ITALY (eTN) – For the first time in four years, the World Heritage Touris Expo (WTE) will move from Assisi.
World Heritage Tourism Expo, the show dedicated to the promotion of world heritage sites as places of cultural and responsible tourism, will take place for the first time in the city of Padua, venue: the Palazzo della Ragione on September 19 to 21 next. The format, however, will not change with the exhibition spaces remaining open to the public with free admission, and in-depth meetings, moments of entertainment, and meetings dedicated to the tourism industry and the media being held.
WTE will move from Assisi to Padova (Padua). The success of the strongly-established event has attracted new exhibitors and operators at WTE, namely: the regions of Lombardia (hosting 2015), Campania, Puglia, Sicily, Veneto (the host region), Umbria, Tuscany, the Thermal Baths, the foundation of Aquileia, the City of Urbino, Ferrara, the Association of Italian Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage sites, Lazio and Roma, anthe Dolomites Foundation. Among the foreign countries, Jordan; Malta; Israel; and Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, the most important site of the Tatar culture, have confirmed their presence.
On September 19, there will be a workshop devoted to B2B buyers, and tour operators will have the opportunity to meet, and also to know and appreciate the beauty and traditions of the Paduan territory and become promoters.
On Saturday, September 20, the talk show “Unesco and Sustainability” will address the impact of tourism on World Heritage sites in the sphere of the Responsible Tourism Award and Cultural Tourism Award, an initiative totally proposed and implemented by the daily L’Agenzia di Viaggi (www.lagenziadiviaggi.it) that, also this year will award the WTE operators and tourists who are distinguished by their approach to sustainable and educational travel.
The premises are to overcome all the figures of the 2013, when there were more than 150 tour operators and tourist accredited buyers at the expo from Italy, France, Great Britain, Northern Europe, Canada, the USA, Japan, and 90 UNESCO sites present, Italians and foreigners.
To coincide with the WTE – with the offset of a day – the Days of the Mediterranean Diet will also take place, aimed at promoting the world-famous diet, already named an Intangible Heritage by UNESCO, for its healthy and balanced lifestyle.
The World Heritage Tourism Expo will be held at the Palazzo della Ragione, and the Days of the Mediterranean Diet is to take place September 20 to 22 in the most modern Fiera di Padova, in conjunction with Expobici. During the days, there will be hosted themed meetings, guided tastings, and exhibition booths of products that fall within the Mediterranean diet not only from Italy but also from other Mediterranean countries whose diet is typical, namely Spain, Greece, Morocco an , this year also Cyprus, Croatia, and Portugal.
The World Heritage Tourism Expo 2014 is being organized by CML Consulting in collaboration with the Association of Italian Heritage UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Veneto region, the municipality of Padua, the Chamber of Commerce of Padua, Padua Exhibition Centre, and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Among other collaborations enjoyed by the WTE are those with ENIT, Fiave,t and Astoi.
All information about the event and how to participate can be found on the website of WTE (www.worldheritagetourismexpo.com) and on Days of the Mediterranean Diet (www.medietexpo.com).
