HOW SHOULD WE DELIVER SUSTAINABILITY IN THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM CURRICULUM?

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HOW SHOULD WE DELIVER SUSTAINABILITY IN THE
TRAVEL AND TOURISM CURRICULUM?

• Derek Robbins
• Senior Lecturer
• School of Services Management
• Bournemouth University
• Poole
• Dorset
• BH12 5BB.
• drobbins_at_bournemouth.ac.uk

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Definitions of Sustainable Development

• development that meets the need of the present
  without compromising the ability of future
  generations to meet their own needs.
• Bruntland Report (WCED 1987).
• Stewardship approach
• Vague as a basis of policy
• Paradoxically in transport the impact of use
  (emissions) is more threatening to future
  generations than the depletion of scarce
  resources

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Developing Definitions

• INCORPORATES
• A global perspective
• Preparation for the world of work
• Values, skills and knowledge

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Sustainability Tourism

• Tourism is
• the activities of persons travelling to and
  staying in places outside their usual environment
  for not more than one consecutive year for
  leisure, business and other purposes
• WTO cited in (Cooper et al. 2004 p13).
• Global
• Degrees are vocational
• Values ???

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Sustainability Tourism

• Sustainability has been included in Tourism
  degrees over many years.
• Criticisms
• Low profile in prospectuses
• (low profile in the degree itself ?)
• Sole focus is on impacts of tourism development
• Degrees in tourism typically involve an
  analysis of tourism in the communities and
  environments that it affects (QAA 2000 para
  2.5)
• Dominant focus is on environmental impacts
• (multidisciplinary study)
• Introduced too late (Level 2/3)

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Questions

• Is there a difference between sustainable
  (tourism) development and sustainable tourism
• (Eber 2002)
• What is wrong with a focus on tourism impacts ?
• What are the key issues of transporting tourists
  to and from destination areas ?
• How does one evolve sustainable development
  policies to operate through tourism ?
• How do values and ethical issues fit in ?
• (Is there a PC line ?)

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Delivery of Sustainability

• Introduce specific unit at Level 1 ? (Eber 2002)
• But consensus is for students to gain
• an understanding of how complex economic,
  social and environmental processes interact
  (Hefce 2005)
• the interactions between the economic,
  environmental and social (including cultural and
  political) spheres (Eber 2002).
• Can one study complex interactions at Level 1 ?
• Do students have the necessary underpinning ?

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PROPOSED MODEL COUSRSE TO INTRODUCE
SUSTAINABILITY AT LEVEL 1. Model A bases and
background to sustainability sustainability and
business sustainability principles
triple-bottom-line framework sustainability
principles and business environmental
aspects environment and business economic
aspects economics and business social/culturalpoli
tical aspects society and business culture and
business politics and business overview
tripple-bottom-line and business Source Eber 2002
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PROPOSED MODEL COUSRSE TO INTRODUCE
SUSTAINABILITY AT LEVEL 1.

• Model B
• introducing sustainability
• sustainability contexts
• sustainability principles
• the business case for sustainability
• global and local business
• sustainable change in business
• social justice and equity in business
• citizenship individual and corporate
• diversity and international business
• human rights representation in business
• ethical investment accounting
• ethical marketing
• overview.
• Source Eber 2002a.

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Ethical Issues Values

• Tourism development has its own specific set of
  ethical questions
• Economic Leakages
• Ownership (Local or International)
• Local sourcing (food beverages etc.)
• Employment of Local labour
• Nationality of senior managers or high skilled
  staff
• Transport has its own specific set of
  environmental questions (case studies)
• Objective analysis !

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Case Study OneCar Dependency Road Traffic
Growth

• There is increasing car dependency
• Consensus view
• the forecast growth in road traffic is clearly
  unacceptable because of its economic and
  environmental effects (DETR 1997)
• 20 UK CO2 emissions
• Congestion 15 billion (plus)
• Externalities (noise, air quality, accidents)

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Policy options

• Charging for road use
• (Tolls M6)
• Congestion charging (London, Durham)
• ERP - National Scheme ?
• Fuel Duty
• Parking Policies (Supply, Price)
• Park Ride
• Improved public transport
• Little or no expansion of road network
• But analysis constrained by acceptance of overall
  policy objective.

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Policy ObjectivesTransport Tourism Conflict

• Valid objective for Transport Policy.
• Is it equally valid for Tourism Policy ?
• Strategy for growth (DCMS 1999)
• Implications for
• Visitor nos. to Rural areas (National Parks etc.)
• Businesses in scenic rural areas
• Visitor nos. to Visitor attractions
• (varies with location)
• Contrast with implications for doing nothing.

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CASE STUDY 2UK Airports Policy (London SE)

• Govt. policy is effectively predict and build
• (significant contrast to road traffic)
• Accommodate 25 traffic growth by 2020
• Policy Decisions
• T5 (under construction)
• 2nd runway Stansted (by 2011)
• 3rd runway Heathrow (between 2015 2020)
• 2nd runway Gatwick not ruled out
• Continued expansion of secondary airports

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Sustainable Development ?

• 25 CO2 emissions by 2030
• Surface access
• (employees, pax, meeters greeters)
• Noise
• Limits on ATMS ineffective)
• Air quality
• a third main runway at Heathrow would have such
  severe and widespread impacts on the environment
  as to be totally unacceptable

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The Wider Debate

• Unconstrained growth of UK aviation fails to meet
  the requirements of sustainable development.
• Objective or subjective statement ?
• Wider Analytical Framework
• Emissions trading sufficient regulatory
  response
• Economic cost of restraint or restriction
• Impact of restraint on Destination areas

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Conclusion

• Both case studies show
• Sustainability is natural subject matter for
  tourism transport.
• Systematic and objective approach
• Focus on impacts allows for a holistic analysis
• Analysis extends beyond the environmental
• Approach creates opportunities for wider debate
• Equips students for the ethical dilemmas of the
  workplace

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CONCLUSIONS

• COMPARTMENTALISE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE
  CURRICULUM ?
• IS GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AN INTEGRAL PART OF
  SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ?