdf