This document discusses responsible tourism product innovation for future travelers. It begins by outlining some key impacts of human activity on the environment over the past century, including increased urbanization, industrial output, energy and water use, and soil erosion. It then discusses the need to move beyond simply guiding tourists to interpreting cultural and natural resources using Tilden's 15 principles of interpretation. Finally, it argues that tourism products must be inclusive of local people, move away from single-season offerings, tackle leakage of tourism spending, and incorporate sustainability models to address future challenges like floods, droughts and climate change impacts.

1. AYUBOWAN
May all living-beings live long

2. RESPONSIBLE PRODUCT
INNOVATION FOR
TOMORROW’S
TRAVELLER
Professor Sarath Wimalabandara Kotagama
Professor Environment Science
University of Colombo

3. we are in the Anthropocene
10/06/15 3

4. Urbanisation grew more than tenfold in the past
century; almost half of the people live in cities
and megacities

5. Industrial output increased 40 times during
the past century; energy use 16 times

6. Almost 50 % of the land surface has
been transformed by human action

7. Water use increased 9 fold during the
past century to 800 m3
per capita; 65
% for irrigation, 25 % industry, ~10 %
households

8. Man the Eroder
According to Wilkinson (Geology) March 2005
Sedimentary rock formation over 500 million years
corresponds to an erosion rate of 24 meters per
million years.
.

9. At current rate anthropogenic soil
erosion would fill the Grand Canyon
in 50 years.
According to Wilkinson (Geology) March 2005

10. Man-caused erosion (crop tillage, land
conversion for grazing and
construction): 15 times natural erosion
According to Wilkinson (Geology) March 2005

11. Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment
2000

12. From: Steffen et al. In press 2004
Atmos CO2 conc
Domesticated landLoss of trop forest, woodland
Coastal shrimp farmsFully exploited fisheries
Climate disastersAv surface temp
(NH)
Atmos ozone loss
Atmos CH4 concAtmos N2O conc
Coastal N2 flux
Global biodiversity
Changes in environmental indicators, 1750 - 2000

13. We are spending Earth’s natural
capital, putting such strain on the
natural functions of Earth that the
ability of the planet’s ecosystems to
sustain future generations can no
longer be taken for granted.

14. The situation today….
2014

15. Almost a billion go hungry every day

16. Green house gas emission continues
to rise….

17. Living Planet Index 2014

18. WE LIVE IN AN ARTIFICIAL
CHEMICAL WORLD
More than 30,000 chemicals are
around today, making our lives
?

19. Emerging Infectious DiseasesEmerging Infectious Diseases
30 DISEASES “NEW” TO MEDICINE SINCE 1976
HIV/AIDS Ebola
Legionnaires’ E. coli O157:H7
SARS Antibiotic-Resistant Agents
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
Lyme Disease Nipah Virus
Vibrio cholerae O139 Arenaviruses
RESURGENT & REDISTRIBUTING
Malaria, Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus, Cholera
VECTORSVECTORS
MosquitoesMosquitoes
TicksTicks
RodentsRodents
BatsBats
Tsetse FliesTsetse Flies
FleasFleas
LiceLice
SnailsSnails
AlgaeAlgae

20. “Uncertinity”
Extreme Weather

21. Global conflicts…2015

22. In 2014, international tourist travel reached an all-time high.
Travel for holidays, recreation and other forms of leisure
account for just over half of all international tourists (52
percent or 568 million), followed by travel for other reasons,
such as visiting friends and relatives, religious reasons and
pilgrimage, and health 3 treatment (27 percent).
Some 14 percent of international tourists reported travelling for
business and professional purposes;
Despite all these…….

23. What makes this happen?.

24. Easy access to …

25. Internet information access…

26. Easy reservations..even online

27. Air travel……

29. The new travelers….

30. TRAVELER OF TOMMORROW ?
• The modern tourist has a spirit of adventure that,
unless regulated by law, could be hazardous to the
individual tourist and to the public. This spirit has
resulted in demand for services and products which,
to be provided or satisfied by the tourism industry
are soiling the images of the industry and the host
destinations most visited by tourists.
• With the ever visible evidence of the ‘reaction’ of the
environment to this human-inflected toll, concerted
efforts are needed to plan activities such as tourism
sustainability Jerry Kolo , 2014

31. ATHITHI DEVO BHAVA (sanskrit)
“The guest is equivalent to God”

32. CRITERIA FOR THE TOURISTIC PRODUCT
INNOVATION FROM NATURE

33. ORIGINAL OFFERINGS…
Grandeur / diversity of landscape (mountains,
bodies of water

34. High level of biological diversity……

35. HIGHEST BIODIVERSITY PER UNIT AREA ( /
10,000 sq Km )
Highest in
Amphibians,
Mammals, Reptiles
and Flowering Plants

36. Presence of BIG animal species….

37. Easily spotted wildlife

38. Major coastal
areas - corals

39. COUNTRY OF ENDEMICS
Amphibia - 70 % out of 116 species
Reptiles – 55 % out of 173 species
Land Crabs – 99% out of 51
species
Birds 5% (33) out of 389 species
Flowering plants 35 % out 1300
species
Land Snails 90% out of 345
species

40. LINKED TO OUR CULTURE

41. Interesting forms of vegetation -
tropical ecosystems

42. “pristine quality” of
the ecosystems

43. Possibilities for aquatic
indulgence

44. Natural sports possibilities
Rafting, diving, climbing

45. Archaeological sites

46. CLIMATE
Pleasant, diverse

47. Additional criteria….
Accessibility
Proximity to an international
airport and/or a tourist centre
Duration and comfort of travel
there ( runway, state of roads)
are relative to attraction

48. Bed and board
On-hand or possible
access to pleasant,
hygienic, acceptable
lodgings
Offer tasty, hygienically
prepared meals

49. BASIC FRAME WORK
Tourists’ personal safety (protection from
crime)
Presence of basic
medical care

50. THE SMILING
PEOPLE…

51. ECOTURISM ASSETS

56. Products must be converted as
INTERPRETIVE MATERIAL
……is an educational activity that aims to
reveal meanings about our cultural and
natural resources.
…..is an informational and inspirational
process

59. Ecotourism products…

60. They must follow the 15
principles
(Tilden, Beck & Cable)

61. Relate to life experience
To spark an interest, interpreters must relate
the subject to the lives of visitors.

62. Revelations based on
information
The purpose of interpretation goes beyond
providing information to reveal deeper
meaning and truth.

63. Interpretation is an art
The interpretive presentation-as awork of art-
should be designed as a story that informs,
entertains, and enlightens.

64. Interpretation is provocative
The purpose of the interpretive story is to
inspire and to provoke people to broaden
their horizons.

65. Interpretation is holistic
Interpretation should present a complete theme
or thesis and address the whole person.

66. Interpretation is context
specific
Interpretation for children, teenagers, and
seniors – when these comprise uniform
groups – should follow fundamentally
different approaches.

67. Interpretation is alive,
enjoyable and meaningful.
Every place has a history. Interpreters can bring
the past alive to make the present more
enjoyable and the future more meaningful.

68. Technology with foresight
and care.
High technology can reveal the world in exciting
new ways. However, incorporating this
technology into the interpretive program
must be done with foresight and care.

69. Quality and Quantity of
information
Interpreters must concern themselves with the
quantity and quality (selection and accuracy)
of information presented. Focused, well-
researched interpretation will be more
powerful than a longer discourse.

70. Use communication
techniques
Before applying the arts in interpretation, the
interpreter must be familiar with basic
communication techniques. Quality
interpretation depends on the interpreter’s
knowledge and skills, which should be
developed continually.

71. Write what readers like to
know
Interpretive writing should address what
readers would like to know, with the authority
of wisdom and the humility and care that
comes with it.

72. Should attract support
The overall interpretive program must be
capable of attracting support –financial,
volunteer, political, administrative-whatever
support is needed for the program to flourish.

73. Should motivate needs
Interpretation should instill in people the ability,
and the desire, to sense the beauty in their
surroundings-to provide spiritual upliftment
and to encourage resource preservation.

74. Optimize experience
Interpreters can promote optimal experiences
through intentional and thoughtful program
and facility design.

75. Arouse passion
Passion is the essential ingredient for powerful
and effective interpretation-passion for the
resource and for those people who come to
be inspired by the same.

76. Interpretive Equation
(Kr + Ka) + AT = IO
Kr – Knowledge of the resource.
Ka – Knowledge of the audience.
AT – Appropriate Technology.
IO – Interpretive Opportunities

77. Thus as the PRODUCT CHANGES
we have to be able to move away
from GUIDING TO INTERPRITING,
and have INTERPRETORS

78. MUST BE INCLUSIVE OF THE
PEOPLE
• Tourism despite its saying has OFTEN
excluded the PEOPLE.
• The future is inclusion, and this becomes a
MAJOR PART of RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
• The emergence of ECOTOURISM is evidence
for the new BREED that philosophies the
INCLUSION of PEOPLE as PARTNERS and not
just RECEPIENTS OF BENEFITS.

79. We have to change the SINGLE
SEASON to “365 day product”
• Presently Our effort has been for the so called
season from October to April
• April to October was the “lay – off”.
• The east provided some opportunities in the
past, which has opened now.
• Yet the other products – culture and
Biodiversity is around all year
• Thus what was it that restrained us in the past
?

80. TACKLE THE LEAKAGE
• Sri Lanka tourism has a VERY HIGH LEAKAGE
• PRODUCTS can change this substantially
• Infra structure
• Tour iternary
• Food, etc

81. WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY
MODELS IN TOURISM THIS
BECOMES A COMPONENT THAT
CANNOT BE EXCLUDED IN THE
“GREEN” TOURISM
DEVELOPMENT
THE CHALLENGES ARE TO BE
FACED FOR THE FUTURE

82. FLOODS

83. DROUGHT

84. Rainfall –
Variability
increasing in
most parts,
Wet
Zone

85. Effect on Vegetation- 1

86. Tourism Policy Change
Carbon Free Sri Lanka
Still born……….

89. (Theruvan Saranai)