Global Governance Project G20 Summit Why Responsible Tourism?
It is the lived culture of communities that attracts tourists, and better places to live in make great places to visit for those seeking new experiences
For destination governments, both national and subnational, the question to ask is whether you want to use tourism for sustainable development or to be used by it.
Thirty years after the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio in 1992, there is still mounting concern that we are not achieving sustainability quickly enough. The Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 to encourage businesses, destination governments and tourists to take responsibility, was intended to make tourism more sustainable and inclusive. South Africa was the first to include responsible tourism in its post-apartheid national tourism policy in 1996. As we have seen in the annual awards, businesses from homestays to major hotel groups are increasingly taking responsibility to make tourism better and using tourism to make “better places for people to live in” – and better places to live in are great places to visit. Surveys by Expedia and Booking.com have demonstrated that travellers want to travel more sustainably and struggle to find sustainable travel options.
Domestic and international tourism can provide significant economic benefits for local communities in rural and urban areas. The pro-poor tourism work pioneered 20 years ago demonstrated how tourism can create additional livelihoods for people who are economically poor and marginalised. Economically poor but often culturally rich local communities offer opportunities for positive encounters for those seeking different experiences.
Empowering communities
In the Responsible Tourism Awards, presented each year since 2004, we see many cases of businesses, communities and non-governmental organisations improving tourists’ experiences and co-creating memories. This contributes to viral marketing and, more importantly, provides additional livelihoods that enrich local communities. It is the lived culture of these communities that attracts the interest and appreciation of the domestic and international tourists in their music, dance, craft, art, food, religion and way of life. Their everyday life is the tourist’s adventure.
India is currently the world’s leading destination for responsible tourism. First Kerala and then Madhya Pradesh adopted the principles of responsible tourism and adapted them to address local issues in order to make tourism better and ensure that economically poor and marginalised local communities benefit from tourism, creating additional livelihoods and a sense of pride in their culture and helping stem the flow of young people leaving the communities where they were born.
In Kerala the Responsible Tourism Mission has demonstrated what can be achieved when all levels of government, from state to village panchayat, work together with businesses and empower local communities to shape their tourism to meet the experiential interests of tourists, developing meaningful connections that ensure respect between host and guest, and managing negative impacts to keep them to a very low level. Tourism provides additional livelihood incomes, at the household level. Madhya Pradesh has built on Kerala’s experience and is developing homestays, rural tourism, responsible souvenirs, solid and liquid waste management, access for people who are differently abled and skills training, and making destinations safer for women. Sarawk, too, has adopted responsible tourism as its tourism strategy to 2030.
There is also a responsible tourism trend emerging in Indonesia, responding to the growth in demand for sustainable experiential travel and tourists seeking meaningful engagement with local communities. Tourism can make a major contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, with governments, businesses and communities working together to extend lengths of stay and create environments where tourists enjoy, and pay for, local cuisine, storytelling, performances of music and dance, and purchase crafts and responsibly produced souvenirs.
I have had the privilege to travel extensively in the Global South as a tour leader, consultant and academic. Responsible tourism has emerged as a way of creating better places for people to live in and for people to visit. I have learnt from engaging with communities to develop tourism that meets their needs and the aspirations of tourists, and shared that experience and gained more through the responsible tourism movement. So much more could be achieved if South-South exchange was funded and those with experience in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh could engage with those in Indonesia and elsewhere in the Global South to develop similar approaches to achieving sustainable development through tourism.
The Gambia in West Africa closed it borders for nearly a year to keep Covid out. Adama Bah discusses how the people fared. It is clear that with remittances from the Gambian diaspora amounting to nearly 60% of GDP during the Covid lockdowns and a strong sense of responsibility for the welfare of all within the family The Gambia has proved very resilient. Tourism is 20% of the economy in normal times, closing their borders to fend off Covid cost the country dear. The Gambia survived and recovered from the coup and travel bans in 1994, Ebola in West Africa in 2014 and most recently Covid.
13% of the population are now fully vaccinated and they have not yet passed 365 deaths. The Gambia has reopened for tourism with 30% occupancy. But most of those coming are repeat visitors which means that they do not spend much on craft
The Gambia is a culturally and socially rich country despite the low level of income per head. Resilience in The Gambia is based on the closely knit family and the extended family system. Everyone is their others brothers’ and sisters’ keeper and that obligation continues with the diaspora, the emigres are expected to contribute to their immediate and extended family.
As the African proverb goes it takes a whole village to bring up a child
At WTM Africa we are discussing how to make tourism businesses and destinations more resilient.
Tuesday 12th April 15:45-16:15 Investment for Responsible Tourism & Resilience
Development banks, commercial banks and private investors all have a role to play in financing tourism. Hermione Nevill, from the International Finance Corporation, will take a destination-lens to explore some of the financing mechanisms in play, and how they are changing in the context of recovery in Africa. There will be a presentation about what the IFC is doing and an opportunity for Q&A.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Hermione Nevill, Senior Tourism Specialist at World Bank Group
Tuesday 12th April 16:15-17:00 We need to Increase Our Resilience
The Covid pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerability of our industry to travel bans and fear. Cape Town was not the first destination to suffer from severe drought and a large reduction in arrivals – and it will not be the last. What can businesses and destinations do to increase their resilience? What can you do? What do you need to do?
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Lee-Anne Bac, Director, Strategic Development and Advisory
Simon Blackburn Sustainability Director, African Safari Collective
Gareth Morgan, Acting Executive Director: Future Planning and Resilience City of Cape Town |
Hermione Nevill, Senior Tourism Specialist at World Bank Group
It is time to focus on yield and attract direct bookings
The pandemic has catalysed an increase in direct bookings, SiteMinder’s senior director of global demand partnerships, James Bishop said reflecting on 2020 “With international travel restrictions in place and rising cases of coronavirus around the world, many consumers were drawn to local hotel accommodations where the direct hotel website has always performed well, or through local booking channels, which, after an initial slump, saw an uptick from pent-up travel demand.
As Sarah explains in this free seminar Apple, Facebook and Google are putting more emphasis on customer privacy, relying on third party cookies is unwise and that it is time to begin to build a marketing strategy that does not rely on them.
How does this all relate to the Responsible Tourism agenda? “Direct bookings reduce your breakeven point because they eliminate intermediary commissions that eat into profits, but they also allow for healthier local development because those extra commission dollars that would have been paid to a distant Online Travel Agencies (OTA), now enter the local economy as your purchasing power is stimulated, and that, in turn, means that more local people get a little piece of the pie.”
You can find Sarah’s advice about how to raise your profile on Google here.
Sarah argues that we need to work with the OTAs but also to build direct bookings and capitalise on repeats and referrals.
At WTM Africa in April we are reflecting on progress since 2002 when the Cape Declaration launched the Responsible Tourism movement. 20 years on we are reflecting on progress and looking to the future. Responsible Tourism is about making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit, in that order
Derek Hanekom, then Minister of Tourism, South Africa, spoke with passion about why Responsible Tourism matters at WTM London in 2018. He pointed out sustainability really matters to the future of our industry and spoke about the importance of spreading the Responsible Tourism message, pointing to the challenges of pollution – greenhouse gas emissions and waste – and overtourism.
He speaks with passion about the importance of decarbonisation and the urgency of achieving it. Our industry must play our part in changing behaviour, we are both a contributor to and victim of climate change.
More and more tourists are demanding that our industry address these issues. If host communities feel that they are being used by tourists and that they are not benefitting in their neighbourhoods they turn against our industry. Younger tourists and seasoned travellers alike do not want to be viewed as unwelcome visitors, they want to fell connected and welcome to participate as locals making a positive difference.
As Derek points out SA was the first country to include Responsible Tourism in its national policy in 1996 – maximising economic social and environmental benefits and minimising negative impacts. South Africa has been a pioneer but there is still much to be done we should not be satisfied until Responsible Tourism becomes to norm across our industry As Derek pointed out back in 2018 the water crisis in the Cape became a national problem for the tourism industry – in the Cape the “save like a local” campaign had a real impact on behaviour. We have to learn from each other about resilience and how to deal with crisis.
Derek concludes “We need more; it has to be everyone, we will not sustain our industry or this planet it is all about our survival let us be the industry that leads the world toward sustainable practises – if we can do this we can assure that there is a world where people can enjoy and benefit from fulfilling tourism experiences” It is us who have to be the change agents…
Responsible Tourism at WTM Africa in April 2022
Monday 11th
13:30 – 14:15 Responsible Technology for Travel & Tourism
The tourism industry - travel, hospitality and attractions - has developed a bewildering range of tech solutions to reduce carbon emissions, water consumption, food waste and plastics. New technology alone will not achieve the change we need to see in our industry, we need to encourage behavioural change amongst our staff and our clients. For this panel, we have chosen experienced experts who can look behind the brochures and the sales pitch to share what they have learnt about what works, what doesn't and why?
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Angus Spurr GM Park Inn Cape Town
Tracy Schaffer, Sustainability Officer for the Cullinan Group
Chris Van Zyl, Group Environmental Manager The Vineyard
Hugo Vermeulen Solarus
15:30 – 17:00 The 2022 Africa Responsible Tourism Awards
Tuesday 12th
10:30-11:15 Twenty years of Responsible Tourism in South Africa
The Responsible Tourism movement was founded twenty years ago in Cape Town and has grown to have influence around the world as more and more businesses and destinations have taken responsibility to use tourism to make better places for people to live in and to visit. It has not been easy. This panel will reflect on the progress that has been made since the publication of the White Paper in 1996 and consider the challenges faced. Looking to the future, we shall discuss the current priorities and how progress might be made more quickly.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Derek Hanekom, former Minister of Tourism, South Africa - he made a passionate and memorable speech about Responsible Tourism at WTM London in 2018.
Sean Ingles, General & Commercial Manager at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve
Dr Theuns Vivian Head: Destination Development & Economic Growth, Cape Town
11:15-12:00 Progress in Responsible Tourism Around the World
The Cape Town Declaration founded a movement that has spread around the world. An opportunity to look at some of the Responsible Tourism initiatives that have developed in Africa and around the world and to reflect on whether there are ideas that could be developed for your business or destination. Given the range of challenges – climate change, biodiversity loss, inclusion – that we face, we need to make progress faster. The Platform for Change is designed to enable 'tried and tested' and promising new ideas to be shared. You may wish to contribute Responsible Tourism practices to the Platform or use it to find ways of tackling the sustainability issues which concern you and the communities you work in and with.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Emilie Hagedorn Green Heart Tourism
Lisa Scriven, Utopia Africa
12:00- 12:30 Mike Fabricius & Harold Goodwin co-chairs of the Cape Town Declaration Conference reflect on how it came about and what resulted from it
In 2002 Mike was CEO of the Western Cape Tourism Board and with Harold Goodwin co-chaired the first international conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations which launched the Cape Town Declaration the found document of the Responsible Tourism movement. Mike went on to establish. The Journey, is an independent tourism advisory and consultancy practice undertaking destination development in Africa, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and the Fear East. Mike and Harold will reflect on the progress made over the last twenty years in South Africa and around the world, barriers to change and reflect on the future.
Mike Fabricius The Journey & Co-Chair Cape Town Conference on RT in Destinations, 2002
Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor & Co-Chair Cape Town Conference on RT in Destinations, 2002
12:45-13:30 V&A Waterfront
The V&A Waterfront won the "Sustaining Employees and Communities through the Pandemic" category in last year's WTM Global Tourism Awards. This panel is an opportunity to hear from them and ask them why Responsible Tourism matters to them, about why it makes business sense, and about their environmental and socio-economic initiatives.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
David Green – CEO, V&A Waterfront
Henry Matthys - Snr Man. Social Impact & Food Ecosystem Head
Andry Theys – Executive Manager: Operations
13:30-14:15 Local Economic Development, Creating Shared Value
The concept of shared value emerges from the writing of Harvard Professor Michael E. Porter, well-known for his previous work on competition strategy, value chains and cluster theory. Porter defines shared value as "policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the social and economic conditions in the communities in which it operates". In this panel, we shall explore some African examples of this approach to growing your business, benefitting neighbouring communities and increasing the value of tourism to the destination.
Moderator Gillian Saunders, Tourism and Hospitality Adviser
Glynn O'Leary CEO & Founder Transfrontier Parks Destinations
Evie Ndhlovu, Program Manager EMEA at Planeterra
14:30 -15:00 Tourism and Wildlife Conservation working with the African Leadership University
The School of Wildlife Conservation (SOWC) has been created as part of the African Leadership University to develop passionate people who can address the current failings of the wildlife conservation sector across much of the African continent. "We need to create a new cohort of exceptionally bright and passionate people who understand why conservation is important, who can think innovatively to create value from natural resources whilst building Africa’s natural capital, and who understand how business thinking can in fact contribute to long term sustainability and the transformation of conservation into a pillar of economic growth. We must provide these people with mentored “real life” opportunities to lead and learn by creating large networks of support and opportunity. In short, we must make conservation relevant and attractive in the context of modern Africa. Richard will make a presentation followed by a Q&A
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Richard Vigne Executive Director at the School of Wildlife Conservation, African leadership University
15:00-15:45 Tackling Climate Change
The latest IPCC report, “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, is about risk, the risk to us, all of us, which results from the burning of fossil fuels and the consequent accumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. The IPPC reports that the consequences of climate change are now baked in. With “very high confidence” they assert that “Near-term actions that limit global warming to close to 1.5°C would substantially reduce projected losses and damages related to climate change in human systems and ecosystems, compared to higher warming levels, but cannot eliminate them all.” Our industry contributes to greenhouse gas emissions through aviation and ground transport and heating, cooling and lighting accommodation. What can we do to reduce our emissions? On current trends sea-level rise, extreme weather events and wildfires are expected. How can we adapt to these challenges?
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Goosain Isaacs Director. Climate Change, Western Cape Government
Karien Erasmus, a Senior Manager Risk Advisory Services at BDO, and part of the first phase of the Tourism Sector Risk and Climate Change study for the SA National Department of Tourism
Michael Tollman, CEO of Cullinan Holdings
Chris Van Zyl, Group Environmental Manager The Vineyard
15:45-16:15 Investment for Responsible Tourism & Resilience
Development banks, commercial banks and private investors all have a role to play in financing tourism. Hermione Nevill, from the International Finance Corporation, will take a destination-lens to explore some of the financing mechanisms in play, and how they are changing in the context of recovery in Africa. There will be a presentation about what the IFC is doing and an opportunity for Q&A.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Hermione Nevill, Senior Tourism Specialist at World Bank Group
16:15-17:00 We need to Increase Our Resilience
The Covid pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerability of our industry to travel bans and fear. Cape Town was not the first destination to suffer from severe drought and a large reduction in arrivals – and it will not be the last. What can businesses and destinations do to increase their resilience? What can you do? What do you need to do?
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Lee-Anne Bac, Director, Strategic Development and Advisory
Simon Blackburn Sustainability Director, African Safari Collective
Gareth Morgan, Acting Executive Director: Future Planning and Resilience City of Cape Town |
Hermione Nevill, Senior Tourism Specialist at World Bank Group
Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director-General: Economic Operations, Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and Co-chairperson for the Cape Town Air Access project.
17:00 – 17:45 How can the travel and tourism industry contribute more to conservation and nature recovery?
As the world wakes up to the urgency of the interconnected climate and biodiversity crises and attention turns to the business community's response, how much more can and should the travel and tourism sector be doing to counter biodiversity loss?
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Colin Bell, co-founder of Wilderness Safaris, Great Plains and Natural Selection Safaris
Wilfred Chivell, CEO: Marine Dynamics, Founder: Dyer Island Conservation Trust / African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary
Michael Lutzeyer, Founder & Visionary, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve Roland Vorwerk African Nature-based Tourism Platform
Leaders in Responsible Tourism
At WTM London in November last year the V&A Waterfront was honoured when they won the WTM Global Responsible Tourism Award in the Sustaining Employees and Communities through the Pandemic category
Hear what it means for a business to be recognised in the World Responsible Tourism Awards
2021 GLOBAL AWARD: V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa. AFRICA
The V&A Waterfront demonstrates what can be achieved by a large scale destination business that is determined to work at using its scale and dominance to benefit those otherwise excluded and marginalised
The V&A Waterfront is a mixed-use destination on the harbour in Cape Town, "a platform that facilitates and champions art and design, to support entrepreneurship and innovation, lead the charge on sustainability and drive positive social and economic change." It has continued to grow employment at 3.7% annually through the pandemic. In December 2020, as cases soared, they launched Makers Landing, a food community that celebrates South Africa's diverse cultures through food. There is a shared incubator kitchen, a demo kitchen, eight maker production stations, a food market with approximately 35 flexible market stands, eight small co-op eateries and five anchor restaurants of various sizes. The focus is on early-stage entrepreneurs (start-up, aspirant and grassroots) with limited access to resources in the packaged foods, food service and catering industries. In addition to 17 small anchor businesses, 84 new jobs and eight new businesses have been created, 70% black-owned, 33% women lead. They maintained mentorship and coaching programmes, provided grants (R591,000) and food parcels R1.3m) and continued to fund Justice Desk in Nyanga Township. To support job retention in the SMMEs, they raised working capital to support 49 businesses, totalling R2.52 million, supporting 208 permanent and 111 temporary jobs and provided access to cash flow analysis and support and R20 million rental relief to their 270 tenants. From their urban garden, they have provided Ladies of Love, an inner-city food program that provides meals to destitute people, just under 6 tons of vegetables, from which 130 000 meals were served in 12 kitchens in two years. The V&A Waterfront might be expected to have a significant impact; it does. The judges were particularly impressed by their innovative approach and dogged determination to continue to grow opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalised communities.
At WTM Africa on Tuesday 12th they will be talking about what they are doing and why they take responsibility for making tourism better
12:45-13:30 V&A Waterfront
The V&A Waterfront won the "Sustaining Employees and Communities through the Pandemic" category in last year's WTM Global Tourism Awards. This panel is an opportunity to hear from them and ask them why Responsible Tourism matters to them, about why it makes business sense, and about their environmental and socio-economic initiatives.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
David Green – CEO, V&A Waterfront
Henry Matthys - Snr Man. Social Impact & Food Ecosystem Head
Andry Theys – Executive Manager: Operations
This year’s WTM Africa Responsible Tourism Awards are being presented at WTM Africa
Monday 11th 15:30 – 17:00 The 2022 Africa Responsible Tourism Awards Global Stage at WTM Africa
Showcasing Best Practice in the Industry A highlight on the WTM Africa Responsible Tourism calendar, these awards champion the very best work in Responsible Tourism on the African continent. Join us as we celebrate those - sustainability champions, changemakers, movers and shakers - who continue to make a positive impact and lead by example.
The awards aim to “discover, recognise and promote good practice”. These prestigious awards recognise businesses and destinations that make responsible tourism their focus to ensure they are discovered and celebrated, showing how they are cultivating change and pioneering creative projects that revolve around the wellbeing and sustainability of tourism and looking after the people and the landscapes that allow the industry to thrive.
