Mr. Gabor Vereczi is a Programme Coordinator at the Sustainable Development of Tourism Section of the World Tourism Organization. He was graduated at the Faculty of Tropical and Subtropical Studies of the Agricultural University of Godollo in his home-country, Hungary. During his studies he specialized on sustainable rural development, including rural tourism. He also conducted studies and field practices in this topic in the Netherlands and in Spain. He undertook postgraduate studies at the University of Minnesota, where he collaborated as an assistant researcher at the Tourism Centre. Later he gained extensive experiences in the fields of ecotourism, conservation, community development, environmental education and interpretation assisting NGOs in Mexico and Belize. Prior to his actual position he worked as a lecturer and researcher at the Tourism Department of the Kodolanyi Janos University College in Hungary, specializing on subjects of eco- and rural tourism, environmental economy and management. During this period he was engaged in tourism consultancy collaborating for regional tourism development programmes in Hungary, and for the Sustainable Tourism Indicators Workshop that was organized by WTO in Cozumel, Mexico, among others.

Statement: Summary of the WTO Research Programme on Ecotourism Generating Markets