Sustainable Development for Tourism

Risk Management for the World’s Largest Industry

Dr. Edward W.(Ted) Manning, Tourisk Inc., Guilin October 2017

Tahiti

People Travel

• Originally we were nomads • Travel is a natural condition • Tourism is the largest migration in

human history .. and it happens every year

• Keeping tourism alive and well is a full time job…for all of us.

Tourisk Inc Grenada Spain

What and Why Sustain? • Tourism cannot be planned and managed outside

a framework of sustainability of the entire system and of destinations

• Sustainable tourism was created as a reaction to instances of unsustainability – where some tourism degraded the sites it used, harmed the social or natural environments on which it depended and put at risk its future . Seno Aisen Chile Tourisk Inc

Contents of this presentation: • Where it came from • Information as a tool and

strategy (importance of indicators/observatories)

• Limits capacity and sustainability

• Positive steps • Challenges for the next

decade Zhouzhuan China

Tourisk Inc

Why Focus on Sustainability? • Tourism is now immense – and the

largest source of foreign exchange for dozens of countries

• Size matters – at all scales: – impact – capacity – responsibility

Costinesti Romania Tourisk Inc.

Origins • Stockholm Conference • Brundtland Commission • World Conservation Strategy • Realization that tourism was

implicated as a contributor and as a key victim of unsustainable practice

• Several international conferences in 90s

• (UN)WTO as catalyst to focus international actions re tourism

Impress tourists?

Tourisk Inc

Tourism is Volatile • Tourism can change rapidly

– in response to events in the destination and abroad

• Natural catastrophes, economic issues, health problems, all can rapidly change the desirability of a destination.

• Events elsewhere can also impact a destination (terrorism, fuel prices, economic problems)

• The decision to travel is very easy to change for most tourists.

• Key element is risk management

Machu Picchu Peru Tourisk Inc.

The Challenge ( as seen in the ’90s) • Need to show importance of tourism

and links to overall economy • Tourism satellite accounts to try to

quantify the presence and magnitude of the sector

• Find ways to bring concept of sustainable development to tourism

• Devise and share tools and approaches to help managers of tourism understand and manage

• Focus on destinations for action (DMO as prime catalyst)

Tourisk Inc Xiamen China

What do tourism managers need to know?

• Economic factors • Sociocultural factors • Environmental Factors • Governance • External changes or threats • SPECIFICALLY THOSE KEY RISKS

AND FACTORS WHICH CAN AFFECT THE FUTURE OF A DESTINATION AND ITS TOURISM

Tourisk Inc

Why Destinations? • Scale of tourism management and planning • Locus of issues, most stakeholders, interplay

between tourism and other development • Manageable

Emerald Lake Canada Tourisk Inc

UNWTO Indicators Program • Began in 1992 in Madrid

at Environment committee

• Initial request for a single index of sustainability in contrast with suggestion that 50 indicators needed just for water quality demographic change or species diversity

• Initial case studies in Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, and USA

.

Prince Edward Island Canada

Tourisk Inc

Indicators = using measurement to focus attention and action

• What are the risks to key

values? • What is the state? • What are the changes? • What actions will address

issues of safety, sustainability and long term success?

• How can we best monitor these? Phuket Thailand

Tsunami damage Tourisk Inc

Indicators are essentially information for risk management

Seven ship day in tiny Philipsburg Sint Maartin.

Tourisk Inc

Issue and Risk Driven • Indicators were not considered to

be an objective themselves, rather input to solutions to be applied

• Guidebook developed for sustainable tourism at destination level

• Designed to provide clarity and define elements of sustainability

• Used participatory process and case studies

• Process to help destinations define what is important and measure it .

• Not a prescriptive tool – each destination is unique

• Goal =support informed decisions.

Yangshuo China Tourisk Inc

Destination Workshops • Balaton Hungary, 1999 • Cozumel Mexico, 1999 • Villa Gesell Argentina, 2000 • Beruwala Sri Lanka, 2000 • Kukljika Croatia, 2001 • Chagauramas Trinidad

2004 • Phuket Thailand, 2005 • Rurrenabaque Bolivia(2005) • Yangshuo China (2005) • Jeddah Saudi Arabia (2006) • Lombok Indonesia (2007) • Kolas Montenegro (2007) • Bohol Philippines (2008) • Note: related applications

e.g. Cape Breton Canada, Peninsula Valdez Argentina, Kangaroo Island Australia, Malta, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Cyprus .

• COAST Africa (UNIDO) Tourisk Inc

Key Training Component

• Participatory workshops helped

assess the concept of sustainability and what it could really mean in a destination

• Understanding that each destination is unique with its own assets and values

Tourisk Inc.

Jeddah Saudi Arabia Cozumel Mexico Kukljika Croatia Beruwala Sri Lanka Cape Breton Canada

Indicators as Catalyst • Indicators used in planning and

management • Cover full range of environmental

economic, social and management issues • Ensure coverage of concerns central to the

success of the destination • To involve all stakeholders in

defining their tourism future • To foster ability to share and

benchmark information among destinations

• A focus for project develop- ment and evaluation

Badagry Nigeria Tourisk Inc

So Did the Information Make a Difference? :

Bohol Philippines

Yangshuo China

Chaguaramas Trinidad

Tourisk Inc.

Cape Breton Island Canada

Tourisk Inc

Observatories • An important recent advance

has been to build on the indicators program and to work to establish observatories which monitor sustainability

• China has been the leader in establishing observatories

• Focus on a destination but provide for shared information and techniques among them and with the world

• Focus on issues e.g. sustainability, limits and carrying capacity

Tourisk Inc Huangshan China

Why Observatories?

• Laboratories • Learning • Sharing • Mentoring • Outreach • Permit overview of state of tourism across

destinations countries and regions

Tourisk Inc

Kanas China

How does carrying capacity relate to sustainability?

• Sustainable tourism means planning and management within the carrying capacity of a destination.

• The objective is to plan and manage the destination to the benefit of the tourists, the locals and the tourism industry while sustaining that which is of value and valued by all.

• It is really a form of integrated risk management

Banos de San Juan Cuba Tourisk Inc

HOW MANY TOURISTS ARE

TOO MANY? Big Sur California

Tourisk Inc.

Tourisk Inc

Zhangjiajie China

Guayabitos Mexico

Carrying Capacity and Action Decision-makers need to

know: • The key risks to the destination

and to tourism – The impacts of specific activities

relative to limits - ecological, social and cultural and economic

– The development and assessment of progress towards goals and objectives

• The objective is to reduce future risks to the ecological, socio-cultural and economic functions of regions (destinations) to the benefit of all.

Kochi India Tourisk Inc.

Sensitivity and Limits are a better measure than any single capacity measure

• The limits relevant to tourism depend on many factors: – How many tourists – What they are doing – where

and when – What they expect – How they are guided or

controlled – The specific sensitivity of the

ecological, cultural and economic systems which are used or impacted (limits)

– How the impacts are managed – Whether or not there is

mitigation, repair or cleanup.

Victoria Falls Zambia/Zimbabwe

Tourisk Inc.

Planning for Destination Sustainability

(in order )

1. Location – siting development appropriately (don’t put it where it will cause problems)

2. Density – determining suitable intensity of building or use

3. Design – using form to reduce negative impacts or enhance positive

4. Use control or management 5. Enforcement 6. Mitigation and/or rehabilitation

Kandalama Sri Lanka

Parador nacional Cuenca Spain

Tourisk Inc.

Important Current Initiatives • GSTC criteria and indicators

based on UNWTO indicators and destination work

• UNIDO COAST project incorporated indicators based on UNWTO approach

• UNEP Project screening criteria draws on indicators work as does European Commission Indicators Project

• INSTO – tourism now recognized in key UN initiatives

Norway Tourisk Inc

Tools for Government and Industry • Best Practice • Model legislation • Identification and

removal of barriers • New vs retrofit –

regulations often inhibit change

• Enabling success through regulatory reform and support

Banff Canada

Maldives Tourisk Inc

Significant Steps • GSTC – clarity through criteria

and measurement • Green certification(s) • UN Sustainable Development

Goals • Green strategies increasingly

by industry (hotel chains cruise lines) which are more than just waste reduction)

• Major gains re public accountability

Tourisk Inc

Ecological Products • Values and ethics? • Clean and green can

pay …but need more evidence

Tourisk Inc

Kandalama Sri Lanka

Las Terrazas Cuba

Compilations of best practice in ecotourism development (done for WWF) can be found on the Tourisk Inc website for download (www.tourisk.com) as can generic tables of best practice for review of new resort proposals.

Greening Industry

• Many large players now leaders

• More hotel chains, cruise lines – tour companies, with explicit sustainability strategies including social sustainability, annual reporting

• Smaller providers remain a challenge –need support and mentoring (maybe by larger players) Tourisk Inc Hua Hin

Thailand

Ecotourism

• Small but important component of reducing the footprint of some tourists

• Not a panacea – too many ecotourists can also cause negative impacts

• Remains a challenge to get shared standards and avoid greenwashing New Zealand

Tourisk Inc

Accessibility: Can I Go There? • Accessible destinations for

a new demographic • Information on actual

conditions will be important – how steep how long etc.?

• New initiatives by Google, STI, Tourisk and others working to provide location specific facts to be used by travelers or their agents. Longten China

Some Common Observations • Integrate tourism into a more

comprehensive planning process - for destinations, not just tourism.

• Add criteria/indicators unique to destination for key issues

• Clearly define measures • Flexibility needed to adapt

to actual conditions for response to unique issues

Oia, Santorini Greece

Tourisk Inc

Community Matters • Sustainability

includes the local economy.

• Stakeholders are often very diverse and hard to involve – but essential.

• New criteria respond to this (e.g. GSTC)

Kartong the Gambia

Recommendations • Removing institutional

barriers to sustainability • New means to foster more

sustainable forms of tourism • Slowing and or redirecting

growth. We have in some cases been too successful in promoting growth.

Workshop Field Trip Beruwala Sri Lanka

. Tourisk Inc

“Slow” Tourism • Growing market of those

who have both time and money

• Packaging low impact in depth tours becoming successful in many markets

• Lower footprint per day and per journey can result Freddy Mercury’s

birthplace, Zanzibar. . Tourisk Inc

Opportunity further integrate effective tourism planning into special places such as UNESCO World Heritage

Tourisk Inc. Machu Picchu

The JUMBO in the room

• Tourism is a major player in global transport and resource consumption

• Reducing tourism consumption (notably of hydrocarbons) will be a continuing challenge

Sharing positive examples may show the way

Tourisk Inc

Emerging Approaches • Holistic planning models for key assets • Rapid assessment procedures – could

help more destinations begin the process to achieve sustainability

• Training programs –ideally on site and using globally shared resources/curricula

• Mentoring (distance and virtual) • Real time monitoring and information –

with the objective of managing rapid changes at all scales

Monument Valley USA Tourisk Inc.

Key Challenges • Whole system footprinting • Greening the system at all scales • The transportation challenge • When goals collide

– culture vs environment ? • Virtual vacations? • Carrying capacity and concentration • Risk management/adaptation

strategies including response to: • Climate change • Demographics • Civil disruptions • Changing demands from tourists

• Adaptation strategies

Tourisk Inc

Dominica

What do we want to sustain?

Need to foster debate at global, regional, national, destination and site scales regarding what is most important to sustain and how best to make that happen. Photos © Tourisk Inc

Further information: www.tourisk.com