Meet Catherine Mara

Catherine Mara believes sustainable tourism activities should be incorporated into everyday life and advocated by those in leadership roles and community. The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) Sustainable Tourism Assistant has been involved in sustainable tourism activities and projects around the region.

“One of the first works I engaged in and was a great experience and a learning opportunity was the development of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework in 2021. This experience taught me that sustainable tourism should be built not only with the voices of those in leadership roles but right at the community levels as well,” she said.

“In my opinion, Goal 3 on Visible and Valued Cultures of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF) can be achieved by involving the right type of people who are knowledgeable in the culture of that country and who are genuinely passionate about amplifying and promoting the culture and heritage. It is important to involve the culture and creative industries as they will be better equipped to promote the importance of the destination’s culture and protect it from the negative impacts of tourism such as commodification.”

Ms. Mara shared the work being carried out by SPTO’s Sustainable Tourism department that has boosted the Sustainable Tourism sector in various communities in the region. These are:

Pacific Tourism Waste Action Initiative (PTWAI)

The PTWAI is an initiative to reduce plastic waste and turn them into decorative pieces, jewelry, ornaments, or stationary. The PTWAI is designed to build capacity and share knowledge within the tourism industry. Jewelry made from plastic waste has been sold back to tourists to offset their plastic footprint. Six countries in the region have implemented the PTWAI.

 SPTO SME Recovery Toolkit

In response to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, SPTO developed a recovery toolkit for tourism SMEs in the Pacific. Recognizing that SMEs hardly received support for COVID-19 recovery, the SPTO Toolkit was designed to assist these small enterprises, whether running for years or new ventures. The toolkit comprises seven chapters focusing on key business areas for tourism, from understanding emerging market trends to developing your product to pricing, marketing, and distribution.

ENDS