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Wild Asia's Leaders in Destinations (LID) is a training programme crafted to expand our efforts to inspire change in operators in Asia. The training workshop is developed specially for tourism professionals and business leaders who want to understand and work towards sustainable tourism in their operations.
Through a showcase of best practices in Asia and using innovative training methods, the workshop aims to demonstrate that there are real financial incentives in operating sustainably. Run by experienced trainers and experts, our workshops are participatory, practical and lively. Currently, our workshops are specifically tailored to meet the specific needs of each business client. Our talented team can work with all levels of staff, and best of all we will come to you!
Workshop facilitators
The Leaders in Destinations workshop will be facilitated by highly experienced experts in responsible tourism, conservation, and education. They are:
Dr Reza Azmi
The workshop will be led by Wild Asia Founder and Director Dr Reza Azmi. A strategic thinker, Reza has had over 12 years of experience in understanding the issues of sustainable tourism. He has been involved in field to policy projects in nature conservation and sustainable development. His formal background has been with biodiversity conservation: taxonomy, ecology and researching the relationships between communities and natural resources. He currently specializes in looking at ways in which businesses can play a positive role in the local environments they operate in.
Gonthong Lourdesamy
Gonthong Lourdesamy is the General Manager for Wild Asia. She studied Marine Science and Environmental Biology in University of Kasetsart and Mahidol University. Her first environmental teaching career was as a Scuba diving instructor. She left the sea to teach environmental education as Director of the EE program on Chao Phraya River. This position involved leading trips to the Chao Phraya for international students and exposed them to environmental awareness firsthand. She has also worked on various independent education projects including: Thai NGO in energy conservation, environmental projects, conscious consumption, sustainability, as well as facilitating workshops and trainings for teachers, park rangers, and professionals throughout Thailand and neighbouring countries.
Melissa Cornejo
Melissa Cornejo is a Responsible Tourism Advisor for Wild Asia. She holds a Master's degree from Florida International University in natural resource management, with a specialty in responsible tourism. She also has a Masters degree in education, and has worked in both fields for the last 10 years. She is experienced in community based ecotourism, eco-lodge management, ecotourism certification and consulting, workshop training, and environmental education.
Ben Cijffers
Ben Cijffers is an Eco-Consultant for Wild Asia. He has BSc in Ecology and Conservation and worked in nature reserve management in the UK, before working in the property and business sectors for a number of years. His diverse work experiences have given him a deeply pragmatic view of sustainability and conservation, and he is passionate about finding innovative solutions that are viable for businesses and individuals alike.
Contact us if you would like to be kept on our mailing list for upcoming workshops.
Read more about our past workshops
Responsible Tourism in Action: Highlighting Best Practices in Asia
Participants across Asia, from Malaysia, Philippines, India, Indonesia and Cambodia converged in Kuala Lumpur in October 2009 to attend Wild Asia about Responsible Tourism in Action. Our participants, ranging from accommodation operators, travel writers and corporate leaders who are actively involved in CSR, were thoroughly engaged and found the workshop informative and insightful. The travel writers commented that the workshops provided useful insights on responsible tourism, as these are issues that travel journalism hardly covers. All in all the workshop was a buzzing network of like-minded people gleaning lessons from each other. Read more
Tourism, Environment and You - A training workshop.
Wild Asia and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) joined forces to facilitate a workshop about responsible tourism and the environment. The workshop stimulated ideas to strengthen MAS's commitment to environmental and social responsibility, thus, complementing and adding value to their Go Green programme. Read more
Business with a Conscience (RTA Workshop 2008)
Wild Asia defines Responsible Tourism (RT) as business practices by tourism operators that minimise environmental impact, empower local economies and respect local cultures. The winners of the Wild Asia 2008 Responsible Tourism Awards show that it makes perfect business sense to run their operations sustainably and responsibly. Read more

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1 older comment | show
reza
05-Jun-2004
Posts: 20
Friday, 17 July 2009 at 12:16 PM:
Thanks for the support! We are excited about the enfolding programme...and will try to get on skype a renown "eco architect" and we have other key speakers lined up that have a lot to share.
Yang Razlan
Friday, 11 December 2009 at 2:41 PM:
Kudos to Wild Asia. Wish i can attend the workshop but have to be somewhere on those dates. Hope to attend others soon. Well done again Dr Reza.
Vimal T
Wednesday, 16 December 2009 at 11:47 PM:
Wish I could also attend this workshop..
Best wishes