[OKRA] (no subject)

[Shields, Susie]

Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department
News Release
November 3, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Jessica Blackstock
Phone:   405-230-8415
Email:   Jessica at TravelOK.com

Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation to Offer Free Sustainable
Travel Workshop in Ada
- ECO 411: The Buzz on Oklahoma's Sustainable Travel Program -

Oklahoma's sustainable travel program, ECO - Encouraging Conservation in
Oklahoma - will be hosting a series of free workshops across the state.
ECO's mission is to promote, educate and encourage sustainable travel in
Oklahoma. The workshops will focus on certification, education and
marketing options available to the tourism industry through ECO.

Jessica Blackstock from the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department
(OTRD) and Dianne Wilkins from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) will lead the workshops, which also include expertise from
other agency and community leaders. ECO is a partnership program between
OTRD and DEQ. 
 	
"Now more than ever, travelers are looking for green options and the ECO
program meets that need," said Hardy Watkins, executive director of the
Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. "These workshops will allow
our tourism industry to learn how to engage in the ECO program through
certification, marketing opportunities and educational components."

The workshop, ECO 411: The Buzz on Oklahoma's Sustainable Travel
Program, will provide information on the certification ECO offers for
the tourism industry. Participants will also gain insight into the
marketing components offered through the ECO program, plus additional
education about sustainable travel and the efforts going on in the
participants' community. The timing of this program is relevant as
recent studies showed that 51 percent of travelers will continue to make
green travel choices even during an economic downturn.
	
The Ada workshop will take place on November 5, 2009 from 10 a.m. to
noon at the Pontotoc County Technology Center. The Ada workshop is
hosted by the Ada Chamber of Commerce. There is no fee for the workshop,
however all interested parties must register for planning purposes.

For more information about the workshops or to register, contact Jessica
Blackstock at Jessica at TravelOK.com or call 405-230-8415. For more
information on ECO please see www.TravelOK.com/eco.

###


Susie Shields
Land Protection Division Sustainability Educator 
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 1677
OKC, OK  73101-1677
(405) 702-5166
susie.shields at deq.ok.gov


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