They switch off the lights and air-conditioning when leaving their rooms to conserve energy.

Yet many then walk out on to a pristine beach or golf course, unaware that entire communities have been displaced to accommodate the resort in which they stay.

While many hospitality chains have environmental policies in place, the industry is slow to adopt social responsibility. But big hotels can cause huge disruption in developing countries to local communities.

Beach resorts often occupy coastal areas on which fishermen rely. In poorer countries, people rarely hold legal tenure to the land and are easily evicted after generations of occupancy.

Hotels also use vital resources such as electricity and water. "Sometimes villagers have no access to their wells for part of the day because it's going to hotels," says Tricia Barnett, director of Tourism Concern.

The problem is not limited to the developing world. "In Portugal and certain parts of Spain, farmers are in desperate need of water for irrigation," Ms Barnett says. "Yet golf courses are being sprinkled all day, and tourists take it for granted that they'll have at least four taps in their room."

Ironically, eco-tourism hotel developments can be equally disruptive. In India, a conflict between the inhabitants of Nagarahole National Park, the Adivasis, became a national issue in 1996 when the Karnataka state government leased out land to the Taj Group.

Claiming the hotel would deny their rights of access to the forest and its produce, the Adivasis won a court battle to halt development.

In some cases, hotels are sited on land considered holy by indigenous people. Again, local resistance can prevent such developments.

In July, a group of monks convinced the Hong Kong government to scrap a planned 100-room resort near the Po Lin Monastery and the world's largest bronze Buddha.

But more often, local voices are not sufficiently powerful to win against large chains. In Hawaii, tourist complexes have destroyed dozens of sacred sites and burial grounds.

While many argue that international hotels create jobs and bring in foreign exchange, local communities see little of this money and food supplies, furniture and equipment are imported.

Some say this does not have to be the case. Pro-Poor Tourism, a UK group promoting tourism strategies that benefit the poor, has pro duced a briefing* suggesting ways that tourism suppliers can shift the balance. Hotels, it says, should encourage suppliers to source goods and services locally.

"We're raising awareness among hotels and trying to get people to think about their actions," says Dilys Roe from the International Institute for Environment and Development and a member of the Pro-Poor Tourism team.

Ms Roe says services such as electricity, water and healthcare can be extended to local residents at minimal cost once the infrastructure is in place.

"A lot of hotels have nurses or healthcare on site, and yet people living immediately next door have to travel miles to get to the clinic," she says.

There are signs that the industry is starting to take note. Six Continents is among hotel groups that produce annual environmental and social reports.

The International Hotels Environment Initiative, a charity established by leading groups to improve the industry's environmental performance, also raises awareness of social issues. It is now developing guidelines on siting, design and construction of hotels.

However, Karen Fletcher, director of the charity, says an obstacle lies in the way hotels are financed. "The difficulty is that a great proportion of [chains] operate the hotels and their names go on the building - but they came in very late, if at all, on the actual construction and siting," she says.

Hotel developments are financed by a variety of investors, making it difficult to introduce change. "But we're hoping to influence the finance houses which invest in hotel development," says Ms Fletcher.

For Ms Barnett, however, there is still a long way to go. "The tourism industry as a whole is light years away from others," she says. "Are hotel chains really changing their reporting procedures and becoming transparent or is corporate social responsibility simply a donation to a local charity?"

Medi
------------------
Copyright © 2002, 2003 Medscheme Holdings (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved.