RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
Tourism is
the world’s largest industry. According to preliminary estimates of the World
Tourism Organization (WTO), WTO World Tourism Barometer, the volume of
international tourism as measured in international tourist arrivals was 694
million in 2003, which was a reduction by some 8.6 million arrivals compared to
the 2002 volume of 703 million. The Iraqi conflict and the SARS panic are
mentioned as factors contributing to the decline. In South Africa, foreign tourist arrivals increased by 64,
666 tourists in the first quarter of 2003, compared to the first quarter of
2002.
With the
growth in tourism, there are benefits to be gained and costs that have to be
borne. Benefits include more employment, foreign exchange earnings, and the
like; while the costs include such things as environmental degradation, social
exploitation, etc. Faced with such gains and losses associated with tourism
development, issues of responsibility must be incorporated into the tourism
industry. Responsible tourism has thus emerged in recent years as a strategy
that gives due weight to economic, social as well as environmental impacts and
seeks to maximize the benefits for local destination stakeholders.
And across the globe there has been a growing interest in making tourism
as responsible as it can be.
In South
Africa, efforts towards responsible tourism started to appear in government
policy with the advent of the 1996 White Paper on the “Development and
Promotion of Tourism in South Africa”. This White Paper explicitly recognized
and promoted the concept of responsible tourism. Then, there was a
multi-stakeholder process in 2001-2002 aimed at producing national policy Guidelines
for Responsible Tourism. The South African Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism coordinated this effort, and the UK Department for
International Development (DFID) provided the funding. Most recently, in 2003, a
Responsible Tourism Handbook was released, which is a manifestation of
the rising interest in responsible tourism in South Africa.
Responsible
Tourism Resources from South Africa
·
White Paper on the Development and Promotion
of Tourism in South Africa, 1996. The White Paper
is available online at: http://www.environment.gov.za/PolLeg/WhitePapers/tourism96.htm
·
The Responsible Tourism Handbook. “Responsible
Tourism is a tourism management strategy embracing planning, management, product
development and marketing to bring about positive economic, social, cultural,
and environmental impacts” cites the Responsible Tourism Handbook: A Guide
to Good Practice for Tourism Operators, published in South Africa in 2003.
The Handbook is available online at: http://www.satis.co.za/responsible_tourism_handbook/
·
The Guidelines for Responsible Tourism. “Guidelines
for Responsible Tourism” – guidelines of the South African Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Available at: http://www.icrtourism.org/International%20Initiatives/Responsible%20Tourism%20Guidelines.doc
Jennifer Seif’s presentation on responsible tourism to
FEDHASA.
Available at: http://www.fairtourismsa.org.za/knowledgebank/fttsa_fedhasa.ppt
Responsible
Tourism: Global Initiatives
Useful
Links
·
Tour Operator’s Initiative for Sustainable
Tourism Development. This is a network of tour
operators with the mission to improve the sustainability of the tourism
industry. Contact details: Giulia Carbone, Associate Programme Officer –
Sustainable Tourism, United Nations Environment Programme.Tour Mirabeau - 39-43,
quai André Citroën 75739 Paris Cedex 15 – France. Tel: +33-1-44371468. Fax:
+33-1-44371474. Email: giulia.carbone@unep.fr.
Website link: http://www.toinitiative.org
·
Partners in Responsible Tourism (PIRT).
This is a network of individuals and representatives of tourism companies, with
interests in adventure travel and ecotourism, who are concerned about the impact
of tourism and tourism development on local environments and cultures,
particularly those of indigenous people. Contact details: Partners in
Responsible Tourism, P.O. Box 237, San Francisco, California 94104-0237. Phone
(415) 675-0420. Email info@pirt.org.
Website link: http://www.pirt.org/
·
The Responsible Tourism Partnership.
The Responsible Tourism Partnership is a non-profit organization that works in
partnerships, to improve destinations for local people and their visitors, with
tourism businesses in destinations and originating markets, local and national
governments and communities, and travel writers and journalists. Website link: http://www.responsibletourismpartnership.org/
·
The United Nations Environment Programme,
Production and Consumption Branch, contains items on tourism related to
sustainability. Website link: http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/
·
The Travel Foundation.
The Travel Foundation is an independent UK charity that aims to help the travel
industry manage tourism more sustainably. The Foundation’s focus is on
protecting and enhancing the environment and improving the well being of host
communities. Contact details: The
Travel Foundation, The CREATE Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol, BS1 6XN, Tel:
0117 9273049. Email:
admin@thetracelfoundation.org.uk.
Website link: http://www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/
·
ResponsibleTravel.com.
ResponsibleTravel.com, based in Brighton, England and initiated in 2001, helps
to promote responsible holidays, by
advising travelers on how to book more real and authentic holidays. This website
markets ‘pre-screened’ holidays from over 170 leading tourism brands and
businesses. Website link: http://www.responsibletravel.com/
Awards
Local Awards
·
Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards:
The ‘Imvelo Awards’ recognizes the achievements of hospitality industry
members in promoting responsible tourism by striving for social, economic and
environmental best practice. Imvelo is the Zulu word for nature. Awards are
presented in the following categories: Best Social Involvement Programme, Best
Practice Economic Impact, Best Environmental Management Programme, Most Improved
Over One Year, and Responsible Tourism – Overall Winner.
Website
link: www.fedhasa.co.za
Global/International Awards
·
British Airways’ Tourism for Tomorrow
Awards. This is an award programme that recognises
and encourages sustainable tourism. Tourism for Tomorrow selects role model
organizations and projects, showcases these as examples of sustainability best
practice, and challenges others to follow suit. The awards were originally set
up by the Federation of Tour Operators to encourage action from all sectors of
the tourism industry to protect the environment. British
Airways took over their sponsorship in 1992 to embrace all aspects of
sustainable tourism. Large and small tour operators, individual hotels as well
as chains, national parks and heritage sites, are some of the activities
included in the Tourism for Tomorrow awards programme. Website link:
www.britishairways.com/tourism
·
TO DO! – International
Contest on Socially Responsible Tourism. This is one of the contests
organized by the ‘Studienkreis
für Tourismus und Entwicklung (Institute for Tourism and Development)’.
The Institute is an
independent non-profit organization that promotes sustainable tourism
development and education. One of its activities is organizing international
contests linked to tourism and development. The TO DO! award ceremony takes
place for the International Contest on Socially Responsible Tourism takes place
annually in March during the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin,
Germany. Website link: http://www.studienkreis.org/engl/wettbewerbe/main_wett.html
·
World Legacy Awards.
The World Legacy Awards are facilitated by the National Geographic Traveler
Magazine and Conservation International as a global campaign to promote
environmentally, culturally, and socially responsible tourism practices across a
wider spectrum of the tourism industry, with the goal of protecting the
Earth’s cultural and natural heritage. The Awards are presented in the
following categories: Nature Travel, Heritage Tourism, General Purpose Hotels
and Resorts, and Destination Stewardship. Website link: www.wlaward.org
Useful
References
·
“Cape Town Declaration”. This
is a product of the Cape Town Conference, which was organized by the Responsible
Tourism Partnership and the Western Cape Tourism Board as a side event preceding
the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The
Conference theme was “Responsible Tourism in Destinations”, and 280
delegates attended the event from 20 countries. The Declaration embraces guiding
principles in the social, economic and environmental spheres, in line with
responsible tourism in destinations. Link: http://www.icrtourism.org/capetown.html
·
“Environmental Management for Hotels: The
Industry Guide to Best Practice” [Author: International Hotels Environment
Initiative, second edition, 1996] – A manual that addresses the environmental
aspects of hotel management. This document is a comprehensive guide to quality
environmental management. Links: http://www.ihei.org/
and http://www.internationaltourismpartnership.org/publications.htm
·
“Environmental Codes of Conduct for
Tourism” [Technical Report Number 29; Author: United Nations Environment
Programme, Industry and Environment Unit, 1995] – A publication useful for
governments, the public and the tourism industry, which lays down a summary of
global voluntary environmental codes of conduct in the tourism industry. Link: http://www.uneptie.org/outreach/vi/pub_codes-tourism.htm
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