PUBLISHER'S REMARKS: The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) Wednesday launched a campaign to promote tourism in the Amazon Rainforest area. This is a win-win opportunity for CARICOM to explore from the perspective of multi-destination tourism within the Nature-Adventure niche market segment. Positive Tourism News applauds Donald Sinclear for his visionary leadership in this project and calls on him to use the principles of sustainable tourisim development to protect the last bastion of the most bio-diverse Rainforest in the world for the benefit of future generations. The Amazon Rainforest area occupies over 7.5 million square kilometers, about 40 percent of South America's territory, but it does not attract as many tourists as it could. In order to attract tourists, both domestic and foreign, the ACTO will promote, during the next year, over 80 events in the eight countries in which the Amazon River Basin is located: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

Among the events foreseen in the campaign are festivals, congresses, indigenous celebrations, social forums and carnivals.   "It is an enormous challenge and a great opportunity to generate revenues to the local populations," said Francisco Ruiz, ACTO's general secretary, during a press conference. According to Ruiz, only 3 percent of Brazilians choose the Amazon Rainforest area as a tourist destination.