Conference showcases Anna Maria Island as an example of sustainable tourism

Anna Maria Island served not only as the backdrop but also as an example of best practices for sustainable tourism as the United Nations World Tourism Organization Blue Community Conference kicked off Thursday.

The four-day conference is part of the United Nations International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development showcasing the best practices of sustainable tourism being implemented by Blue Community Sustainable Tourism Observatory, which includes the cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key as well as Robinson Preserve and the historic Cortez fishing village.

On Thursday, participants of the conference that included local government officials spent most of the day learning about the Pine Avenue Restoration Project in Anna Maria, and later touring it. The project, which was initiated by restaurant owner Ed Chiles, includes 11 multi-use buildings on Pine Avenue that have all been LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — certified.

Participants gathered to share their best takeaways from the day before enjoying dinner at the Beach House, part of the Chiles Restaurant Group.

For many like Bradenton Beach Mayor William Shearon, the physical tour of the Pine Avenue Restoration Project was the most interesting part of the day, he said. “And I live on the island.”

“Hopefully, we can take what was done on Anna Maria and bring it to Bridge Street and Bradenton Beach,” Shearon said. “It it has been enlightening.”

For Chiles, part of what is so important about being recognized as a best practice for sustainable tourism — as part of the first conservatory in the United States — is how the three cities on Anna Maria Island are working together.

Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac echoed the sentiment. “We love that you are all working together to get recognized.”

Sustainable tourism is so important, she explained, because the county’s tourism is based on the environment.

“Everything we are doing here can be replicated,” Chiles said.

Authentic was a word he heard a lot Thursday, he said. The authenticity can be replicated using similar practices, according to Chiles.

“People are looking for real authentic Florida,” Benac said. “That’s what we are trying to offer, a real authentic tourism place.”

One example Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore gave was how Chiles used planks from the old Anna Maria City Pier on the walls of his Sandbar restaurant. As a 40-year resident of the island, she said that meant a lot to her.

“We have this agricultural heritage and fishing heritage,” Benac said. “So many places have lost that. We haven’t lost that.”

Being part of the observatory will serve as another feather in the island’s cap, Chiles said.

The conference is being hosted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization Blue Community Consortium, Patel College of Global Sustainability at the University of South Florida, Tampa campus, and the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 8:19 PM with the headline "Conference showcases Anna Maria Island as an example of sustainable tourism."