With less than 160 days to go, from the beginning of “Destination Amazonia Year 2009 – “Celebrating the Amazon” , organizers are expecting a year of great significance for the Amazon region as a tourism destination of immense value, richness and uniqueness in the world.

With less than 160 days to go, from the beginning of “Destination Amazonia Year 2009 – “Celebrating the Amazon” , organizers are expecting a year of great significance for the Amazon region as a tourism destination of immense value, richness and uniqueness in the world.

Destination Amazonia Year 2009 is a tourism initiative launched by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) in collaboration with the 8 Member Countries that are signatories to the Treaty for Amazon Cooperation – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. ACTO, with a mandate to promote the sustainable and integrated development of the Amazon region, invokes sustainable tourism in the Amazon as one of the vehicles to alleviate poverty and protect the environment in the region, while generating increased national incomes.

The designation of 2009 as Destination Amazonia Year is therefore a collaborative initiative aimed at raising the profile of the region as a tourism destination and attracting increased numbers of responsible visitors to the Amazon in 2009 and beyond.

The Amazon has a very powerful resonance worldwide, evoking simultaneously images of mystery, excitement, adventure, the unknown. A 2007 image study conducted among some market areas in Europe confirmed these associations. While the word “Amazon” is known almost universally, very little concrete knowledge exists about the countries that share the Amazon region, about the diversity of tourism attractions that the region boasts or about the tremendous and rich biodiversity that is so essential to life both in the region and in the planet.

Showcasing the Amazon
A slate of activities, that includes festivals (cultural, gastronomic and others), conferences and roundtables, special tourism expeditions by land and water, pageants and exhibitions, tourism fairs and sporting events, is in preparation by the 8 Member Countries that will be the principal drawing card for visitors in 2009. These events, in their range and diversity, are intended to introduce visitors to the body and soul of the Amazon – its cuisine, authentic cultural forms, biodiversity, ecological richness, magnificent landscapes, spectacular bird and animal life and engaging inhabitants.

The conferences and roundtables being planned for 2009 will also offer opportunity for deep reflection and earnest debate about issues and themes that relate to the future development and evolution of the Amazon region with a special focus upon the development of sustainable tourism in the region, and the challenges facing such development.

ACTO itself is focusing upon a competition related to Destination Amazonia Year 2009 – an Amazonia Photographic competition for professional and amateur photographers. The photographic competition will be in 3 categories: Amazonia landscapes (including fauna), Amazonia peoples and cultures, Amazonia flora. The best 30 entries will then form part of an Amazon-wide photographic exhibition.

The Destination Amazonia Year 2009 Road Show
Starting in October of 2008 the Member Countries and ACTO will participate in a special Road Show – a presentation of the Amazon in 3 cities. The first leg is “The Amazon and the World” in Brasilia where there will be a presentation before all foreign embassies accredited in the capital as well as to the tourism sector in Brasilia. This event takes place in October and will be jointly hosted by the University of Brasilia (UNB) Next will be “The Amazon in Toronto” – a 2-day event in Toronto from October 23 to 24 at George Brown College, the co-sponsor of the event. This event presents the Amazon to key members of the Toronto private sector and travel world. The last leg is “The Amazon in London” at World Travel Market where Member Countries will have an opportunity to promote their Amazonia attractions to a world audience. At each leg of the Road Show the 2009 Calendar of Events will be announced.

The Amazonia Tourism Brand
One of the principal and important legacies of the Destination Amazonia Year 2009 initiative will be the creation of a tourism brand for the Amazon. The tool of the tourism brand will give a living corporate identity to the region and, with its logo, will be a powerful statement of the arrival of the Amazon into the company of the world´s leading market destinations. Work is in progress on the creation of this tourism brand for Amazonia and a process of consultation with regional stakeholders is in train in order to define the vision, position and narrative of the Amazon region.

First ACTO AWARDS for Sustainable Tourism
As the Member Countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty put their countries in readiness for Destination Amazonia Year 2009, tourism scholars, professionals and entrepreneurs can reflect on the extent to which this initiative can enhance and enlarge the space for the practice of sustainable ecotourism in the Amazon. That is why in 2009 ACTO will be announcing the first ACTO Awards for Sustainable Tourism in an effort to promote (through example and rewards) the adoption of best practices in tourism operations. These awards will be made in accordance with criteria discussed with Member Countries at a Consultation in Coca, Ecuador.

ACTO envisages that *Destination Amazonia Year 2009* will itself be the launch pad for the Amazon as a new geo-destinatiion, offering multiple insights into both the practice and potential for that very caring brand of tourism in a region that is of vital importance to humanity. ACTO invites its readers to visit the Amazon in 2009. For more information, visit http://www.otca.org.br/en/.