Tahoe ChamberAnnual Tourism Forum: Responsible Tourism

The future of tourism in Tahoe needs to be sustainable. Join us to hear about key topics from industry leaders on how we can collectively make that happen the benefits that responsible tourism can bring businesses.

The forum will open with a continental breakfast and general session where attendees will first hear from Keynote speaker, Jessica Blotter of Kind Traveler.

Carl Ribaudo, President and Chief Strategist of SMG Consulting will then discuss the costs of doing nothing and remaining stagnant in community development.

Attendees will then have the option to attend one of four industry breakout sessions;

Stewardship Through Marketing
Noble Studios, Duncan Channon, and Weidinger PR will facilitate this session in a panel format to examine the meaning of responsible tourism and the importance of focusing on the greater economic benefits for local businesses while enhancing the well-being of the host communities.

Community Revitalization
Carl Ribaudo will go further in to what it means to do nothing when it comes to development and how the choices we do or do not make can create long term impacts that can be costly to recover from. 

Sustainable Recreation
Devin Middlebrook, Sustainability Program Coordinator of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, will lead the breakout with information on how businesses can better shape the future of Tahoe recreation. The session will explore outdoor recreation trends, transportation, the visitor experience, marketing, and funding.

The Role of Restaurants
Restaurants provide a unique opportunity to educate and engage with visitors about Tahoe's environment. Blue Angel Café owner, Jeff Cowen, Riva Grill owner, Scott Craig, and Tahoe Fund CEO, Amy Berry, will discuss how local restaurants are bringing sustainable practices to into their businesses and how they are effectively teaching their guests how to become stewards of the destination.

The morning will conclude with a final general session featuring keynote presenters from Reno-Tahoe International Airport and Take Care Tahoe. Attendees will learn about what is happening on a local level to help keep the tourism economy strong yet sustainable.

Tickets are on sale for $45 for chamber members and $60 for non-members and include a continental breakfast.

Keynote Speakers:

Jessica Blotter


Jessica Blotter is the CEO and Co-Founder of Kind Traveler (launched Aug. 16'), a public benefit corporation, that’s the first socially conscious 'Give + Get' hotel booking platform to empower travelers to benefit local & global communities, the environment, and animals. After a trip to Belize in 2012 witnessing heart-breaking poverty, polluted swamps, and the plight of emaciated dogs roaming the streets, she asked ourselves: "What if we could create a way that travelers could easily make a difference when they traveled?" After four years of development & research, the answer was KindTraveler.com.