2 What is sustainable tourism, and related forms of tourism?

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2 What is sustainable tourism, and related forms
of tourism?

• Sustainable tourism is
• Tourism that takes full account of its current
  and future economic, social and environmental
  impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the
  industry, the environment and host communities.
• WTO
• Tourism that is based on the principles of
  sustainable development
• Tourism that minimizes the costs and maximizes
  the benefits of tourism for natural environments
  and local communities, and can be carried out
  indefinitely without harming the resources on
  which it depends.
• The term should be used to refer to a condition
  of tourism, not a type of
• tourism. Well-managed high-volume tourism can,
  and ought to be, just as sustainable as
  small-scale, dispersed special interest tourism.

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Sustainable Tourism

• CONVENTIONAL TOURISM
• 1. Has one goal profit
• 2. Often not planned in advance it just
  happens
• 3. Tourist oriented
• 4. Controlled by outside parties
• 5. Focus on entertainment for tourists
• 6. Conservation not a priority
• 7. Communities not a priority
• 8. Much revenue goes to outside operators
  investors

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 1. Planned with three goals
profit, environment, and community (triple bottom
line) 2. Usually planned in advance with
involvement of all stakeholders 3. Locally
oriented 4. Locally controlled, at least in
part 5. Focus on educational experiences 6.
Conservation of natural resources a priority 7.
Appreciation for local culture a priority 8. More
revenue stays with local community and MPA
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• Triple bottom line of sustainable tourism
• (International Ecotourism Society, 2004)
• 1. Environmentally, sustainable tourism has a low
  impact on natural resources, particularly in
  protected areas. It minimizes damage to the
  environment (flora, fauna, habitats, water,
  living marine resources, energy use,
  contamination, etc.) and ideally tries to benefit
  the environment.
• 2. Socially and culturally, it does not harm the
  social structure or culture of the community
  where it is located. Instead it respects local
  cultures and traditions. It involves stakeholders
  (individuals, communities, tour operators,
  government institutions) in all phases of
  planning, development, and monitoring, and
  educates stakeholders about their roles.
• 3. Economically, it contributes to the economic
  well being of the community, generating
  sustainable and equitable income for local
  communities and as many other stakeholders as
  possible. It benefits owners, employees and
  neighbours. It does not simply begin and then
  rapidly die because of poor business practices.

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Sustainable Tourism

• 1) Make optimal use of environmental resources
  that constitute a key element in tourism
  development, maintaining essential ecological
  processes and helping to conserve natural
  resources and biodiversity.
• 2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of
  host communities, conserve their built and living
  cultural heritage and traditional values, and
  contribute to inter-cultural understanding and
  tolerance.
• 3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations,
  providing socio-economic benefits to all
  stakeholders that are fairly distributed,
  including stable employment and income-earning
  opportunities and social services to host
  communities, and contributing to poverty
  alleviation.

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UNWTO Principles of Sustainable Tourism
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EU 12 Principles of Sustainable Tourism

• 1) Economic Viability
• To ensure the viability and competitiveness of
  tourism destinations and
• enterprises, so that they are able to continue to
  prosper and deliver benefits in the long term.
• 2) Local Prosperity
• To maximize the contribution of tourism to the
  economic prosperity of the host
• destination, including the proportion of visitor
  spending that is retained locally.
• 3) Employment Quality
• To strengthen the number and quality of local
  jobs created and supported by
• tourism, including the level of pay, conditions
  of service and availability to all
• without discrimination by gender, race,
  disability or in other ways.
• 4) Social Equity
• To seek a widespread and fair distribution of
  economic and social benefits from
• tourism throughout the recipient community,
  including improving opportunities,
• income and services available to the poor.
• 5) Visitor Fulfillment
• To provide a safe, satisfying and fulfilling
  experience for visitors, available to all
• without discrimination by gender, race,
  disability or in other ways.
• 6) Local Control
• To engage and empower local communities in
  planning and decision making

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• 7) Community Wellbeing
• To maintain and strengthen the quality of life in
  local communities, including social structures
  and access to resources, amenities and life
  support systems, avoiding any form of social
  degradation or exploitation.
• 8) Cultural Richness
• To respect and enhance the historic heritage,
  authentic culture, traditions and distinctiveness
  of host communities.
• 9) Physical Integrity
• To maintain and enhance the quality of
  landscapes, both urban and rural, and avoid the
  physical and visual degradation of the
  environment.
• 10) Biological Diversity
• To support the conservation of natural areas,
  habitats and wildlife, and minimize damage to
  them.
• 11) Resource Efficiency
• To minimize the use of scarce and non-renewable
  resources in the development and operation of
  tourism facilities and services.
• 12)Environmental Purity
• To minimize the pollution of air, water and land
  and the generation of waste by tourism
  enterprises and visitors.

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Thomas Cook websitewww.thomascook.com/sustainable
-tourism

• Sustainable Tourism (also called Responsible
  Tourism) is simply about making a positive
  difference to the people and environment of
  destinations we travel to by
• - Respecting local cultures and the natural
  environment
• - Buying local, giving fair economic returns to
  local families
• - Recognising that water and energy are precious
  resources that we need to use carefully
• - Helping to protect endangered wildlife
• - Protecting and enhancing favourite destinations
  for the future enjoyment of visitors and the
  people who live there
• - Taking responsibility for our actions while
  enjoying ourselves

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Responsible tourism

• Tourism that can be consumed
• in a more responsible way
• Is the term used by the tourism industry
• Is not the same as sustainable tourism which has
  a more future focus

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Responsible Tourism

• The 2002 Cape Town declaration agreed that
  responsible tourism
• minimises negative economic, environmental
  and social impacts
• generates greater economic benefits for
  local people and enhances the well being of host
  communities improves working conditions and
  access to the industry
• involves local people in decisions that
  affect their lives and life chances
• makes positive contributions to the
  conservation of natural and cultural heritage
  embracing diversity
• provides more enjoyable experiences for
  tourists through more meaningful connections with
  local people, and a greater understanding of
  local cultural, social and environmental issues
• provides access for physically challenged
  people
• is culturally sensitive, encourages respect
  between tourists and hosts, and builds local
  pride and confidence

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Ecotourism

• Ecotourism embraces the principles of
  sustainability,
• but it refers explicitly to a product niche.
• It is about tourism in natural areas, normally
  involving some form of interpretative experience
  of natural and cultural heritage, positively
  supporting conservation and indigenous
  communities, and usually organized for small
  groups.

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Challenges

• Climate change
• World poverty
• Biodiversity loss
• Support for conservation
• Health, safety and security

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Challenges

• Tourism may contribute up to 5.3 per cent of
  global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions,
  with transport accounting for about 90 per cent
  of this.
• Estimates suggest that aviation accounts for 2-3
  per cent of the worlds total use of fossil fuels
  and up to 3.5 per cent of the anthropogenic
  greenhouse effect. More than 80 per cent of this
  is due to civil aviation.

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Pros of tourism

• On the positive side, tourism can
• Provide a growing source of opportunities for
  enterprise development and employment creation as
  well as stimulating investment and support for
  local services, even in quite remote communities.
• Bring tangible economic value to natural and
  cultural resources. This can result in direct
  income from visitor spending for their
  conservation, and an increase in support for
  conservation from local communities.
• Be a force for inter-cultural understanding and
  peace.

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Cons of Tourism

• Conversely, tourism can
• Place direct pressure on fragile ecosystems
  causing degradation of the physical environment
  and disruption to wildlife.
• Exert considerable pressure on host communities
  and lead to dislocation of traditional societies.
• Compete for the use of scarce resources,
  notably land and water.
• Be a significant contributor to local and
  global pollution.
• Be a vulnerable and unstable source of income,
  as it is often very sensitive to actual or
  perceived changes to the environmental and social
  conditions of destinations.

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Websites

• Global Development Research Centre, Japan
• www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/eco-tour.html
• European Charter for Sustainable Tourism
• www.european-charter.org
• World Tourism Organisation
• www.world-tourism.org/frameset/frame_sustainable.h
  tml
• United Nations Environment Programme
• www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism

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References

• Making tourism more sustainable, UNEP
• Guide for sustainable tourism best practices,
  Rainforest Alliance
• Practical, profitable, protected A starter guide
  to developing sustainable tourism in protected
  areas, Europarc Federation, ECEAT