Tourism of Duty
The trouble with labelling a holiday ‘responsible’ is that, like ‘moderate drinking’, ‘sensible eating’ and ‘safe sex’, it smacks of finger-wagging killjoys and government advice that takes the enjoyment
out of an enjoyable activity. Even the overall winner of the 2007 Responsible Tourism Awards – a man you might expect to wear his responsibility badge with pride – has reservations about the word.
‘It’s a bit boring, a bit worthy,’ says Anthony Climpson, tourism destination manager for the New Forest in Hampshire. ‘And we’re in the leisure industry, the fun business.’ But is there a better description for a style of travel designed to maximise the benefits of tourism to the local community and minimise the negative impact?
Justin Francis, who founded responsibletravel.com six years ago, doesn’t think so – and he rejected 152 other names first. ‘“Ecotourism” is a bit narrow in its definition, and “sustainable travel” sounds right but is based on a shaky premise: any tourism isn’t really sustainable if you have to fly to get there,’ he says. ‘What responsible tourism is striving to do is to both embrace the environmental concerns of ecotourism and help local people.’
Harold Goodwin, professor of responsible tourism management at Leeds Metropolitan University, agrees: ‘Responsible tourism is about making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. And it requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take responsibility, take action to make tourism more sustainable.’
Rewarding reform
There’s no doubt that the awards, launched by Francis’ company four years ago, are hugely successful – a celebration of efforts by destinations, operators and others to reform an industry that has had a poor record of helping local communities and preserving the environment.
Over those four years, we’ve seen the rise of the homestay, local village accommodation offering a more authentic travel experience in places such as Thailand and the Andes. And luxury eco-lodges in Mozambique and Bolivia are showing how high-end tourism can bring in top dollars to support local community development projects in poor regions.
Saluting the work of ‘voluntourism’ organisations helps to highlight the ongoing debate about the transparency of ethical volunteering schemes, while adventure holidays championing the use of local guides are setting a standard for responsible tour operators that will be difficult to beat. Individuals and groups working to conserve precious cultural sites and endangered species are recognised, while the award to the evangelists of low-carbon travel, Eurostar – which claims that all its journeys from St Pancras International are now carbon neutral – shows that at least one major player in the industry is prepared to go the extra mile to lighten travellers’ carbon footprint.
The awards, handed out on World Responsible Tourism Day at the World Travel Market, the high temple of the travel industry, have paraded the best in responsible tourism. But in a multi-billion-pound industry in the UK alone, responsible tourism accounted for just 1.2 per cent of the market in 2006. Even with predicted annual growth of between 25 and 50 per cent, it looks like remaining a niche market for some time to come. Yet neither Francis nor Goodwin talk of it in such terms, although both readily admit they would like to see a bigger market share sooner rather than later.
Public awareness
Even though Francis says that ‘having sat through focus groups solidly since the summer, most people still have no idea what responsible tourism is’, he adds: ‘The good thing is that it only takes a few seconds to explain it and people “get it”. That gives me the feeling that when we get the marketing and customer awareness right, responsible tourism will be huge.’
He believes that responsible travel is in a similar position to organic food a few years back. ‘It’s lagging a few years behind the surge of interest in organic food, fair trade goods and other elements of the green consumer lifestyle,’ says Francis.
But he predicts that its progress into mainstream tourism will be easier as a result of the growth in ethical consumerism – a market worth about £30billion a year. ‘The interest in ethical choices is already there, and that’s a powerful context for business.’
Goodwin agrees: ‘The consumer trends towards responsible purchasing are strengthening, so there is every reason to expect them to continue in travel. Currently, only two per cent of the public
offset carbon on their flights, but one fifth are prepared to do so.
And nine per cent have expressed a desire to volunteer on an aid, teaching or construction project as part of a future holiday.’
Francis adds: ‘In 2001, when responsibletravel.com launched, the vast majority of the tourism industry felt that its only duty was to provide enjoyable holidays and to return profits to staff and shareholders.
I felt then that tourism was ten years behind other industry sectors in recognising its broader responsibilities to the environment and local people. That’s changed quickly over the past six years – more so than we could have imagined.
‘What interests me most is to stand in destinations with local people and ask them, “Have we made progress fast enough? Does it look and feel different to you?”,’ he continues. ‘In
this case, we’ve had to say that we’ve just scratched the surface.’
Francis expects that the responsible travel movement will drive more change more quickly throughout the industry and reach parts that have been slower to adapt, such as cruise liners. He also denies the notion that it’s incompatible with the growth of aviation.
‘Responsible tourism faces its greatest challenge from people who rightly ask if we can justify it if it involves a flight,’ he says. ‘For them, we have to show that the industry can change even faster over the next six years than it has in the past six years in terms of providing local economic benefits and reducing carbon impacts in destinations.
‘If we do choose to fly, it’s more important than ever that the holiday is a responsible one,’ he continues. ‘To those who argue that, in talking about the benefits of tourism, we
are deniers of climate change and its links to aviation – we are not.’
In the mainstream
With much of the responsible tourism market still tied up in eco-lodges, homestays and small-scale accommodation, the big breakthrough will only come when mainstream operators take on board responsible principles and practices.
It’s a process that has begun, says Francis. ‘With the awards, we’re seeing mainstream organisations as well as niche ones coming through strongly and even winning, such as First Choice previously and Eurostar this year. That was always something we hoped would happen. I’m also pleased that we have big-name sponsors for the awards such as Virgin Holidays, because that sends a further signal that responsible tourism is for everyone in the industry – large and small alike.
‘And that must happen, because the most wonderful, purpose-built eco-lodge can only cater for a comparatively small number of people,’ he continues. ‘If a large hotel in the Caribbean, for example, with 500–600 rooms sorts out its energy and waste management, starts using local suppliers and pays a fair wage, it can have a huge positive impact on the local community.’
Meanwhile, Goodwin, who runs an MSc course in responsible tourism, believes that the movement must be spread to the other major originating markets, particularly in Asia. But, he says, the major achievement of responsible tourism in the UK has been to break out of its niche and to work with the mass tourism operators in the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO), which is part of a much broader shift in consumerism.
‘The FTO is pushing hard for responsible policies to be adopted by mainstream operators,’ he says. ‘And major operators such as First Choice are pushing the agenda on.’
First Choice has set up its World Care Fund, which helps support climate change projects, and 35 per cent of its customers now opt to make a contribution. An ABTA survey in 2006 found that 46 per cent of customers on holiday were taking showers instead of baths to save water, compared with 36 per cent in 2000. Similarly, the numbers switching off the air conditioning to save energy increased from 18 to 29 per cent during the same period, and those choosing to change their towels less often rose from 17 to 35 per cent.
It’s hardly going to save the world, but Tom Pakenham, founder of hybrid taxi firm Greentomatocars, which was highly commended in the low-carbon transport category, doesn’t underestimate the worth of small steps: ‘We need to shave off little bits everywhere, not look for a silver bullet.’
Greenwash warning
However, Francis and Goodwin both sound a warning on the risk of ‘greenwashing’ – companies purporting to be operating responsibly while doing precisely the opposite. Goodwin has set up www.irresponsibletourism.info, a venue for whistleblowers to expose and debate dodgy tourism practices.
‘This is a big danger,’ he says. ‘We need better-educated tourists, more able to spot the greenwashing, and we need investigative reporting in travel. A bigger danger is that travellers come to expect very little of a responsible holiday – that is the problem with the fig-leaf approach of so much of the carbon offsetting that we have seen over the past year.’
Francis adds: ‘As responsible tourism becomes more popular, there will be those (and, indeed, already are those) who claim to be responsible for marketing or other gain. There is a risk that this might start to undermine the responsible tourism movement. However, I’m increasingly confident that today’s green consumer will see through tokenistic efforts very quickly.’
Francis is optimistic about the future. ‘Package holidays, the staple of the industry since the 1960s, are in decline,’ he says. ‘The person who, 20 years ago, would’ve gone to the Costas on a package will now go to Cuba to learn salsa. Tastes are more sophisticated. And for young people, especially, responsible tourism is hip, adventurous and cool.’
ROLL OF HONOUR
Tour Operator
Winner: Gecko’s Adventures
Highly commended: Imaginative Traveller; KE Adventure
Travel; Tribes Travel
Best for Conservation of Cultural Heritage
Winner: Andaman Discoveries
Highly commended: Go Native America; Intrepid Travel
Best Small Hotel
Winner: Finca Esperanza Verde Ecolodge, Nicaragua
Highly commended: Lamai Homestay & Guesthouse,
Thailand; Papillote Wilderness Retreat, Dominica
Best Large Hotel
Winner: Apex Hotels Ltd, UK
Highly commended: Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa,
Thailand; Radisson SAS Hotel, Edinburgh
Best for Low Carbon Transport & Technology
Winner: Eurostar
Highly commended: Greentomatocars; NatureAir
Best in a Mountain Environment
Winner: Explorandes, Peru
Highly commended: Peregrine Adventures; Shakti
Uttaranchal Tours, India
Best in a Marine Environment
Winner: blue o two
Highly commended: Blue Ventures
Best for Poverty Reduction
Winner: Borana, Kenya
Highly commended: Communitychallenge; Guludo
Beach Lodge, Mozambique
Best in a Park or
Protected Area
WINNER: La Ruta Moskitia, Honduras
Highly commended: Chalalan Ecolodge, Bolivia
Best for Conservation of Endangered Species
Winner: Grootbos Nature Reserve, South Africa
Highly commended: Biosphere Expeditions; Earth, Sea & Sky/Ionian Eco Villagers/Nature World Travel, Greece
Best Volunteering Organisation
Winner: Azafady
Highly commended: Camps International;
People and Places; Quest
Best Destination
Winner: New Forest
Highly commended: Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka; Costa Rica
Best Personal Contribution
Winner: Anthony Climpson, destination manager,
New Forest Tourism
Highly commended: Charlotte Shigwedha, managing director, Mondesa Township Tours, Namibia; Dr Cheryl Mvula, wildlife conservation and responsible tourism consultant, Tribal Voice Communications, Kenya
January 2008
out of an enjoyable activity. Even the overall winner of the 2007 Responsible Tourism Awards – a man you might expect to wear his responsibility badge with pride – has reservations about the word.
‘It’s a bit boring, a bit worthy,’ says Anthony Climpson, tourism destination manager for the New Forest in Hampshire. ‘And we’re in the leisure industry, the fun business.’ But is there a better description for a style of travel designed to maximise the benefits of tourism to the local community and minimise the negative impact?
Justin Francis, who founded responsibletravel.com six years ago, doesn’t think so – and he rejected 152 other names first. ‘“Ecotourism” is a bit narrow in its definition, and “sustainable travel” sounds right but is based on a shaky premise: any tourism isn’t really sustainable if you have to fly to get there,’ he says. ‘What responsible tourism is striving to do is to both embrace the environmental concerns of ecotourism and help local people.’
Harold Goodwin, professor of responsible tourism management at Leeds Metropolitan University, agrees: ‘Responsible tourism is about making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. And it requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take responsibility, take action to make tourism more sustainable.’
Rewarding reform
There’s no doubt that the awards, launched by Francis’ company four years ago, are hugely successful – a celebration of efforts by destinations, operators and others to reform an industry that has had a poor record of helping local communities and preserving the environment.
Over those four years, we’ve seen the rise of the homestay, local village accommodation offering a more authentic travel experience in places such as Thailand and the Andes. And luxury eco-lodges in Mozambique and Bolivia are showing how high-end tourism can bring in top dollars to support local community development projects in poor regions.
Saluting the work of ‘voluntourism’ organisations helps to highlight the ongoing debate about the transparency of ethical volunteering schemes, while adventure holidays championing the use of local guides are setting a standard for responsible tour operators that will be difficult to beat. Individuals and groups working to conserve precious cultural sites and endangered species are recognised, while the award to the evangelists of low-carbon travel, Eurostar – which claims that all its journeys from St Pancras International are now carbon neutral – shows that at least one major player in the industry is prepared to go the extra mile to lighten travellers’ carbon footprint.
The awards, handed out on World Responsible Tourism Day at the World Travel Market, the high temple of the travel industry, have paraded the best in responsible tourism. But in a multi-billion-pound industry in the UK alone, responsible tourism accounted for just 1.2 per cent of the market in 2006. Even with predicted annual growth of between 25 and 50 per cent, it looks like remaining a niche market for some time to come. Yet neither Francis nor Goodwin talk of it in such terms, although both readily admit they would like to see a bigger market share sooner rather than later.
Start the slideshow (6 pictures)
Public awareness
Even though Francis says that ‘having sat through focus groups solidly since the summer, most people still have no idea what responsible tourism is’, he adds: ‘The good thing is that it only takes a few seconds to explain it and people “get it”. That gives me the feeling that when we get the marketing and customer awareness right, responsible tourism will be huge.’
He believes that responsible travel is in a similar position to organic food a few years back. ‘It’s lagging a few years behind the surge of interest in organic food, fair trade goods and other elements of the green consumer lifestyle,’ says Francis.
But he predicts that its progress into mainstream tourism will be easier as a result of the growth in ethical consumerism – a market worth about £30billion a year. ‘The interest in ethical choices is already there, and that’s a powerful context for business.’
Goodwin agrees: ‘The consumer trends towards responsible purchasing are strengthening, so there is every reason to expect them to continue in travel. Currently, only two per cent of the public
offset carbon on their flights, but one fifth are prepared to do so.
And nine per cent have expressed a desire to volunteer on an aid, teaching or construction project as part of a future holiday.’
Francis adds: ‘In 2001, when responsibletravel.com launched, the vast majority of the tourism industry felt that its only duty was to provide enjoyable holidays and to return profits to staff and shareholders.
I felt then that tourism was ten years behind other industry sectors in recognising its broader responsibilities to the environment and local people. That’s changed quickly over the past six years – more so than we could have imagined.
‘What interests me most is to stand in destinations with local people and ask them, “Have we made progress fast enough? Does it look and feel different to you?”,’ he continues. ‘In
this case, we’ve had to say that we’ve just scratched the surface.’
Francis expects that the responsible travel movement will drive more change more quickly throughout the industry and reach parts that have been slower to adapt, such as cruise liners. He also denies the notion that it’s incompatible with the growth of aviation.
‘Responsible tourism faces its greatest challenge from people who rightly ask if we can justify it if it involves a flight,’ he says. ‘For them, we have to show that the industry can change even faster over the next six years than it has in the past six years in terms of providing local economic benefits and reducing carbon impacts in destinations.
‘If we do choose to fly, it’s more important than ever that the holiday is a responsible one,’ he continues. ‘To those who argue that, in talking about the benefits of tourism, we
are deniers of climate change and its links to aviation – we are not.’
In the mainstream
With much of the responsible tourism market still tied up in eco-lodges, homestays and small-scale accommodation, the big breakthrough will only come when mainstream operators take on board responsible principles and practices.
It’s a process that has begun, says Francis. ‘With the awards, we’re seeing mainstream organisations as well as niche ones coming through strongly and even winning, such as First Choice previously and Eurostar this year. That was always something we hoped would happen. I’m also pleased that we have big-name sponsors for the awards such as Virgin Holidays, because that sends a further signal that responsible tourism is for everyone in the industry – large and small alike.
‘And that must happen, because the most wonderful, purpose-built eco-lodge can only cater for a comparatively small number of people,’ he continues. ‘If a large hotel in the Caribbean, for example, with 500–600 rooms sorts out its energy and waste management, starts using local suppliers and pays a fair wage, it can have a huge positive impact on the local community.’
Meanwhile, Goodwin, who runs an MSc course in responsible tourism, believes that the movement must be spread to the other major originating markets, particularly in Asia. But, he says, the major achievement of responsible tourism in the UK has been to break out of its niche and to work with the mass tourism operators in the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO), which is part of a much broader shift in consumerism.
‘The FTO is pushing hard for responsible policies to be adopted by mainstream operators,’ he says. ‘And major operators such as First Choice are pushing the agenda on.’
First Choice has set up its World Care Fund, which helps support climate change projects, and 35 per cent of its customers now opt to make a contribution. An ABTA survey in 2006 found that 46 per cent of customers on holiday were taking showers instead of baths to save water, compared with 36 per cent in 2000. Similarly, the numbers switching off the air conditioning to save energy increased from 18 to 29 per cent during the same period, and those choosing to change their towels less often rose from 17 to 35 per cent.
It’s hardly going to save the world, but Tom Pakenham, founder of hybrid taxi firm Greentomatocars, which was highly commended in the low-carbon transport category, doesn’t underestimate the worth of small steps: ‘We need to shave off little bits everywhere, not look for a silver bullet.’
Greenwash warning
However, Francis and Goodwin both sound a warning on the risk of ‘greenwashing’ – companies purporting to be operating responsibly while doing precisely the opposite. Goodwin has set up www.irresponsibletourism.info, a venue for whistleblowers to expose and debate dodgy tourism practices.
‘This is a big danger,’ he says. ‘We need better-educated tourists, more able to spot the greenwashing, and we need investigative reporting in travel. A bigger danger is that travellers come to expect very little of a responsible holiday – that is the problem with the fig-leaf approach of so much of the carbon offsetting that we have seen over the past year.’
Francis adds: ‘As responsible tourism becomes more popular, there will be those (and, indeed, already are those) who claim to be responsible for marketing or other gain. There is a risk that this might start to undermine the responsible tourism movement. However, I’m increasingly confident that today’s green consumer will see through tokenistic efforts very quickly.’
Francis is optimistic about the future. ‘Package holidays, the staple of the industry since the 1960s, are in decline,’ he says. ‘The person who, 20 years ago, would’ve gone to the Costas on a package will now go to Cuba to learn salsa. Tastes are more sophisticated. And for young people, especially, responsible tourism is hip, adventurous and cool.’
ROLL OF HONOUR
Tour Operator
Winner: Gecko’s Adventures
Highly commended: Imaginative Traveller; KE Adventure
Travel; Tribes Travel
Best for Conservation of Cultural Heritage
Winner: Andaman Discoveries
Highly commended: Go Native America; Intrepid Travel
Best Small Hotel
Winner: Finca Esperanza Verde Ecolodge, Nicaragua
Highly commended: Lamai Homestay & Guesthouse,
Thailand; Papillote Wilderness Retreat, Dominica
Best Large Hotel
Winner: Apex Hotels Ltd, UK
Highly commended: Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa,
Thailand; Radisson SAS Hotel, Edinburgh
Best for Low Carbon Transport & Technology
Winner: Eurostar
Highly commended: Greentomatocars; NatureAir
Best in a Mountain Environment
Winner: Explorandes, Peru
Highly commended: Peregrine Adventures; Shakti
Uttaranchal Tours, India
Best in a Marine Environment
Winner: blue o two
Highly commended: Blue Ventures
Best for Poverty Reduction
Winner: Borana, Kenya
Highly commended: Communitychallenge; Guludo
Beach Lodge, Mozambique
Best in a Park or
Protected Area
WINNER: La Ruta Moskitia, Honduras
Highly commended: Chalalan Ecolodge, Bolivia
Best for Conservation of Endangered Species
Winner: Grootbos Nature Reserve, South Africa
Highly commended: Biosphere Expeditions; Earth, Sea & Sky/Ionian Eco Villagers/Nature World Travel, Greece
Best Volunteering Organisation
Winner: Azafady
Highly commended: Camps International;
People and Places; Quest
Best Destination
Winner: New Forest
Highly commended: Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka; Costa Rica
Best Personal Contribution
Winner: Anthony Climpson, destination manager,
New Forest Tourism
Highly commended: Charlotte Shigwedha, managing director, Mondesa Township Tours, Namibia; Dr Cheryl Mvula, wildlife conservation and responsible tourism consultant, Tribal Voice Communications, Kenya
January 2008
|
FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON TWITTER:
| |
 |
