Lecture responsible tourism unit 8 responsible tourism impact monitoring for sustainability

UNIT RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IMPACT MONITORING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Unit outline Objectives By the end of the unit participants will be able to: • Explain how to apply research skills and analyse captured data • Explain how to design success criteria and performance indicators for monitoring and evaluating tour products and services • Explain how to interpret research output on impacts of tourism products and services • Explain how to implement principles of continuous improvement in monitoring and product development Topics Overview of responsible tourism impact monitoring for sustainability Planning & organising a monitoring programme Developing monitoring indicators Implementing , adapting & improving a monitoring programme UNIT RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IMPACT MONITORING FOR SUSTAINABILIY TOPIC OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IMPACT MONITORING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Group_discussion_at_GLAM-Wiki_2013.JPG The role and importance of tourism impact monitoring • Tourism markets and destinations are always changing • Monitoring is critical for evaluating and managing change • Monitoring helps: – Improve understanding about the effects of tourism – Identify where improvement is needed and where change is occurring – Enable destinations and businesses to remain competitive A tourism world without monitoring… • Without data of tourism conditions and trends that monitoring provides, planners and managers: – Cannot assure stakeholders of the reliability of their decisions; – Cannot respond to public concerns and criticisms; and – Cannot properly fulfil their responsibilities or judge the effectiveness of their actions • Moreover, if planners and managers not undertake the monitoring, someone else will – and such monitoring may well be biased Adapted from: Eagles, P., McCool, S & Haynes, C 2002, Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas: Guidelines for Planning and Management, IUCN Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/4605621230/ Key characteristics of responsible tourism impact monitoring for sustainability Requires SMART target setting Responsible tourism impact monitoring ensures tourism development is strategic Identifies indicators Sets targets Promotes effective monitoring Requires Fosters evaluation of adaptation & results continuous improvement Responsible tourism impact monitoring ensures sustainable tourism objectives are met Economic objectives Social objectives Environmental objectives Responsible tourism impact monitoring ensures objectives are SMART SMART OBJECTIVES Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely Responsible tourism impact monitoring considers the concerns of key stakeholders Others Communities Authorities Business Assigning responsibilities ? Who will… LOCAL SCHOOLS & UNIVERSITIES …collect the data FIELD STAFF ? LOCAL COMMUNITY …analyse the data …create the data tables ? ? TOURISM OPERATORS …conduct additional data manipulation VISITORS …validate / verify the data ? Selecting appropriate data collection methods in tourism Observation Overview of a situation Gauge success or failure of actions Evidential Questionnaires & interviews Insight into opinions and actions Careful sample selection required Requires research expertise Visitor books Visitors’ experiences May not be statistically valid Focus-group meetings Overall conditions & impacts of tourism Requires careful selection & moderation Picture sources: Pixabay, http://pixabay.com/ Tips in writing effective surveys Avoid jargon • Not everyone is familiar with technical terms Use simple language • The survey should be easy to read and understand by the majority of people Avoid ambiguity • Ensure questions cannot be interpreted in more than one way Avoid leading questions Ask one question at a time • Don’t try to influence answers by the way you make the question • Combining questions together can result in only being effectively answered 51 Poorly written survey questions TIP BAD PRACTICE GOOD PRACTICE Avoid jargon Are you visiting for VFR purposes? …? Use simple language What is the frequency of …? utilisation of retail travel agents? Avoid ambiguity Do you visit attractions often? …? Avoid leading questions Are you against the extension of the airport? …? Ask one Have you visited the tourist question at a information centre, and if so time what you think of the service? …? Survey questions following good practice TIP BAD PRACTICE GOOD PRACTICE Avoid jargon Are you visiting for VFR purposes? Are you here to visit friends and / or relatives? Use simple language What is the frequency of How often you use travel agents? utilisation of retail travel agents? Avoid ambiguity Do you visit attractions often? Which of the following attractions have you visited in the last months? Avoid leading questions Are you against the extension of the airport? What is your opinion on the extension of the airport? Are you for it, against it, or not concerned? Ask one Have you visited the tourist question at a information centre, and if so time what you think of the service? Have you visited the tourist information centre? Yes / No (if yes, proceed to Q2) How satisfied were you with the service you received there? (provide rating scale) The STCRC’s tips for reducing data collection costs • Use existing collection instruments • Get stakeholder support beforehand • Prepare well your data collection • Use innovative ways in data collection • Limit and pre test questions • Start small Adapted from: Carson, D., Richards, F & Tremblay, P (undated), Local level data collection: ‘Know your patch’ kit, Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre, Australia Principles in good data analysis Effective monitoring systems often incorporate at a number of different tools to assist in the analysis of results: BENCHMARKS • The first “foundation” study from which future studies follow BASELINES • Comparison of data against baseline • Can also use industry averages • Helps establish if results are positive or negative in local situation LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE (THRESHOLDS) Examples of baselines, benchmarks and thresholds Establishing a baseline Using a benchmark • A survey was conducted in 2014 which established that 15% of households in a village had running water • This forms the baseline for household access to running water in the destination • In 2015 a repeat survey was conducted which recorded that 25% of households had running water • This shows a positive change of 10% against the Year baseline Comparing to thresholds • In terms of access to running water, anything less than 100% requires action • If however, the study was of the amount of protected forest in a community, 40% might be an acceptable target depending on the year benchmark SOCIAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENTAL Example: Acceptable thresholds of change for a national sustainable tourism programme in Samoa INDICATOR % of new hotels undertaking environmental impact assessments % of hotels using secondary or tertiary sewage treatment % of tourists participating in nature tourism % of tourist sites passing water quality tests % of hotels composting their biodegradable waste Water usage per guest night in hotels (in litres) Contribution of direct tourism businesses to GDP Proportion of new businesses focused on tourism Proportion of hotel jobs in rural areas Hotel staff participating in training courses Villages included in tourism awareness programmes Proportion of traditional events in Tourism Festivals Proportion of handicraft stalls out of all stalls in markets Tourism operators informing visitors of village protocol RESULT THRESHOLD PERFORMANCE 33% 90-100% V.POOR 8% 30-50% V.POOR 8% 20-40% V.POOR 50% 70-90% POOR 76% 60-80% ACCEPTABLE 928 500-1000 ACCEPTABLE 4% 10-20% POOR 4% 10-20% POOR 48% 40-60% ACCEPTABLE 27% 25-50% ACCEPTABLE 28% 25-50% ACCEPTABLE 50% 50-70% ACCEPTABLE 21% 20-40% ACCEPTABLE 72% 50-70% GOOD Source: SNV Vietnam & the University of Hawaii, School of Travel Industry Management 2007, A Toolkit for Monitoring and Managing Community-based Tourism, SNV Vietnam & the University of Hawaii, USA Communicating tourism impacts monitoring programme results • There is no point in doing a monitoring programme if no one finds out about the results • Stakeholders and decision makers need to hear about the results so they can take action • Results should presented to help stakeholders reinforce positive actions or remedy problem situations PRINCIPLES IN COMMUNICATING RESULTS Consider the needs of the potential user Portray the results as simply as possible Options for getting the message out Website Create a section on the organisation’s website that provides details of the progress being made in sustainability performance Meetings and workshops Provide an analysis of the monitoring programme results in a practical and “hands-on” workshop or meeting It also in-depth analysis and detailed clarification of issues Email Deliver information about the sustainability monitoring program directly into the mailbox of the stakeholders Coming from senior management can add a level of authority Quick and direct Newsletters & reports Provide details of the results within the organisation newsletter or alternatively create a newsletter specifically for communicating the results Include results in the organisation’s annual report Picture sources: Pixabay, http://pixabay.com/ Adapting and improving the tourism impacts monitoring programme • Situations change so regular reviews should take place to ensure the monitoring programme remains effective and meaningful • Review of successes and failures should be conducted by the steering committee after each campaign • Consult stakeholders to obtain opinions on data usefulness and strategies for improvement UNWTO checklist of issues in the re-evaluation indicator effectiveness 1/2 Assessment of indicator effectiveness Are the indicators being used (by whom and how?) Which indicators are not being used? Do the users find the current set useful? Do users now have other needs? Are there new potential users? Are the indicators in the right form, or are other output forms now needed? Are there new means to collect or analyse data for the indicators which might make production easier or more efficient? UNWTO checklist of issues in the re-evaluation indicator effectiveness 2/2 Assessment of indicator effectiveness Are there new issues which have arisen and which require indicators? Is information now available which could permit indicators which were too difficult to produce, but which were seen as important, to be added? Is there evidence of outcomes which have been influenced by indicators use? What are the barriers, if any, which have prevented optimal use of the indicators? 62 Xin trân trọng cảm ơn! Thank you! ... , adapting & improving a monitoring programme UNIT RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IMPACT MONITORING FOR SUSTAINABILIY TOPIC OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IMPACT MONITORING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Image source:... and losses UNIT RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IMPACT MONITORING FOR SUSTAINABILITY TOPIC PLANNING AND ORGANISING A MONITORING PROGRAMME Preparing for a tourism impact monitoring programme of sustainability. .. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/4605621230/ Key characteristics of responsible tourism impact monitoring for sustainability Requires SMART target setting Responsible tourism impact monitoring ensures tourism development is strategic