Lecture responsible tourism unit 13 community action in responsible tourism

By the end of the unit participants will be able to: are economically viable environment from negative tourism impacts private sector participation and support in tourism • Identify oppo

By the end of the unit participants will be able to:

are economically viable

environment from negative tourism impacts

private sector participation and support in tourism

• Identify opportunities to help create a skilled local tourism

workforce

social impacts of tourism on the community, environment

and economy

Topics

1 Developing responsible tourism products that are economically viable

2 Safeguarding the local community &

environment

3 Promoting participation and support in tourism

4 Developing a skilled local tourism workforce

5 Community based sustainability impacts monitoring & evaluation

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

Viable Unviable

not outweigh income (profitable)

and needs of the tourist

environment

culture

(target market)

do not meet visitor’s needs and expectations

environment

in the local community

3 Products are matched to markets

4 Products meet government laws &

regulations

1 Ensuring market demand

Assessing market demand through

market research

1 The size of the market: How many people?

2 The nature or characteristics of the market: Who

Addresses a limitation on tourism growth

1 Ensure available market demand

2 Ensuring available resources of

sufficient quality exist

The success or failure of a tourism product depends on a range of factors, most importantly:

2 Available resources of sufficient quality exist

Availability

• Potential resources

or assets exist and are available for use

Accessibility

• Potential resources can be easily

reached by the market

Condition

• Quality of resources will satisfy visitor expectations & standards

Measuring viability through product

assessment

Undertaking a product assessment will

help:

Identify available and accessible tourism products (potential or existing)

Determine the product quality or condition for business success

2 Available resources of sufficient quality exist

Common types of tourism products

2 Available resources of sufficient quality exist

• Plants and animals

Activities & events

• Festivals & celebrations

• Spiritual ceremonies & events

• Sporting competitions

Conducting a product assessment

to determine the condition of a

resource

Product assessments help determine the condition or quality of a resource by quantifying:

2 Available resources of sufficient quality exist

• Uniqueness & authenticity

Example of a product assessment

Product: Village homestay experience

Score (1 Poor – 10 Strong)

Weighting (% of 100) Total score

Quality of nearby attractions 8 4% 0.32 Range of available activities 6 5% 0.30 Existing available services 4 3% 0.12

Distinctiveness of product 8 5% 0.40 Easily accessible target markets 10 10% 1.00 Sufficient target market size 6 8% 0.48 Favourable target market trends 6 5% 0.30 Private sector existence 6 3% 0.18 Supportive regulatory context 10 4% 0.40 Available human resources & infrastructure 8 6% 0.48 Economically sustainable 8 10% 0.80 Environmentally sustainable 10 7% 0.70 Socio-culturally sustainable 8 7% 0.56

TOTAL 112 100% 7.58

10

3 Ensuring products are matched to

markets

Tourist satisfaction depends on the ability of the supplier

to satisfy customer needs at the right time with the

right products; in other words, to match the supply of

tourism products with the demand for those products

3 Products are matched to markets

of consumer needs

A good understanding

of products &

their features

Matching markets and products

Why are these markets linked

to these products?

4 Ensuring products meet government laws & regulations

It is important to ensure products meet government

laws and regulations to avoid potential conflicts or

restrictions and to gain the support of government to

better ensure success.

4 Products meet government laws & regulations

Types of regulations and laws that may affect product viability

4 Products meet government laws & regulations

Visitor permits

Village entrance fees

Business activity restrictions

Pricing policies

Business licensing requirements

Joint venture contract conditions

Codes of conduct

Recording and reporting requirements

Government plans may also affect

success

4 Products meet government laws & regulations

Tourism master

plans

Development plans

Conservation Plans

Land use plans

Coastal management plans

Potential negative social impacts of poorly

planned & managed tourism

Social tension resulting from shifts in domestic arrangements and gender roles

Commodification of cultures and traditions

Exacerbation of existing social inequalities and creation of new

ones

Cultural conflict Loss of traditional values & skills

Potential negative environmental impacts of

poorly planned & managed tourism

environment

Disturbance to wildlife

Overconsumption of

Potential negative economic impacts of poorly

planned & managed tourism

Inadequate sharing of tourism benefits

Tension from wage and income disparities

Increased economic dependency on one sector

Inflated land and housing prices, and living costs Economic leakage

Factors that effect the level of tourism impact

Level of impact

Characteristics

of the destination

Characteristics

of the tourists

Characteristics

of the type of tourism development

Awareness raising and capacity building

Marketing and communication

Employment

Use policies & strategies to minimise negative

impacts

Destination management & risk management plans

Appropriate local-level policies Strategic tourism plans

Tourism standards &

guidelines

Visitor & tour operator codes of conduct

Tourism laws to regulate business operation

Environmental & social impact assessments

Laws on zoning, use, and tourism development

Use economic, financial & market instruments

to minimise negative impacts

Sustainable tourism certification

Incentives for implementing responsible tourism initiatives

Fees or charges to regulate tourism flows

Voluntary environmental reporting, guidelines / codes of conduct

Use awareness raising & capacity building to

minimise negative impacts of tourism

Request local government for training in managing tourism

impacts

Request local tourism authorities to provide information on tourism best practice examples

Use marketing & communication to minimise

negative impacts of tourism

Inform visitors about your sustainability issues and initiatives

Incorporate sustainability messages into interpretation of natural &

cultural heritage values

Governments highlight sustainable tourism ventures and destinations

in marketing efforts

Use good employment practices to minimise

negative impacts of tourism

Promote equal opportunity

Provide employment contracts for staff

Pay minimum or higher wages

Provide industry accepted employment benefits

Provide incentives and

bonuses

Provide an adequate work space

Follow responsible recruitment practices

Provide appropriate skills training programmes

Tourist codes of conduct

Are voluntary principles and practices that tourism

host communities develop and request tourists to

follow in order to limit the negative impacts of tourism activities and enhance the positive impacts

Examples of tourist codes of conduct

• Respect the local culture and traditions

• Consider the privacy and practices of the host community

• Buy local goods and services

• Do not damage cultural sites and monuments

• Do not disturb wildlife and ecosystems

• Respect local laws

• Others?

A tourist code of conduct in Luang Prabang,

Laos

Codes of conduct can also be applied to

tourism businesses

regulations affecting business operation

and accurately

Importance of participation in tourism

Share the ownership, commitment and responsibility

Maximise support and investment resources

Reduce the investment time and

Areas of community participation in tourism

Areas of community participation

Feasibility studies

Planning and business development

Tourism operation and management

Benefit sharing

Providing labour

Voluntary work

Leasing of land/ buildings / sites for a venture

Types of community tourism entities

Individual Business Households

• A ‘household’ can be an individual person or a group of family members

• Applicant/s must be Vietnamese citizen/s

• Applicant/s must be at least 18 years of age

• Applicant/s must have legal capacity

• Applicant/s must have capacity to conduct full civil behaviors Service

Groups

• Work on the bases of co-operation

• Three or more individuals

• Members contribute assets and work together to create jobs and benefits

• Based upon mutual responsibility Management

Board

• Operates on the basis of democracy, transparency, and volunteerism

• Members elected by the local community

• Has an organizational structure, duties, functions and powers (based on voluntary rules identified by the people in accordance with the law, local customs and practices)

• No legal power

• Activities rely heavily on funds contributed by the community, especially those directly providing services

• Board receives direct support from Local Authorities and Central Agencies

• Usually established to carry out a specific task over a defined period of time after which the Board normally moves to become a new type of organization or is dissolved

Co-operatives • A type of economic organization established to conduct business activities

• Have own assets financed by their sources of working capital contributed by their members (e.g capital contributions, accumulative capital, and other funding sources)

• Have charter and working regulations, a brand name and logo

• Financially self-sufficiet (similar to other types of enterprises) Private

enterprises

• Includes limited liability companies and joint stock companies

• Company owners and company are two legally separate entities (the company is a legal entity, and the company owner is the person with the rights and obligations corresponding to the ownership of the company)

• Obtain legal status after being granted business registration certificates

• Whilst joint stock companies are allowed to issue public shares, limited liability companies are not

Involvement of 3 key stakeholder groups required for good community based tourism

1 Working with the community

2 Working with the private sector

3 Working with the government

Using community management organisations

to plan and manage tourism

Form: Related board operating informally

Service providers (homestay, local guide etc)

Are service-oriented Act at the local level Voluntary contributions Non profit

Implementing community management

organisations

Good representation Capable and engaged

…from the community (opinions, wants, needs etc)

Well-organised, trust systems

Success factors of good community management organisations in tourism

Knowledgeable

Accom CTG Shops /

Souvenirs CTG

Transport CTG

Example: Nam Dam CBT Management Board

People Committee of Quan Ba Commune

People Committee of Quan Ba District

Nam Dam Community Based Tourism Management Board

Homestay group

Local guide group

Culture performance &

handicrafts group

Transport CUM security group

Community tourism fund

Head of Nam Dam CBT MB

V.Head

Secretery

2 MB members (CUM fund /treasury management)

Working in co-operatives to deliver tourism

services

• A type of economic organisation established

to conduct business activities

• Have own assets financed

by their sources of working capital contributed by their members

• Have charter and working regulations, a brand name and logo

• Financially self-sufficient

Working with the private sector

• To ensure the right products are developed for the right

Other service providers

Working with the private sector through

partnerships

Tour operators &

travel agencies

Accommodation providers

Provide advice on product opportunities, business operation, and service improvement

Bring tourists to the community

Forms and benefits of partnering with the

private sector

Marketing support

Local infrastructure support

Facilities and equipment support

Forms and benefits of partnering with the

private sector

Range

of support

Provide grants

Encourage dispersion

of tourism to local and regional areas, through infrastructural investment and marketing

Ensure good policy is followed up with implementation

Promote local tourism enterprises and products in marketing material

Revise regulations that impede growth of small business

Provide training in tourism occupational skills

Working with government in community based

tourism

•Community Management Board

•More?

Development

•Social policy bank / Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (loans and investment)

•Commune PPC (construction standards)

•Police office (safety and security)

•Community Management Board

•More?

Operation

•Multi-Department Taskforce (police, tax, tourism)

•Commune Security

•TIC (marketing support)

•Social policy bank / Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (loan repayment)

•Community Management Board

•More?

Importance of skills training

understanding of how to do their job efficiently,

effectively and to an industry accepted standard

repeat visitation and positive word of mouth promotion will result thereby further business

Recognising skill gaps

specific skills required

job, but it might not be at an industry accepted standard.

ensure workers can complete their jobs to a satisfactory standard.

JOB SKILLS REQUIRED

Conducting a skills gap analysis

SKILLS GAP

SKILLS AVAILABLE

Skills training required to fill

the gap

Different skills are required at different levels

of job position

Cross-Cutting Skills: Environmental & cultural management skills, basic

communication skills, leadership skills

Business owner / Operator

•Product development skills

•Understanding dynamics of tourism industry

•Understanding legal issues

•Finance and accounting skills

•Monitoring and analysis skills

•Marketing management and pricing strategies

•Marketing and communication skills

Supervisory level

•General management skills

•Understanding of technical service, housekeeping, menu planning etc)

•Monitoring & analysis skills

•Leadership & training skills

•Conflict management & cultural communication

cross-Staff level

•Technical skills (e.g F&B preparation / service, housekeeping, menu planning etc)

•Guide and interpretation skills

•Good work ethic

Where to find training opportunities to fill skill

gaps

Existing skilled workers

organisations

training providers

Key steps to developing a community based

monitoring programme

1 Plan to monitor

2 Scope key issues

3 Develop indicators 4 Collect data

5 Evaluate results

6 Plan response

7

Communicate results

8 Review objectives & issues

9 Implement actions