Sustainable Touriism

Problems with sustainable tourism in the Third World

Displacement and Resettlement

One common issue with tourism in a place where there was none prior to First World companies arriving is that of the displacement and resettlement of local communities.^[17][18]The Maasai tribes in Tanzania have been a victim of this problem. After the second World War First World conservationists with the intent of making such areas accessible to tourists as well as preserving the areas natural beauty and ecology moved into the areas where the Maasai tribes lived. This was often achieved through the setting up of national parks and conservation areas (Monbiot 1994;^[19] Olerokonga, 1992:7).^[20]

It has been claimed that Maasai activities did not threaten the wildlife and the First World knowledge was blurred by 'colonial disdain' and misunderstandings of savannah wildlife.^[19] As the Maasai have been displaced the area within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) has been modified to allow easier access for tourists by actions such as building campsites, tracks and the removal of stone objects such as stones for souvenirs.^[20]

This kind of 'sustainable tourism' is viewed by many as an oxymoron or metaphor since it seriously can't change anything. There basically isn't a way we can make tourism sustainable but if all tourists put their heads together and work hard it could possibly work in a viable world. that many things done in the name of sustainability are actually masking the desire to allow extra profits.^[19] There is often alienation of local populations from the tourists.^[20]

Environmental Impacts

"The environmental sustainability focuses on the overall viability and health of ecological systems. Natural resource degradation, pollution, and loss of biodiversity are detrimental because they increase vulnerability, undermine system health, and reduce resilience. This aspect of sustainability has been the most often discussed through the literature by numerous authors such as Hall, C. M. & Lew A.A. (1998), Hall, D. (2000), Weaver (2006), and many others."^[21]

Coastal tourism

Many coastal areas are experiencing particular pressure from growth in lifestyles and growing numbers of tourists. Coastal environments are limited in extent consisting of only a narrow strip along the edge of the ocean. Coastal areas are often the first environments to experience the detrimental impacts of tourism. A detailed study of the impact on coastal areas, with reference to western India can be an example.^[22]

The inevitable change is on the horizon as holiday destinations put more effort into sustainable tourism.^[23] Planning and management controls can reduce the impact on coastal environments^[24] and ensure that investment into tourism products supports sustainable coastal tourism.^[25]

Some of the recent studies have led to some interesting conceptual models applicable for coastal tourism. The 'inverted funnel model' and the 'embedded model' (Staju Jacob, 2008) can be good metaphors for understanding the interplay of different stake-holders like government, local community, tourists and business community in developing tourist destinations.^[22]

Mountain tourism

Mount Everest attracts many tourist climbers wanting to summit the peak of the highest mountain in the world each year. Everest is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Over the years, carelessness and excessive consumption of resources by mountaineers, as well as overgrazing by livestock, have damaged the habitats of snow leopards, lesser pandas, Tibetan bears, and scores of bird species. To counteract past abuses, various reforestation programs have been carried out by local communities and the Nepalese government.^[26]

Expeditions have removed supplies and equipment left by climbers on Everest’s slopes, including hundreds of oxygen containers. A large quantity of the litter of past climbers—tons of items such as tents, cans, crampons, and human waste—has been hauled down from the mountain and recycled or discarded. However, the bodies of most of the more than 260 climbers who have died on Everest (notably on its upper slopes) have not been removed, as they are unreachable or—for those that are accessible—their weight makes carrying them down extremely difficult. Notable in the cleanup endeavour have been the efforts of the Eco Everest Expeditions, the first of which was organized in 2008 to commemorate the death that January of Everest-climbing pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary. Those expeditions also have publicized ecological issues (in particular, concerns about the effects of climate change in the region through observations that the Khumbu Icefall has been melting).^[26]

Sustainable Tourism as part of a development strategy

Third World countries are especially interested in international tourism,^[27] and many believe it brings countries a large selection of economic benefits including employment opportunities, small business development, and increased in payments of foreign exchange. Many assume that more money is gained through developing luxury goods and services in spite of the fact that this increases a countries dependency on imported products, foreign investments and expatriate skills.^[28] This classic 'trickle down' financial strategy rarely makes its way down to brings its benefits down to small businesses.^[29]

It has been said that the economic benefits of large-scale tourism are not doubted but that the backpacker or budget traveller sector is often neglected as a potential growth sector by Third World governments.^[30] This sector brings significant non-economic benefits which could help to empower and educate the communities involved in this sector. "Aiming 'low' builds upon the skills of the local population, promotes self-reliance, and develops the confidence of community members in dealing with outsiders, all signs of empowerment"^[29] and all of which aid in the overall development of a nation.

Improvements to Sustainable Tourism in the Third World

Management of Sustainable Touris

There has been the promotion of sustainable tourism practices surrounding the management of tourist locations by locals or the community. This form of tourism is based on the premise that the people living next to a resource are the ones best suited to protecting it. This means that the tourism activities and businesses are developed and operated by local community members, and certainly with their consent and support. Sustainable tourism typically involves the conservation of resources that are capitalized upon for tourism purposes. Locals run the businesses and are responsible for promoting the conservation messages to protect their environment.^[31]

Community-based sustainable tourism (CBST) associates the success of the sustainability of the ecotourism location to the management practices of the communities who are directly or indirectly dependent on the location for their livelihoods. A salient feature of CBST is that local knowledge is usually utilised alongside wide general frameworks of ecotourism business models. This allows the participation of locals at the management level and typically allows a more intimate understanding of the environment.^{[citation needed]}

The use of local knowledge also means an easier entry level into a tourism industry for locals whose jobs or livelihoods are affected by the use of their environment as tourism locations. Environmentally sustainable development crucially depends on the presence of local support for a project.^[32] It has also been noted that in order for success projects must provide direct benefits for the local community.^[33]

However, recent research has found that economic linkages generated by CBST may only be sporadic, and that the linkages with agriculture are negatively affected by seasonality and by the small scale of the cultivated areas. This means that CBST may only have small-scale positive effects for these communities.^[34]

It has also been said that partnerships between governments and tourism agencies with smaller communities is not particularly effective because of the disparity in aims between the two groups, i.e. true sustainability versus mass tourism for maximum profit. In Honduras such a divergence can be demonstrated where consultants from the World Bank and officials from the Institute of tourism wanted to set up a selection of 5-star hotels near various ecotourism destinations. But another operating approach in the region by USAID and APROECOH (an ecotourism association) promotes community-based efforts which has trained many local Hondurans. Mader^[35] concluded that the grassroot organisations were more successful in Honduras.

Confusion surrounding Governmental Management of Sustainable Tourism

There has been some discussion regarding the told of inter-governmental organisations and the development of sustainable tourism practices in the third world. In Mowforth and Munt's book 'Tourism and Sustainability: New Tourism in the Third World, they criticised a document that was written by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the World Tourism Organisation and the Earth Council, which was included in Agenda 21. It was entitled 'Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development'. Mowforth and Munt commented on the language used to describe the environment and local culture in such documents because the preservation of the environment and local culture are the two main objectives when practising sustainable tourism. They pointed out that some of the key words used were 'core asset', 'core product', 'product quality' and 'preserve'.^[36] They argued that the treatment of the environment as a marketable product was clear and that such documents provide a good list of advice for Third World governments regarding sustainable tourism but do not actually provide the resources to incorporate them into the development of their tourism industries.^[37]

It is arguments such as these that postulate that there is a gap between the advice given by non-governmental or inter-governmental organisations to Third World governments and what can actually be brought to realisation. These arguments try and persuade readers that documents like the one released by the WTTC that the development of sustainable tourism actually 'bypasses the interests of local people'.^[38]

Responsible tourism

Responsible tourism is regarded as a behaviour. It is more than a form of tourism as it represents an approach to engaging with tourism, be that as a tourist, a business, locals at a destination or any other tourism stakeholder. It emphasizes that all stakeholders are responsible for the kind of tourism they develop or engage in. Whilst different groups will see responsibility in different ways, the shared understanding is that responsible tourism should entail an improvement in tourism. Tourism should become ‘better’ as a result of the responsible tourism approach.^{[citation needed]}

Within the notion of betterment resides the acknowledgement that conflicting interests need to be balanced. However, the objective is to create better places for people to live in and to visit. Importantly, there is no blueprint for responsible tourism: what is deemed responsible may differ depending on places and cultures. Responsible Tourism is an aspiration that can be realized in different ways in different originating markets and in the diverse destinations of the world (Goodwin, 2002).^{[citation needed]}

Focusing in particular on businesses, according to the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism, it will have the following characteristics:^[39]

• 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, to the maintenance of the world’s 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 people with disabilities and
• is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

Sustainable tourism is where tourists can enjoy their holiday and at the same time respect the culture of people and also respect the environment. It also means that local people (such as the Masaai) get a fair say about tourism and also receive some money from the profit which the game reserve make. The environment is being damaged quite a lot by tourists and part of Sustainable tourism is to make sure that the damaging does not carry on.^{[citation needed]}

There are many private companies who are working into embracing the principles and aspects of Responsible Tourism, some for the purpose of Corporate Social Responsibilityactivities, and others such as SustainableVisit, responsibletravel.com, FairTravelR, and WorldHotel-Link, which was originally a project of the International Finance Corporation, have built their entire business model around responsible tourism, local capacity building and increasing market access for small and medium tourism enterprises.^{[citation needed]}

Humane tourism

Humane tourism is part of the movement of responsible tourism. The idea is to empower local communities through travel related businesses around the world, first and foremost in developing countries. The idea of humane travel or humane tourism is to connect travelers from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand seeking new adventures and authentic experiences directly, to local businesses in the specific locations they wish to visit – thus, giving economic advantages to local businesses and giving travelers authentic and truly unique travel experiences. Humane travel or humane tourism focuses on the people, the local community. The idea is to enable travelers to experience the world through the eyes of its local people while contributing directly to those people, ensuring that tourist dollars benefit the local community directly.^{[citation needed]}

Humane tourism is about giving opportunity to the local people, empower them, enable them to enjoy the fruits of tourism directly. The Internet is changing tourism. More and more travelers are planning their travels and vacations via the net. The Internet enables people to cut off commissions. The traveler can search for new destinations to visit, talk or read about other people experience, and buy the services directly. The Internet platform can encourage local people to start new businesses and that already existing small businesses will begin to promote themselves through the net and receive the economic advantages of this directly in their communities. The world is now in a new tourism age, with globalization and the Internet playing a key role.^{[citation needed]}

The new travelers have traveled the world, they have seen the classic sites. Staying at a Western hotel is not attractive enough, and they are excited by the prospect of experiencing the authentic local way of life: to go fishing with a local fisherman, to eat the fish with his family, to sleep in a typical village house. These tourists or travelers, are happy to know that while doing so they promote the economic well-being of those same people they spend time with.^{[citation needed]}

Humane tourism is part of Responsible tourism. The concept of Responsible Tourism originated in the work of Jost Krippendorf in The Holiday Makers^[40] called for “rebellious tourists and rebellious locals” to create new forms of tourism. His vision was “to develop and promote new forms of tourism, which will bring the greatest possible benefit to all the participants – travelers, the host population and the tourist business, without causing intolerable ecological and social damage.” As one can see he already talked, back in the 80s about benefits for the host population and used the term human tourism. Humane travel focuses on that host local population.

The South African national tourism policy (1996)^[41] used the term "responsible tourism" and mentioned the well-being of the local community as a main factor.^[42]

The Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations,^[43] agreed in 2002, that Responsible Tourism is about “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.” The declaration focused on "places" but did mention the local population.

From the Rio summit or earth summit on 1992^[44] until the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in 1999,^[45] the main focus of the tourism industry was the earth, the planet, the places, "green" or "eco" tourism. Now there is a trend to include the local population. This trend or branch of responsible tourism is called humane tourism or humane travel.

Responsible hospitality

As with the view of responsible tourism, responsible hospitality is essentially about creating better places for people to live in, and better places for people to visit. This does not mean all forms of hospitality are also forms of tourism although hospitality is the largest sector of the tourism industry. As such we should not be surprised at overlaps between responsible hospitality and responsible tourism. In the instance where place of permanent residence is also the place where the hospitality service is consumed, if for example a meal is consumed in a local restaurant, this does not obviate the requirement to improve the place of residence. As such, the essence of Responsible Hospitality is not contingent upon touristic forms of hospitality.^{[citation needed]}

While Friedman (1962)^[46] famously argued that, admittedly within legal parameters, the sole responsibility of business was to generate profit for shareholders the idea that businesses’ responsibility extends beyond this has existed for decades and is most frequently encountered in the concept of corporate social responsibility.^[47] There are numerous ways businesses can and do engage in activities that are not intended to benefit shareholders and management, at least not in the short term. However, often acts of corporate social responsibility are undertaken because of the perceived benefit to business. Usually in hospitality this relates to the cost reductions associated with improved energy efficiency^[48] but may also relate to, for example, the rise in ethical consumerism and the view that being seen to be a responsible business is beneficial to revenue growth.

As per the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism, responsible hospitality is culturally sensitive. Instead of then calling for the unachievable, responsible hospitality simply makes the case for more responsible forms of hospitality, hospitality that benefits locals first, and visitors second. Certainly, all forms of hospitality can be improved and managed so that negative impacts are minimized whilst striving for a maximization of positive impacts on the environment.

Hospitality Education

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has mentioned that some of the hospitality management/ culinary training institutes in India will no longer make it mandatory for students to engage in non-vegetarian cooking. The student will be given an option to choose vegetarian cooking. IHMCTAN Ahmedabad, IHMCTAN Bhopal and IHMCTAN Jaipur are the hospitality training institutes that offer a vegetarian choice, and this practice will be extended to all IHMCTANs.^[49]

Fundamental research was presented in the book «Sustainable tourism development: theory, methodology, business realities» (Ukrainian: «Сталий розвиток туризму: теорія, методологія, реалії бізнесу»)) ^[50] by Ukrainian scientist Professor Tetiana Tkachenko in 2006 уear (with corrections and additions in 2009 ^[51]). The results are used to prepare students in Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics, specialties: tourism, hotel and restaurant business, tourism management, management of hotel and restaurant business, international tourism business and international hotel business.