The vision of LATA is to responsibly promote Latin America as a leading tourist destination and through our Sustainability Travel Programme, we are creating a sustainable business community that promotes and champions the existing great work being done and provides best practice tools and resources for those starting out. The key objective of the sustainability conference taking place at LATA Expo is to address the business case for sustainability.
We acknowledge that trade shows such as LATA Expo have an environmental impact, with delegates travelling from overseas and around the UK to attend. We have strived to reduce our own impact for this year’s new-look event.
We are delighted to announce Wanderlust Magazine as the sustainability partner for LATA Expo, and longer term. Together, we will be supporting a reforestation project in Brazil with WeForest, focussing on mitigating the impact of LATA Expo.
Megan Parkinson, head of sustainability at LATA says “I am so pleased we can support this project in Brazil, which is more than just a tree-planting scheme and goes deeper into habitat restoration and the creation of wildlife corridors, which have proven to be more effective in fighting climate change by working with the local communities to protect and restore degraded forests and boost biodiversity. With their focus on responsible travel, Wanderlust is a natural sustainability partner for LATA and I look forward to working closer with the team in the future.”
LATA and Wanderlust will be specifically supporting the Tietê forest project in the Atlantic Biome. WeForest is working to restore the forest on the edges of the Tietê river and its tributaries with native species, protecting water bodies from soil siltation and runoff from herbicides and pesticides. The river is one of Brazil’s most polluted and the surrounding area has seen significant deforestation.
As well as restoring riparian forests and establishing wildlife corridors, the project protects water resources and improves the water supply, transitioning the region away from the use of herbicides that can have long-term damaging effects on biodiversity, water bodies and humans.
For more information on the project visit here. Details of how to donate and support are here.
Lyn Hughes, Founder of Wanderlust comments “Wanderlust is delighted to be Sustainability Partner of Lata Expo 2024. From our inception in 1993, following a trip to South America, responsible, conscious and sustainable travel has been at the heart of everything we do. We have taken that up a step in the last three years, recruiting dedicated sustainability editors, introducing sustainability columns in the magazine and website, and launching The Travel Green List, our annual recognition of the places, organisations and projects blazing a trail in sustainable travel, and the only list of its kind in the industry.
We and our passionate readers care about the world, its cultures, its people, its nature and so we’re excited to be working with LATA on supporting the wildlife corridor reforestation project on this occasion. And, going forward, we hope to further work with LATA and the LATA community on ensuring that travel is a force for good.”
Other actions we have taken to reduce the impact of LATA Expo include:
- By hosting everyone for the full duration in one location we have reduced the travel required once it begins.
- Asking exhibitors to minimise the promotional information they bring – if it’s necessary at all. Anything exhibitors bring must be taken away by them to reduce wastage.
- Providing a reusable coffee cup for delegates to use throughout and encouraging the use of reusable water bottles.
- Encouraging delegates to support We Forest’s reforestation project in Brazil to mitigate the impact of their travel to LATA Expo.
But we know there’s more we can do. All the attendees will be asked to complete a short survey outlining how they travelled from their home to the venue. Following LATA Expo, we will be creating an Impact Report measuring all aspects of the show. This will be a benchmark to create a roadmap to reduce our impact year on year.