Responsible tourism 13 years on

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Responsible Tourism
13 years on.
Harold Goodwin
Professor of Responsible Tourism
Manchester Metropolitan University

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Association of Independent
Tour Operators (AITO) 2000
 … we recognize that in carrying out our
work as Tour Operators we have a
responsibility to respect other people’s
places and ways of life.
 We acknowledge that wherever a Tour
Operator does business or sends clients it
has a potential to do both good and
harm, &
 we are aware that all too often in the past
the harm has outweighed the good.

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South African National Policy
1996 2001

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Cape Town Declaration 2002
Responsible Tourism was
conceived by Jost Krippendorf
Born in Cape Town
Spread its wings WTM – London,
Africa, Latin America and Arabia
Since 2004 Responsible Tourism
Awards

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2009 Cape Town Plan &
Charter - metrics
Legacy?

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The objective of Responsible
Tourism
 To use tourism to achieve
sustainable development
 Sustainable development
through tourism
 the aspiration of
Responsible Tourism is to
use tourism rather than to
be used by it.
Tourism is like a fire – you
can use it to cook you food or
it can burn your house down.

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Why Responsible?
Accountability
Actions and consequences
can be attributed to
individuals or legal entities,
who can be held accountable,
and legally they are liable.
Respons-ability
Individuals and organisations
are expected to respond and
to make a difference. This
requires partnerships, a
plurality of relationships,
learning, praxis, and critical
reflection.
The Ostrich problem
 Denial & irresponsibility
 Leaving it to others
 They’ll sort something out

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Taking Responsibility for Tourism

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What is Responsible Tourism?
 “is about making
better places for
people to live in and
better places for
people to visit.”
 In that order
International Conference on Responsible Tourism
in Destinations (2002) The Cape Town
Declaration, Cape Town
http://responsibletourismpartnership.org/cape-
town-declaration-on-responsible-tourism/

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“Sustainable and Responsible”
Sustainable Tourism and
Responsible Tourism are not the
same thing
Responsible Tourism is about
taking responsibility for achieving
sustainable development through
tourism.

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Tour Operator Inbound Operator Hotelier/
Accommodation
Local/
National
Government
Attraction
Managers
National Parks/
Heritage
Local
Community
Tourists
Travellers
Holidaymakers
Taking and Exercising Responsibility
Economic, Social & Environmental
Principle of Sustainablity
WTO Global Code of Ethics
Taking responsibility
You cannot outsource responsibility ..
Whose responsibility? Everyone’s
Nobody’s

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The antonym is Irresponsible
Two primary meanings
 Unreliable,
untrustworthy,
unlikely to be held to
account or mentally or
financially unfit to be
held accountable
 Lacking a sense of
responsibility, akin to
carefreeness the trait
of being without worry
or responsibility
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Is there first mover
advantage?
To be or not to be a leader?
Individuals make change –
companies are run by individuals,
individuals take responsibility.
Responsibility is free, you can take as much of it
as you can handle CEO of Shearings

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Sir Colin Marshall
British Airways 1994
Tourism and the travel industry “is
essentially the renting out for
short-term lets, of other people’s
environments, whether that is a
coastline, a city, a mountain range
or a rainforest. These ‘products’
must be kept fresh and unsullied not
just for the next day, but for every
tomorrow”
Who benefits?
Who pays for
marketing?

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Two kinds of change
The changes we make …….
– Choices & leadership: doing the right
thing
The changes we respond to:
– Consumer demand
– Changing markets & exchange rates
– Regulatory frameworks
– New technology & availability

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M&S
Plan A Because there is no Plan B

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Ipsos-MORI 1999

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Broader consumer trend
 Experience economy & authenticity
 What is real is valued, valued over the
fake.
 Money and time – the currency of
experience.
 Original, Genuine, Sincere, Authentic
 Starbucks coffee drinking experience –
realising added value – with 13,000 outlets
has to counter ubiquity with authenticity
“authenticity .. A new strain of consumer desire”

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Jane Ashton 2006 head of
CSR at First Choice:
“We’re not experiencing a huge demand from
the average consumer, but we do believe that
awareness is increasing, and in a few years'
time we will have needed to have
integrated these principles into our
supply chain.”
Now responsible for sustainability for the TUI
Group:
 “vision is to make travel experiences
special with a firm commitment to
sustainability.”

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Experiential Tourism
 The experience
economy
 Seeking
memorable
experiences
 Driving increased
tourism
 Viral marketing
 Engagement in
culture,
community and
the environment
 Shared product of
host and guest
 Quality, depth,
create memories
You can
taste the
difference
VFM => EFM

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The Business Cases for Responsible
Tourism
 The right thing to
do
 Minimising risk
 License to operate
 Product quality
 Cost savings
 Staff morale
 Market Advantage
 Market Advantage
 Experience
– richer
– more authentic
– guilt free
 Differentiation
and PR
– Reputation
– Referrals
– Repeats

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Opportunities & Threats
 Authenticity
 Real Experiences
 Diversity
 Local
 Social media
 Energy: carbon –
peak oil & global
warming
 Waste
 Water
 Pollution
 Resource costs
 Reputation

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Social Media: Gossip
Threat
 You cannot not be on
social media
 Negative comment is
multiplied by social
media
Opportunity
 Never been cheaper to
maintain relationships
– secure engagement
 Communication is
cheaper
 Negative comment
can be refuted
 Repeats
 Referrals

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Co-opetition
 The competition
is other
destinations
 Co-operation is
essential
– Attractions
– Activities
– Operators
– Accommodation
 What make a
destination
distinctive?
 What are the
experiences that
bring visitors,
repeats and
referrals?

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Successful tourist destinations
 offer the visitor
something unique
 they create a sense of
place, an identity which is
different from their
competitors….
 no two communities are
ever exactly the same…
Numbers => yield
Seasonality & extending length of stay

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Successful conference?
 Great speakers –
national and
international
 Designing product
 Marketing RT
 Inclusive Tourism
& Market Access
 Legacy
 A user’s guide to
realising
Responsible
Tourism in
destinations?
 Who will use it?

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www.responsibletravel.com/awards/
Open Until 20th April

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Comparative market data
Korea 57%
China 56%
Mexico 53%
France 45%
Japan 41%
Germany 37%
USA 31%
Canada 28%
UK 26%
Australia 25%
As part of an authentic experience that explores a
destination’s natural and cultural heritage I am willing
to pay a higher price for an environmentally friendly
travel option over one that is not
1. There are only
particular
markets
2. All travel choices
are aspirational –
constrained by
price.
3. You can ignore
particular market
segments?
CTC Global Tourism Watch Year 3, 2009

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The market case
Garry Wilson, Mainstream
Product & Purchasing Director,
for the TUI Group argues in an
interview specially recorded, for
Cape Town and Africa, Responsible
Tourism is now core, mainstream
business for TUI.
www.bettertourismafrica.org

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www.crtmmu.orgTaking Responsibility for Tourism by Goodwin ISBN 978-1-906884-39-0
© 2011 Goodfellow Publishers
Taking
Responsibility for
Tourism
by Harold Goodwin
www.takingresponsibilityfortourism.info
www.haroldgoodwin.info

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Further information
 www.crtmmu.org
 www.haroldgoodwin.info
 www.wtmresponsibletourism.com
 http://blog.wtmresponsibletourism.com
 www.icrtourism.org/
 www.responsibletourismpartnership.org
 www.responsibletravel.com/awards/
 harold@haroldgoodwin.info