Sustainable tourism

What is it we’re talking about?

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nT7MIl2t5A

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016
 Absolute numbers in 2014
• International tourist arrivals: 1,138 billion
• 7,6 trillion dollars contribution to the world
economy
• 277 million people directly & indirectly employed
by tourism
• Forecast for 2025:
– 356 million people employed by tourism
– 11 trillion dollars economic contribution

Trends & Statistics 2015, CREST

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Tourism = a huge opportunity

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

An idyllic picture?

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016
 Tourism is also…
• A huge industry
• Creating enormous impacts, both negative
and positive
• That grows (too?) fast
• And can put heavy pressure on the
environment, destinations & host societies

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Definition UNWTO
“The development of sustainable tourism meets the
needs of the tourists and the current hosts of the
region, at the same time as it protects and improves
the opportunities of the future. It is focused on the
management of all the resources in such a way as
to satisfy all the economic, social and aesthetic
needs, and at the same time as it respects the
cultural integrity, the essential ecological processes,
the biological diversity and the life support
systems”.

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Different concepts, same idea

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

The idea: the Triple Bottom Line

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Finding the right balance = essential

People

Planet Profit

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

BUT 3 P’s = not enough

People

Pleasure
Quality

Planet Profit

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Let’s make tourism better
https://vimeo.com/128156716

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016
 A few important themes
• Human rights
• Sexual exploitation of children
• Wildlife protection
• And many more…

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Human rights
• Aim of any tour operator / tour guide:
 Respect human rights
 Promote their implementation

• Rights of whom?
 Employees, customers
 Everyone your supply chain impacts

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Human rights
• Examples:
– The right to work with dignity
– The right to protection against forced labour
– The right to protection against discrimination
– The right to privacy
– The right to health
– The right to education
http://www.menschenrechte-im-tourismus.net/en/

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Sexual exploitation of children
• ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and
Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes)
 Global NGO fighting against sexual exploitation of
children
• The Code
 Code of conduct for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism
http://www.thecode.org/

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 ECPAT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAa7GdfbsqY

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Wildlife protection
• ABTA: Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in
Tourism
http://abta.com/working-with-the-
industry/animal-welfare

 Elephant rides
 Marine mammals in captivity
 CITES: souvenirs from endangered species
Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016
 Wildlife protection
CITES
 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
 Aim: international trade in specimens of wild animals
and plants does not threaten their survival

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Global initiatives on
sustainable tourism
• Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria
 34 criteria
• For destinations
• For hotels & tour operators
• Global Code of Ethics in Tourism
 10 guidelines
• EU Sustainable Development Strategy
 8 challenges

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria
Basic guidelines for businesses of all sizes:
A. Demonstrate effective sustainable management
B. Maximise social and economic benefits to the local
community and minimise negative impacts (profit)
C. Maximise benefits to cultural heritage and minimise
negative impacts (people)
D. Maximise benefits to the environment and minimise
negative impacts (planet)

http://www.sustainabletourismcriteria.org/

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Global Code of Ethics
in Tourism (UNWTO)
1. Tourism’s contribution to mutual understanding and respect
between peoples and societies
2. Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment
3. Tourism, a factor of sustainable development
4. Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and a
contributor to its enhancement
5. Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities
6. Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development
7. Right to tourism
8. Liberty of tourist movements
9. Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry
10. Implementation of the principles of the GCOET
http://ethics.unwto.org/en/content/global-code-ethics-tourism

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

EU Sustainable Development Strategy
8 Challenges for European Sustainable Tourism Development:

1. Reducing the seasonality of demand

2. Addressing the impact of tourism transport
3. Improving the quality of tourism jobs
4. Maintaining and enhancing community prosperity and
quality of life, in the face of change
5. Minimising resource use and production of waste
6. Conserving and giving value to natural and cultural
heritage
7. Making holidays available to all
8. Using tourism as a tool in global sustainable development

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

“Sustaining places sustains us as human beings.
Without a healthy planet where industries
operate, sustaining ecosystem services, where
human rights are respected, where quality of life
is improved, we really cannot exist long‐term.”
—Dr. Kelly Bricker, Chair, GSTC

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Impacts of tourism
• Which impacts, negative and positive, of
tourism can you think of?
• For every P: Planet, People, Profit

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Overview of the week

Tuesday

Tuesday
evening & Wednesday
Thursday

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Why going sustainable?
A business case for
sustainable tourism

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Just a matter of supply & demand
• “Tourist choices are increasingly influenced by sustainability
considerations.” - World Tourism Organization

• “Sustainability is at the forefront of our business model because of

customer demand.” - G Adventures

• “There are a growing number of consumers, particularly the

young, who are prepared to pay a premium for a holiday that
is more sustainable….
So, it makes clear economic sense for companies to have a well
thought out sustainability plan that sells the positive benefits of
sustainability to consumers and taps into this growing market.”
—Nikki White, Head of Destinations & Sustainability, ABTA

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

Just a matter of supply & demand
Some figures on (UK) customers…

• 70%: companies should be committed to preserving

the natural environment
• 55%: companies should guarantee fair working
conditions

• 75% want a more responsible holiday

• 46%: willing to pay extra when the company has
programmes to give back to society (CSR)

The Travel Foundation

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016
Just a matter of supply & demand
And over 80% agree with all of these statements:
I think my holiday would be more enjoyable if…

– I could discover new and interesting places by using a

tour guide from the local community
– I could eat fresh locally produced food and discover
local recipes
– I could learn a little of the local language and meet local
people
– I was given advice on local cultures and customs.
Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016
 Stay competitive
• Growing demand for more environmentally
and culturally sensitive holiday experiences
• Tour guides and tour operators must operate
sustainably to remain competitive
…don’t miss the opportunity!

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Six good business reasons
to go sustainable
1. Reducing costs and improving efficiency
2. Managing risks and meeting legislative
requirements
3. Engaging staff
4. Gaining competitive advantage
5. Meeting emerging consumer trends
6. Protecting the tourism product

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Protect the product
The destination =
The local environment
The local culture
= the product

It’s your responsibility too to help preserve it!

(together with all the stakeholders)

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Protect the product
to sustain yourself
“In the end it’s all about protecting our product.
If the product – our destinations –
aren’t protected in environmental and social
terms then people won’t want to visit them;
it is as simple as that.”
—John De Vial, ABTA

If we don’t look after the places we love to visit,

they won’t be there for us in the future.

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

 Assessing your supply chain
• Planet:
- Local / seasonal produce?
- Environmental impact?
- Waste management?
• People:
- Fair wages?
- Human rights?
• Profit:
- Local income distribution or leakages?
- Pay a fair price?

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016

“The overarching challenge is for the tourism
sector to remain competitive while also
embracing sustainability, recognising that, in the
long term, competitiveness depends on
sustainability.”

- Action for More Sustainable European Tourism

Innoguide Advanced Sustainability Jan 2016