THE WORLD Ecotourism Conference (WEC) 2012, which will be held in South Korea's Gyeonggi province/Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from September 2 – 5, will see a gathering of around 300 local and international delegates.

The theme for the annual conference, Ecotourism for Global Peace, is aimed at bringing together regional countries to promote collaborative and peaceful development of Transboundary Protected Areas.

During the plenary sessions, the success stories of corporate social responsibility programmes and rural ecotourism initiatives in developing countries will be used to demonstrate the value of ecotourism beyond socio-economic empowerment, and as means to maintain social stability in tourism destinations.

Lee Choon Loong, WEC 2012 convenor and CEO & president of DiscoveryMICE Malaysia, the company that is organising the event, said: “Gyeonggi Tourism Organisation and Ecotourism Korea, together with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ministry of Environment, have prepared an event that will introduce delegates to two iconic ecotourism sites in South Korea – the DMZ near the border of North Korea and the Bukhasan National Park in Seoul."

"There will also be two full-day technical tours, where delegates will get the opportunity to observe the development of the DMZ area as a peace park and ecotourism site. This will be followed by a post-conference spiritual journey at the Bukhansan National Park," he added.

“Having a conference in South Korea is also in support of South Korea’s presidential directive to develop the DMZ area for eco-tourism, and to coincide the event with International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, which starts on September 6 in Jeju Island.”

WEC 2011 was held in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.