Workshop programme

information

programme
- workshop
- study tour
- EuroGites
- ECEAT
registration
speakers
venue
accommodation
results

Workshop programme

June 1, 2004

		Optional visit to the office of the Latvian Country Tourism Association
	20:00	Welcome dinner on the roof terrace of the hotel "Gūtenbergs" in the old town of Riga
		Welcome address by Gundars Bojārs, the mayor of Riga
		Overnight in hotel in Riga

June 2, 2004

	9:00	Registration
	9:30	Opening remarks
		Juris Lujāns, Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia
		Asnāte Ziemele, President of Latvian Country Tourism Association "Lauku ceļotājs"
		Klaus Ehrlich, President of European Federation of Farm and Village Tourism "EuroGites" (A follow-up to the 1. European Congress on Rural Tourism, October 2003)
		Francesco Frangialli, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization
	10:30	Coffee break / Press conference

	Morning session: QUALITY
	The session will deal with implementing the quality systems, making them efficient and organising inspection work. The session will also discuss how basic common quality criteria can support country-specific, personalised and unique rural tourism product. Chairperson: Dr. Heike Glatzel, Environmental, tourism and regional consulting company "Futour", Germany
	11:00	Common understanding of rural tourism quality in Europe Antra Damberga, Latvian Country Tourism Association, Latvia EU Leonardo da Vinci programme project, http://www.traveller.lv/Leonardo_en.htm
	11:30	Quality assessment schemes in England David Stanbridge, Head of Quality department, "VisitBritain", UK
	12:00	Modules for measurement of customer satisfaction in farm holidays Manfred Gaber, Institute for Customer Satisfaction of Tyrol, Austria
	12:30	Discussions
	13:00	Lunch

	Afternoon session: TRAINING IN RURAL TOURISM
	The session deals with issues of human resources development in rural tourism: provider involvement and previous knowledge of the field as preconditions to benefit from training. Precise definition of training programmes, realistic goals of training. Chairperson: Mrs. Gudrun Thora Gunnarsdottir, Holar Agricultural Colledge, Iceland
	14:30	Towards quality rural tourism training in Europe Naut Kusters, "ECEAT - Projects", the Netherlands EU Leonardo da Vinci programme project, http://www.ruraltourisminternational.org
	15:00	Provider training in support of a strong brand of the product Jean O’Sullivan, "West Cork Leader Co-Op.", Ireland
	15:30	Developing educational methodology for rural animators Pia Kattelus, University of Helsinki, Institute for Rural Research and Training, Finland
	16:00	Discussions
	16:30	Coffee break
	17:00	Conclusions of the day
	18.00	Dinner
		Overnight in hotel in Riga

June 3, 2004

	8:30	Registration for new participants
	9:00	Opening of the workshop day

	Morning session: ENVIRONMENT
	The session deals with environmental eco-labelling in rural tourism – how to make eco-labels work: development, implementation and management. Chairperson: Ērika Lagzdiņa, Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Latvia
	9:15	The EU eco-label for tourist accommodation services Nicola Breier, European Commission, DG ENV, unit: Environment and Industry
	9:45	Sustainable tourism in Europe - harmonisation of diversity and promotion of eco-labels Herbert Hamele, European Network of Experts and Organizations in Tourism, Environment and Regional Development "ECOTRANS", Germany
	10:15	Discussions
	10:30	Coffee break
	11:00	Success and sustainability of eco-tourism products. Round table of experts The benefits, if any, to rural tourism establishments of protecting nature and landscape, of using water and energy resources rationally, of practising environmently friendly waste collection and management? Are tourists willing to pay more for environmently friendly activities, healthy locally-produced food, for information on local nature attractions, historical and cultural heritage sites? How to market eco-tourism amongst entrepreneurs, tourists and governmental bodies?
		Participants: Nicola Breier, “EU Flower” – the EU eco-label Agnese Jakoviča, “Green Certificate” – eco-label in Latvia (EU Life programme project) Jonathan Proctor, “Green Tourism Business Scheme” – eco-label in Scotland Christa Morawa, “Viabono” – eco-label in Germany Ronan Girard, European Landowners' Organization (ELO) - Rural development and rural tourism in Europe, more than an opportunity a means of revitalisation Michal Burian, ECEAT - International
	12:30	Lunch

	Afternoon session: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
	The session deals with practical IT solutions applied in rural tourism businesses and organisations Chairperson: Klaus Ehrlich, Andalusian Network of Rural Accommodations "RAAR", Spain
	14:00	Open source information and reservation system development for small and micro enterprises in rural areas Ģirts Ziemelis, Latvian Country Tourism Association, Latvia EU Phare programme project, http://www.celotajs.lv/Phare_en.htm
	14:30	Implementation and running a computerised reservation system – specific requirements of RT Pascal Boulet-Gercourt, French Federation of Rural Tourism "Gites de France", France
	15:00	Opportunities and limits of on-line reservation systems for rural tourism providers Hans Embacher, "Austrian Farm Holidays", Austria
	15:30	Discussions: IT for rural tourism providers and organisations – challenges and opportunities
	16:00	Coffee break
	16:30	Conclusions of the day
	18:00	Transfer to the countryside
	20:00	Folk evening in the tradition of the approaching Midsummer festivities (Latvian traditional meals, singing, dancing, bonfires, sauna and beer) in the castle "Igate"
	23:00	Transfer to the accommodation according to the chosen programme for June 4-5, 2004 or transfer back to Riga

June 4-5, 2004

	There are three options for programme continuation on June 4-5, 2004:
		EuroGites information morning and general assembly
		ECEAT general assembly
		Study tour to rural tourism establishments in Latvia