Is there a future for sustainable tourism?

The value of the Travel Foundation came under fire from one of its own trustees this week during a debate about the future of sustainable tourism. Speaking to an audience at a Tourism Society debate, Tourism Concern director, Tricia Barnett was despondent. In an opening address she said: “I wish I was optimistic about the future of sustainable tourism, but I am not.” Ms Barnett has just returned from the World Social Forum in Mumbai, where the future of tourism was one of the issues on the agenda. She said countless case studies were discussed, such as Manchu Picchu in Peru, where unchecked tourism and associated development were having a negative effect on the destination. “Tourism is way out of control. It is grotesque,” she said. “The industry thinks it can get away without doing anything because now there is the Travel Foundation. They can sign up to it and get their customers to pay ten pence. Then they don’t implement policies, or appoint a responsible tourism officer. “I have yet to be convinced that the Travel Foundation can save the industry.” Sitting in the audience was Sunvil Holidays managing director Noel Josephides, who is a staunch supporter of sustainable tourism and founding partner of the Travel Foundation. His company asks customers to donate 50 pence per passenger and also donates 50 pence itself per booking. He said he had heard Ms Barnett’s “rants” on other occasions: “To set up the Travel Foundation took five years of hard work. “I agree with Tricia on many points but the trouble is that it does cost a lot of money and the industry doesn’t make a lot of money. Half of the operators are bankrupt.” He said it was hard for a small company such as his, which employs 35 people, to employ a responsible tourism officer. He added: “In order to be more responsible, companies need to make more money.” When asked by TravelMole whether travel companies were limiting their commitment to sustainable tourism because of the downturn in the economy, Ms Barnett said: “If you think short term, there is no future.” Ms Barnett responded to Mr Josephides by saying that his company had made an outstanding contribution in relation to other travel companies. She also said that she hoped the Travel Foundation can raise awareness in the long term, but said the decision to ask travellers for ten pence per booking instead of £1 was disappointing. Travel Foundation chairman, Derek Stevens was not speaking at the event, but was in the audience. He later responded to a question from the audience regarding comments from Ms Barnett by saying that he thought ten pence was too low, but that the Foundation was trying to drip feed the message about sustainable tourism. “Fund raising is a major issue for us at the moment. We have to build up funds before we can move forward” he told TravelMole. But he said a major problem for getting operators to implement the fee was to do with technology. “Adding a function to the legacy systems that many operators have is more complex than you might think. It takes time and money and means other projects, ones that might be profitable for the company, are deferred. Once that function has been added though, we can more easily adjust the fee.” He also said that the Travel Foundation had chosen projects with early returns so the industry could see the good it is doing. Projects in Cyprus and Gambia are being completed and two in Tobago and Cancun are now underway. Also speaking at the event was former head of sustainable business for British Airways, Hugh Somerville. He said: “I am not so pessimistic about the future of sustainable tourism because it will just take a long time to permeate through the industry.” But he said that BA had tested the system of making a contribution to sustainable tourism per booking, but it was one of the areas that was scrutinised when travel companies are trying to cut costs. He said he thought overcapacity was the perpetual problem for the industry, making it hard for companies to make an investment in sustainability. He gave a presentation warning that climate change was something the industry needed to face up to. The last speaker was tourism and policy officer for the New Forest District Council, Anthony Climpson, who said that sustainable tourism on a local level was about stakeholder engagement. He said his organisation had done much to educate local residents, local businesses and tourists. He has spearheaded the ‘Little Acorn’ scheme which recognises local business that have committed to more sustainable practices in areas like waste management and access to wildlife. The debate was held in London on Tuesday evening and was organised in partnership with The Travel Foundation, Tourism Concern and the Tourism Society. The Travel Foundation has recently received support from John McEwan, former retail director of TUI UK, who has agreed to try and raise awareness of the organisation in the industry. He will also give practical support and advice to help companies and organisations get involved in fundraising. More events dealing with the topic of sustainable tourism are planned. Tourism Concern is holding a debate in partnership with ABTA on February 25, entitled “Running a Responsible Business”. For details go to the ABTA website. The Tourism Management Institute, of which Mr Climpson is president, is holding an event dealing with sustainable tourism in the UK. It is on 19 March in Kent. For details go to the TMI website. Report by Ginny McGrath