Lecture responsible tourism unit 13 community action in responsible tourism

UNIT 13 COMMUNITY ACTION IN RESPONSIBLE TOURISM Unit outline Objectives By the end of the unit participants will be able to: • Describe how to develop responsible tourism products that are economically viable • Identify methods to safeguard the local community and environment from negative tourism impacts • Explain the importance of community, government and private sector participation and support in tourism • Identify opportunities to help create a skilled local tourism workforce • Describe how to monitor and evaluate environmental and social impacts of tourism on the community, environment and economy Topics Developing responsible tourism products that are economically viable Safeguarding the local community & environment Promoting participation and support in tourism Developing a skilled local tourism workforce Community based sustainability impacts monitoring & evaluation UNIT 13 COMMUNITY ACTION IN RESPONSIBLE TOURISM TOPIC DEVELOPING ECONOMICALLY VIABLE RESPONSIBLE TOURISM PRODUCTS What are economically viable responsible tourism products? Economically viable RT products are tourism goods and services that are: Marketable and profitabe Satisfy visitor needs and wants Conserve and promote the local culture and environment Economically viable RT products VS Economically unviable products Viable Unviable • Costs of production and operation not outweigh income (profitable) • Product features meet the interests and needs of the tourist • Limited negative impact on the environment • Limited negative impact on the local culture • Costs exceed income (no profit) • Product is not of interest to the tourist (target market) • Product is of interest however features not meet visitor’s needs and expectations • Product harms the natural environment • Product causes socio-cultural problems in the local community key requirements for economically viable RT products Ensure available market demand Available resources of sufficient quality exist Products meet government laws & regulations Products are matched to markets Ensuring market demand Ensure available market demand • For a tourism product to be economically viable there needs to be: – Size of market – Length of stay and seasonality – Willing to spend – Market trends Assessing market demand through market research Ensure available market demand • Market research can help understand: The size of the market: How many people? The nature or characteristics of the market: Who is doing what? The value of the market: How much are they spending? key factors when selecting viable tourism products Ensure available market demand Addresses a limitation on tourism growth Fills a gap in the marketplace Viable RT product Practical ways to conduct market research Ensure available market demand Discussions Observation In-depth research Step Scope key issues Social, economic and environmental issues from tourism must be identified and prioritised Research tourism issues in community Review and prioritise issues Agree on final list Step Develop indicators • Indicators are the tools used to monitor change • Indicators may be social, economic or environmental • Indicators can be developed from key issues (existing or potential) • E.g if a key issue is “Incidence of social disturbance”, then the indicator could be “No of reported complaints about tourists to the authorities per month” Review existing indicators Brainstorm new indicators Select most practical & relevant indicators Examples of common economic indicators Employment level Local employment vs immigrants ratio Income level Spend on community projects from tourism funds Number and types of local tourism businesses Tourism business revenue, profit & loss levels Occupancy rates Examples of common social indicators Tourism training course participation Number of cultural events Women in tourism workforce (e.g number, income level, roles) Incidence of negative tourism related incidents reported to authorities Level of protection of cultural heritage sites Level of formal complaints to authorities about tourism enterprises Examples of common environmental indicators Number and types of conservation projects Level of pollution in the community and environment Level of destruction of local natural environment Environmental conservation training course participation Level of natural resource use / availability Level of waste management and treatment Step Collect data Identify data sources Design data collection methods •Financial records •Visitation records •Surveys •Surveys •Questionnaires Design simple database for results •Indicator description •Indicator survey location •Indicator value Data sources Business financial records Community visitation records Stakeholder discussions Visitor surveys Physical assessment & observation Step Evaluate results • Benchmarks are quantifiable levels or targets of acceptable change for a chosen indicator • Benchmarks may already be available (e.g national or international industry averages) • Thresholds of change are the point at which an indicator exceeds a set benchmark and may cause damage Establish benchmarks Identify thresholds of change Examples of sustainability indicators and thresholds SOCIAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT TYPE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INDICATOR RESULT THRESHOLD PERFORMANCE % of new hotels undertaking environmental impact assessments 33% 90 - 100% V POOR % of hotels using sewage treatment 8% 30 - 50% V POOR % of tourists participating in nature tourism 8% 20 - 40% V POOR % of hotels composting their biodegradable waste 76% 60 - 80% ACCEPTABLE Contribution of direct tourism businesses to GDP 4% 10 - 20% POOR Proportion of new businesses focused on tourism 4% 10-20% POOR Proportion of hotel jobs in rural areas 48% 40 - 60% ACCEPTABLE Villages included in tourism awareness programmes 28% 25 - 50% ACCEPTABLE Proportion of handicraft stalls out of all stalls in markets 21% 20 - 40% ACCEPTABLE Tourism operators informing visitors of village protocol 72% 50 - 70% GOOD Step Planning the response Identify poor performing areas Research possible causes Decide on a response Draw up action plan • Which areas are the most problematic? • What might be the reason for their poor performance? • What can be done to improve the situation? • How will we implement actions for improvement? Example of management responses Source: SNV Asia Pro-Poor Sustainable Tourism Network, SNV Vietnam & the University of Hawaii, School of Travel Industry Management, A Toolkit for Monitoring and Managing Community-based Tourism Step Communicate results • Indicator results need to be communicated to stakeholders because: – It allows the community to learn from past experiences and to improve their tourism products – It helps ensure that tourism generates benefits for the poor • Forms of communication will change according to the intended audience Design communication methods Publish results Step Review objectives and issues • Reviewing objectives and issues is important because: Review objectives and issues – Situations change – New data may become available – Thresholds may turn out to be unacceptable • Based on the results of the review, changes and improvements can be made to the indicators and benchmarks to make them more specific and realistic • Data collections methods should be reviewed and modified if they turn out not to be practical Review indicators and data collection Step Implement actions • Finally, instigate management responses according to the plan of action! Take action Xin trân trọng cảm ơn! Thank you! ... monitoring & evaluation UNIT 13 COMMUNITY ACTION IN RESPONSIBLE TOURISM TOPIC DEVELOPING ECONOMICALLY VIABLE RESPONSIBLE TOURISM PRODUCTS What are economically viable responsible tourism products?... authentically and accurately • Others? UNIT 13 COMMUNITY ACTION IN RESPONSIBLE TOURISM TOPIC 3: PROMOTING PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT IN TOURISM Importance of participation in tourism Share the ownership,... regulations Tourism master plans Development plans Land use plans Conservation Plans Coastal management plans UNIT 13 COMMUNITY ACTION IN RESPONSIBLE TOURISM TOPIC SAFEGUARDING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY