Portland struts green tourism stuff

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Tourism industry leaders made Portland their stomping ground last week for an annual conference featuring the best of sustainable business and green living.

The Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference kicked off Portland-style Sept. 8 with the city’s signature mix of music, politics and green-leaning ideas. Opening ceremonies were ushered in by the Japanese drum ensemble Portland Taiko, followed by remarks from Congressman Earl Blumenauer and a panel talk with Oregon business and tribal leaders.

Thursday’s affair was a preamble to a lineup of intense workshops, social events and networking opportunities for attendees. The conference drew more than 400 business leaders from 30 countries, along with industry stakeholders and local community leaders. Fun fare included a sustainable fashion show, a sustainable culinary showcase and awards ceremony.

But most events were geared at education, designed for tourism industry pros keen on promoting responsible travel and on carrying Portland’s livability ethic home. Produced by The International Ecotourism Society, the event marked the agency’s 20^th year of promoting ecotourism and of using travel as a tool for conservation and sustainable development. It was hosted here by the local tourism agencies Travel Portland and Travel Oregon.

Blumenauer’s speech was the highlight of opening ceremonies at the Hilton Hotel at 921 S.W. 6^th Ave., and touched on things that both result from and foster the Portland area’s sustainability ethic, noting:

• The city is 75 minutes from the coast with the largest urban forest in the United States;

• It’s encompassed by the first land-use program to protect farms and forests, promote mass transportation and protect water;

• Portland saw a 400 percent increase in bike lanes and bike parking over 20 years, built for the same cost of a one-lane freeway;

• The state directs $20 million a year in direct revenue to Oregon farmers through farmers markets;

• It’s home to the most sustainable vineyards in the world and an interest in farm to fork dinners increases emphasis on local food production;

• And Oregon boasts more local breweries than any other city in the world.

"There is a lot here we think we can share with you and we can learn from one another. The role tourism, particularly sustainable tourism, plays in our economy and helps orient how people think about who they are and relate to their communities is very, very important," he said. "This is actually very serious business."

Blumenauer, a nationally known bike transportation supporter, noted bicycles are a $100 million sector in Oregon, employing roughly 12,000 people. He swore he wasn’t joking when he said a bike-related event takes place every 30 seconds in Portland. Pointing to Cycle Oregon as a banner event for the state, he urged tourism leaders to "think about ways of marketing sustainability by going back to the future and simplifying," he said.

In a town where bikes, beer and bread seem to never lose their fan base, there are lessons in the past, he said. Blumenauer pointed the nation’s long history of streetcars, adding that the first American-made streetcar in 58 years will hit Portland streets this year. The city is in its 10th year of hosting Chinese delegates that come to Portland to examine land use and planning through its lens.

"We are in the process here of trying to translate these principles of livability into the practice of how we operate, and from my vantage point ecotourism is one of the most important connections" to other parts of the world and to helping other people understand sustainability, he said.

He urged the crowd to learn from one another, strengthen their ties and continue to improve communities.

The audience included participants from countries around the globe, including Botswana, Canada, India, China, Panama, Costa Rica, and many nations in Europe.

Lee van der Voo, lvdvoo*at*gmail.com, is a freelance writer for Sustainable Business Oregon.