BANGOR – Mark Torres, artistic director of Penobscot Theatre Company-Maine Shakespeare Festival and member of the Maine Arts Commission, was chosen to attend the United Nations world summit on ecotourism in Quebec City May 19-22.

Torres was selected to serve as a delegate along with Maine Arts Commission chairwoman Suzanne Olson and staffer Abbe Levin. Other delegates include staff from the Office of Tourism, the State Planning Office and the Department of Tourism. Members of the Tourism Commission also will represent Maine. More than 850 delegates from all over the world will attend the summit.

Ecotourism is associated with the topic of sustainable tourism within which lies the concept of cultural tourism. Its goals include the promotion of an authentic experience while preserving the cultural resources of the region and maintaining a balance between economic growth and preservation of quality of life. Ecotourism also focuses on building links between arts and heritage sectors and the broader tourism and economic development sectors in communities.

“The arts commission has long held the belief that arts and culture organizations can greatly benefit from adopting tenets and strategies which focus on the cultural tourist,” said Mark Torres.

“As a commissioner, I now sit on the arts and heritage task force which is a diverse group of stakeholder representatives from all walks of life in Maine,” he said. “Our group is composed of members of the Tourism Department, Department of Agriculture, Arts Commission staff and commissioners, hospitality industry members and Department of Transportation staff, all working with the State Planning Office to seek common ground in courting the tourist and coordinating our efforts and resources.”

Torres took part in cultural tourism workshops, sponsored by the Arts Commission in 1996, with Bill Moskin, a nationally recognized leader in cultural tourism. Moskin is the author of “Exploring America Through its Culture,” a report for the White House conference on travel and tourism.

After the summit, members of the Maine delegation will seek out stakeholders in tourism and related industries to begin discussion on strategies for working together.

Maine Shakespeare Festival 2002 will take place on the Bangor waterfront and at the Bangor Opera House July 5-Aug. 17. Past festival audiences represented at least 37 U.S. states as well as many foreign countries.

A not-for-profit organization, Penobscot Theatre Company- Maine Shakespeare Festival stages professional theater productions throughout the year and offers the largest arts educational outreach program in Maine.