Welcome to the last FTTSA newsletter for 2009.

In this month's edition we share with you our latest accomplishments and interesting stories!

FTTSA wins another Imvelo Responsible Tourism Award
Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) won the 2009 Imvelo Responsible Tourism Chairman's Award . The Imvelo awards ceremony was hosted under the custodianship of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA) and fittingly took place on World Responsible Tourism Day, 11 November, in Johannesburg. Now in their eighth year, the Imvelo Awards recognise tourism and hospitality businesses that make a real, measurable and sustained contribution to responsible tourism and have a huge impact on tourism in southern Africa, creating significant awareness of environmental management and social development issues in the industry. FTTSA previously won the 2005 Imvelo Responsible Tourism Award for Best Practice in the Awareness Raising category.

Receiving the award, FTTSA's Executive Director, Jennifer Seif thanked everyone in South Africa who has contributed to FTTSA's success over the years. “This includes staff, partners and donors, FTTSA-certified tourism businesses, FTTSA board and panel members and of course, the growing number of tourism product owners who take Responsible Tourism development in South Africa seriously”. Please click here to view FTTSA's accolades.

FTTSA attends the Swiss Travel Trade Workshop (TTW)
On 4-5 November, FTTSA participated in the annual TTW which took place in Montreaux, Switzerland. This international trade show attracts a large majority of the Swiss travel trade. Since 2006, FTTSA has, with the generous support of the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), the South African Embassy in Switzerland, South African Tourism (SAT), and the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP), assisted a number of small and medium sized tourism businesses to attend this trade show. TTW is an outstanding opportunity to gain exposure to the Swiss and neighbouring markets, and the initiative provides ample support for the many first-time international trade show participants in the group. The South African stand drew a lot of attention this year, both from the international travel trade and media, and it comes as no surprise that everyone's attention was on the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Kudos to !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre
FTTSA would like to congratulate !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre for its accolade, winning the 2009 Imvelo Responsible Tourism award under the Investor in People award category. ! Khwa ttu practices responsible tourism by providing training and education to the San people involved with the centre in a number of areas including hospitality skills, heritage management and cultural tourism, craft shop management, English communication and literacy skills, as well as supporting the production of San crafts. San trained directly by !Khwa ttu are encouraged to share their newly acquired skills and knowledge with the wider San community. To experience the San culture please visit !Khwa ttu.

FTTSA certifies Thakadu River Camp
Thakadu River Camp has been awarded FTTSA-certification for demonstrating ethical responsible tourism practices. Thakadu is a five-star, wholly community-owned tented safari camp within Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province. Thakadu is an eco-tourism partnership between the North West Parks and Tourism Board, the Molatedi community and The Madikwe Collection. This pioneering partnership concept is an innovative approach to community development in South Africa whereby (in the case of Thakadu) the community owns the assets and outsource various operational aspects with a skills transfer objective. The Molatedi community has a 45-year lease to operate a commercial lodge with traversing rights across the Madikwe Game Reserve. As a result, benefits accrue back to the community itself both in terms of economic gain as well as capacity development. This approach to socio-economic development has become more prevalent within eco-sensitive areas and is consistent with the objectives of the people of the local area who believe that not only should the environment be preserved, but also the surrounding communities. For more information, please visit Thakadu River Camp .

Giving with love creates hope and faith with Uthando South Africa
FTTSA has certified Uthando South Africa's activities. Uthando South Africa is a Cape Town-based non profit organisation aimed at providing a platform and sustainable infrastructure for the upliftment and support of the country's most destitute and marginalised communities. Uthando, which means “love” in Zulu/Xhosa, is a unique model for traveller's philanthropy, providing local and international tourism businesses (e.g. tour operators) with a reliable and trustworthy mechanism to implement their social investment programmes. This newly certified initiative showcases beneficiary projects to travellers in an authentic and sustainable way, further increasing prospects for fundraising and other forms of assistance for these projects. FTTSA-certified activities actively seek to optimise the socio-economic returns to communities in which they operate. Uthando South Africa procures goods and services from several small, local suppliers and has made financial contributions to numerous social development projects that have proven how their initiatives are making a difference, which in turn enables these projects to fund specific needs or programmes. To find out more about this amazing initiative, please visit Uthando South Africa.

FTTSA certifies Ocean Safaris on the Garden Route
Ocean Safaris is a boat-based whale and dolphin watching company in Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route with one of the limited permits to approach Southern Right Whales within 50 metres! Because of this, they offer spectacular boat-based whale watching and dolphin discovery safaris as well as a variety of tailor-made and private marine expeditions. FTTSA-certified activities seek to promote socio-economic upliftment in the immediate area and Ocean Safaris is no exception. This business contributes financially to the daily running of the SONOP Soup Kitchen in Kranshoek, Plettenberg Bay.

One of FTTSA's key principles is Respect for Environment, which can be measured in relation to planning, operational management, and investment in conservation activities. Ocean Safaris' conservation activities include: providing a platform for the Centre for Dolphin Studies (CDS) to conduct valuable research for conservation and educational purposes, offering local school children educational marine cruises and various awareness raising activities. To go on a responsible whale watching and dolphin experience visit Ocean Safaris.

FTTSA says goodbye
FTTSA says goodbye to Martina Knittel who was a Research Intern for three months assisting FTTSA with establishing guidelines for the supply chain of fair trade tourism packages.

We also bid farewell to Sarah Van Mill who has been with FTTSA for over a year working as a Research Intern and Interim Network Coordinator.

FTTSA would like to thank these two dynamic individuals for their valuable contributions to FTTSA and we wish them all the best with their future endeavors.

New face at FTTSA!
FTTSA welcomes Kate Finlay who is FTTSA's Research Assistant and will be working on the Sustainable Tourism Network Southern Africa (STNSA). Kate holds an MSSc in Culture, Communication and Media Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She has previously worked as the editorial co-coordinator for the Journal of African Cinemas , a marketing assistant at Duff Miller College and a researcher at the Durban town council and at UKZN. “I am excited to promote and to help inform policy creation regarding responsible and sustainable tourism and I feel privileged to be working for such a worthy cause.”

Cape Town wins global Responsible Tourism Award
The City of Cape Town has won the 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award in the Best Destination category. This award was presented to the City at a ceremony on World Responsible Day, 11 November 2009, at the World Travel Market in London. Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson, accepted the award on behalf of the City and said: “It was a great honour for me to receive this award on behalf of the people of Cape Town and its tourism industry. It means that it is not only our city's splendid natural beauty that makes Cape Town a great tourist destination, but also the fact that we have a leading tourism and hospitality industry. Cape Town is ready to greet the world during 2010." Click here for more information on Responsible Tourism in Cape Town.

The Responsible Tourism Awards were founded in 2004 by responsibletravel.com , which run the Awards in partnership with The Daily Telegraph, Geographical Magazine - the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society, and World Travel Market. The Awards recognise individuals, companies and organisations in the travel industry that are making a significant commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and are providing a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation. For more information on these awards, please visit Responsible Tourism Awards.

National Events

The Tourism, Sport & Mega Events International Summit, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, 24-26 February 2010
This conference will provide a forum to consider the impact of mega events - particularly sports, culture, exhibitions and entertainment - from a tourism perspective. It is highly relevant because of the positioning of such events in national development strategies. It is prompted by the growing numbers and effects of such events, at global and regional levels, the economic, social and environmental consequences for host nations and the massive multimedia opportunities for nation branding and export promotion. And finally, it is timely because of the proximity of such events as the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa, the World Exhibition in Shanghai China, the Winter Games in Canada and the Olympic Games in the UK. To register or for further information please contact, Thebe Exhibitions & Projects at lbeukes@deat.gov.za or visit Meetings Africa.

World Holiday and Travel Fair, Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg, 16-18 April 2010
Proudly presented by International Banking at ABSA, the World Holiday and Travel Fair is the only international outbound travel exhibition in southern Africa that will give visitors the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of what is on offer in the wonderful world of travel both within Africa and around the world. The aim of the World Holiday and Travel Fair is to bring affordable travel to all South Africans and provide holiday choices for the whole family. Visitors will benefit from special deals, packages and discounts from over 200 exhibitors, while also having the chance to attend travel workshops and gain valuable insight and travel tips. For more information contact Glynis Anderson Branches at info@worldtravelfair.co.za.

International Events

International Rainforest Tourism Conference, Palm Cove, Cairns, Australia, 22-24 June 2010
The aim of this conference is to provide a platform to bring together researchers interested in rainforest tourism to share ides and research findings. The conference will also provide an opportunity to share ideas with researchers who are involved with rainforest management and rainforest science. 

The conference topics include:

• Rainforest tourism in both tropical and temperate forests
• Host communities and the forest
• Flora and fauna management
• Climate change and the future for rainforest tourism
• Rainforest science
• Sustainable rainforest management
• Visitor and recreation management
• Park management
• Indigenous tourism
• Interpretation
• Stakeholder management

For more conference information contact Professor Bruce Prideaux at bruce.prideaux@jcu.edu.au .

Announcements

Tourism for Tomorrow awards deadline extended
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is pleased to confirm that the application deadline for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2010 entries, co-sponsored by Travelport and The Leading Travel Companies' Conservation Foundation, has been extended until Monday 14 December 2009 . Winners and finalists of the Awards will be publicly recognised and will meet government and industry leaders at the Awards ceremony during the Global Travel & Tourism Summit. They will also receive outstanding international media exposure, thanks to WTTC's extensive media partnerships, and be endorsed by a panel of internationally acclaimed experts in sustainable tourism. The Awards are determined in four categories: Destination Stewardship, Conservation, Community Benefit and Global Tourism Business. There are no entry fees and applications may be submitted online at Tourism for Tourism Awards . Alternatively, application forms may be obtained from WTTC. Please contact Susann Kruegel, Manager e-Strategy and Tourism for Tomorrow Awards via email at susann.kruegel@wttc.org or by phone at +44 (0) 20 7481 80 07.

Call for papers
The UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) and the Ministry of Tourism in South Africa are calling for papers on mega-event sustainability to be presented at a colloquium co-hosted by the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, Nottingham University, United Kingdom. The colloquium is scheduled for Wednesday, 24 February 2010, to coincide with the official opening of the International Summit on Tourism, Sport and Mega-events in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The committee welcomes proposals for papers/case studies from researchers, scholars, consultants, policy makers and practitioners worldwide. Please submit 300 word proposals by Friday, 4 December 2009 (late submissions will not be considered). For enquiries please contact Dr. Shaun Vorster at svorster@tourism.gov.za .

Call for entries for 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)  is inviting tourism companies and organisations from around the world that can demonstrate best practice in sustainable tourism development to submit their applications for the 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, now in their sixth year under WTTC's stewardship, are aimed at recognising best practice in sustainable tourism within the Travel & Tourism industry worldwide. FTTSA was named as a finalist in the prestigious Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2008 (Investor in People category). The deadline for applications is Wednesday, 2 December 2009. For more information please contact Susann Kruegel, Manager, e-Strategy and Tourism for Tomorrow Awards World Travel & Tourism Council send email to Susann.kruegel@wttc.org or visit the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards website.

• Since October 2003, 60 tourism businesses have qualified for FTTSA-certification, including hotels, safari lodges, adventure activities, township tours and small scale accommodation. Of the 60 products currently certified, 9 (15%) are owned by community trusts (wholly or in part) or black entrepreneurs. The size of the workforce benefiting from improved wages and working conditions associated with certification currently numbers in excess of 2272 staff members, of whom 80.5% are historically disadvantaged individuals and 53% are women. To go on a fair trade holiday visit FTTSA .


• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched its annual global trends report in June 2009. The report confirms that investment in renewable energy was $155 billion, higher for the first time than investment in new fossil fuel generation at $110 billion. Investment in renewable energy was up from only about $35 billion in 2004. To access further information click here .