International tourist arrivals amounted to 694 million in 2003, 3 million
down from the 697 million of 2000 (World Tourism Organization, WTO). It's
been a tricky few years for the tourism industry, from the terrorist attacks
of September 11th and the weakening global economy, to the outbreak of SARS
and the Iraq conflict. Receipts from international travel were slightly up
to 514.4 billion US$ in 2003, but it's yet to reach the boom of a few years
ago. Nevertheless, the industry is now experiencing an upward trend which
first began in late 2003. The relaxing of major geopolitical tensions and
the recovery from SARS has caused travel confidence to improve significantly.
In 2002, the WTO noted that tourists were shifting their travel
habits, choosing closer and less expensive destinations, and while long-haul
travel is increasing again, short-haul and domestic travel are still performing
better. The industry is expected to bounce back completely, and the WTO predicts
a long-term global annual growth of over 4 per cent.
In 1993 the WTO estimated nature tourism generated 7 per cent of all international
travel expenditure. More recent research reveals this is now much higher,
accounting for 20 per cent of international travel in the Asia-Pacific region
and some areas, such as South Africa, experiencing a massive growth in visitors
to game and nature reserves, of over 100 per cent annually.
High spenders
Research by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) reveals
that ecotourists are likely to be higher spenders on their holidays than
'ordinary' mass tourists. And high-spending, nature-loving, responsible tourists
are undoubtedly an attractive option for governments looking for ways of
earning foreign exchange.
But critics point out, just because something is marketed
as ecotourism, doesn't necessarily mean that long-term protection of the environment
is automatically supported through it. Even in countries which are well-known
as ecotourism destinations like Belize or Costa Rica the downsides have been
obvious for several years. The fact that ecotourism businesses are often
owned and controlled by outside interests, in just the same way as mass tourism,
means that economic benefits often aren't used for the protection of the
areas or to support the local community.
Osmany Salas, executive director of the Belize Audubon Society, points
out: "Tourism proceeds are not being reallocated to the management or enhancement
of the natural systems or to compensate local individuals who are adversely
affected by the presence of protected areas."
Land speculation
One of ecotourism's first problems is one of definition.
Although TIES has a definition of "responsible travel to natural areas that
conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people," there
is no certification system to abide by or international monitoring body.
The term can be used by anyone at anytime for anything from a small-scale
locally-run rainforest lodge where the money goes to support a local community,
to a large, luxury, foreign-owned resort which has little community involvement
and uses masses of natural resources. Ecotourists may even visit areas of
national beauty and wildlife significance without realising that local people
have been evicted from the area in order for ecotourism to be developed, as
has happened in East Africa, India, Southern Africa and many other destinations.
With the growth in ecotourism, there are various changes ahead,
says TIES executive-director, Megan Eplar-Wood. "The original entrepreneurs
will reach their market through the Internet with increasing efficiency. But
the lack of discipline of government and the demand for growth will undermine
efforts to create sustainable ecotourism economies that are small but beautiful.
Overbuilding and land speculation will continue to destroy once tranquil zones."
Ron Mader, who runs a Latin American ecotourism website www.planeta.com feels
that ecotourism should provide conservation measures, include meaningful community
participation and be profitable and self-sustaining. But he notes that such
criteria are difficult to measure and quantify: "Assuming you wanted to know
which are the 'best ecotourism destinations' the question must follow: how
is one to judge?"
Certification
The question of how we judge the 'best ecotourism destinations'
has been central to the issue of certification, or kite-marking, in ecotourism.
Holiday brochures certainly lack an easily-identifiable logo which tells
us if local stakeholders benefit from our tourist dollars and if the environment
is conserved during our visit. But that's not to say such certification schemes
don't exist. In fact, the travel industry has been wrangling over the pros
and cons of certification and accreditation for over a decade, although little
progress has been made. Accreditation schemes remain deeply contested, and
consumers remain ignorant of those that exist.
The issue of certification has been contended since the first
credible accreditation scheme was started in 1985 - the Blue Flag system.
Since then, travel providers, tour operator organisations and private bodies
have attempted to apply similar principles to a variety of tourism products.
The most famous (some would say infamous) of these was Green Globe 21, which
many agree was far from successful. In some cases, certification schemes -
no matter how well-intentioned - actually have a negative impact on poor people,
increasing rather than reducing market barriers and marginalising small businesses.
A key point has been the reliability of accreditation and
the association that a kitemark can provide. The principals applied to consumable
products are transferred with great difficulty to the tour operator industry,
and most accreditation schemes to date have focussed on accommodation. There
has also been much debate on whether certification schemes should be industry-led
and regulated, or whether this may exclude smaller Southern companies who
cannot afford to join accreditation bodies. Furthermore, local stakeholders
are, for the most part, excluded from discussions, leading to their marginalisation
from the benefits of certification. The Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council
has recommended the creation of regional networks to encourage dialogue between
stakeholders. Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) has developed a
system for measuring and monitoring how local tourism enterprises subscribe
to a list of fair trade principles. Other organisations have chosen an alternative
to certification, such as the 3-star Responsible Tourism Policy developed
by the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).
The low uptake of certification schemes indicates that the
industry a long way off from finding a solution. A crucial step is involving
all stakeholders in the decision-making process, and a number of issues still
need to be addressed before certification is accepted as useful by the industry,
consumers and local communities. One thing seems certain: the day when a consumer
will open a holiday brochure or arrive at a hotel and be re-assured by a
familiar, trustworthy kitemark seems a long way off.
Small operators
It is clear to many that nature-based tourism is presently
seen as one of the most lucrative niche markets, and that powerful transnational
corporations are likely to exploit the IYE to dictate their own definitions
and rules of ecotourism on society. As a result, whole people-centred initiatives
may be squeezed out and marginalised.
"The mass tourism operators have learnt the language of sustainable
tourism, or whatever you want to call it," says Patricia Barnett, Director
of the London-based Tourism Concern. "But little has really changed." Proof
of this, she says, was seen in 2001 when the Balearic islands decided to implement
an eco-tax to raise funds to correct the serious environmental damage done
to the Balearics over the tourism boom of the last three decades, and to
protect fragile areas that are left. The international tourism industry threw
up their hands in horror and lobbied fiercely against it, saying that it
would damage business. The tax, which raised £25 million for cultural
projects, was scrapped, much to the dismay of environmental campaigners.
An increasing number of commentators even within the industry
are admitting there is something seriously wrong with the tourism industry
and with ecotourism. "People talk about ecotourism, but the fact is that
the tourism industry is always looking for a quick buck," says Doug Rhodes,
owner of Hotel Paradiso del Oso in Cerocahui, Chihuahua in Mexico. "Hotels
throughout the Copper Canyon still lack waste treatment facilities. Some
of the garbage is thrown into the canyon or disposed of near community wells."
But tourists are willing to pay for such environmental guarantees he says
and waste management technologies aren't prohibitively expensive. "It's
just a matter of will."
But it's not all bad news. In recent years, certain sectors
of the tourism industry have made some progress in addressing these issues.
One notable example are the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, which recognise
and encourage sustainable tourism initiatives.
Winners of recent years include Tribes, a tour operator which offers quality holidays to exotic locations run on fair trade principles. Another recent winner was the Bunaken National Marine Park, in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where the establishment of the park put a stop to cyanide and blast fishing, and now channels 30 per cent of entrance fees to the local community. These awards have been high profile, and a great incentive to the travel industry, and hopefully will continue to encourage businesses to switch to fair trade and ecologically sound principals. As David Bellamy has said, awards like these "turn the spotlight on tourism that doesn't cost the earth" - something the industry desperately needs.
This overview is based on an article prepared by Sue Wheat, editor
of Tourism Concern's quarterly magazine, In Focus. (A special edition
on ecotourism is available from Tourism Concern).
It has been updated by Francisca Kellett.
Related links:
Tourism Concern is a British membership organisation
campaigning on ethical and fairly traded tourism. It publishes The Good Alternative
Travel Guide, price £9.99. For more information, contact: info@tourismconcern.org.uk
The International Ecotourism Society
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