Sign in or 
Location: Best Practices in Sustainable Tourism
Discussion: Moving to Resilience
Category:
Discussion Forum /
General Discussion
Share this
jecochrane |
Moving to Resilience
Sep 5 2008, 6:59 AM EDT
Let's move on from 'sustainable' tourism to 'good' tourism - which ALL tourism should be (another thread is discussing this). We need to understand how to make tourism 'good'.All tourism should be resilient - able to withstand or absorb change. Through my work in Asia (leading tours, community development, consultancy and research) I've realised the key factors in resilience are: 1) understanding & harnessing market forces 2) strong stakeholder networks 3) strong leadership within a strong institutional framework. These factors must work within a context of learning, adaptability and flexibility. We can think of this as the 'Sphere of Tourism Resilience'. Knowing these are the important factors means we can advise, plan and implement effective interventions. These findings have come partly out of research into tourism revival after the tsunami in Sri Lanka and Thailand - I'd gladly share these with interested parties. I'd also welcome your comments! Best regards Janet 5 out of 5 found this valuable. Do you?
Keyword tags:
creating good tourism
resilience
tsunami recovery
|
nayaznoor |
1. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 5 2008, 7:35 AM EDT
I agree with Jecochrane in that tourism needs to withstand change. However, i am unsure if that is completely possible in many countries. To a large extent the government needs to understand this more than just us tourism professionals. The Tsunami affected countries realized it quick enough as they depended to a large extent on tourism revenues. But what about those that do not rely entirely on tourism revenues? How do we get them to realize this?
1
out of
1 found this valuable.
Do you?
|
@lisbon |
2. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 5 2008, 9:54 AM EDT
In my opinion, tourism is a good source of revenues for the majority of countries. Think of Business Tourism. 'It's if like someone has thrown money from the sky to the destination where the event is held', given the number of delegates, possible extension there, etc. And think of the resilience that characterises this segment. Of course, a tsunami is an extreme situation that may help us think and dissect the planning of major events. Yes, Janet, I would very much like to read your thoughts on this, if I may.Now, in my view, the capacity 'to withstand or absorb change' has its major obstacle in the minds of people. For what I've seen people find it very difficult to change. People feel unsecure. It's like stepping into unknown territory. The majority doesn't like adventures. For that they go to see a movie - it ends after 1 h and 1/2 and the world is the same after that. Best wishes, Maria Do you find this valuable? |
|
jecochrane |
3. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 12 2008, 2:59 AM EDT
Tourism is definitely a good source of revenue, and to help it continue to be a good source, we need to understand where it might be heading. This means understanding how markets are changing and - if people are reluctant to embrace change - help them to do so through industry communications, seminars, or whatever. Tourist boards and industry leaders can provide good leadership to help SMEs move forward, and they need to do so within a strong institutional framework provided by governments.
1
out of
1 found this valuable.
Do you?
|
|
nayaznoor |
4. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 12 2008, 5:26 AM EDT
I think Janet has hit the right note here - " within a strong institutional framework provided by government".
Do you find this valuable?
|
Gillenium |
5. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 14 2008, 1:18 AM EDT
Some great ideas and thoughts going on here, and agree strongly with what is being said. Whether ecotourism, volunteer tourism, sustainable tourism etc etc, we need to worry less about terminology and segmenting it, and go back to the basic factors being discussed here - that being essentially enhancing the economics, people and environment of a destination (whilst obviously providing great experiences for travellers of all budgets). Only thing Id like to throw in as #4 after Janet's first 3 factors (which sort of falls into #2 but worthy of a mention in its own right) would be how the local community is engaged and involved in the decision making processes/planning from the beginning, and also being active in the ongoing management of these tourism initiatives, especially CBT projects. Helping these small local businesses understand a sense of ownership will also help increase their self-sufficiency and also lessen the ongoing reliance many destinations still have with donor funding etc. Cheers, Shaun. 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
|
jecochrane |
6. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 22 2008, 10:58 AM EDT
I agree very much that communities need to be involved - I think it comes into #2 in my model. Trouble is if you make it a point on its own, then you also have to add other stakeholders as additional points!It would be wonderful if communities really could be involved in decision-making from the start + bbe involved in active management. The reality is though that many lack the skills to do this, particularly to understand what the market wants. We're seeing now that CBT doesn't always work very well. After nearly 30 years of working on tourism in Asia in various roles, it seems to me that the best examples are where there's some kind of intermediary or facilitator who understands what tourists need and also has the best interests of the community at heart - NGOs can play a vital role here. But it has to be a long-term involvement - it takes years (generations?) to change the way of doing things so that tourists can be kept happy (even people sensitive to local culture). Best regards Janet 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
|
@lisbon |
7. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 23 2008, 3:41 AM EDT
Good Morning from Lisbon!I have to say that I agree with Janet. It is so difficult to change the usual way of doing things. However, is this a sign that things maybe changing? - ' A Rwandan conservationist who helped turn mountain gorilla poachers into tourism guides has been given an award by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the International Ranger Federation.' in http://www.iucn.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=1486 - 'Former guerrilla fighters in El Salvador are helping to boost the country's income through tourism' video in http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7452192.stm Or maybe the Tourists are asking for a more 'edgy' Tourism , because there is now a younger generation who wants to do it differently. So, a better connection between communities and tourists facilitated by companies working on the ground with a reasonable perception of what Sustanability is all about? Just thinking... Best wishes, Maria Lemos www.sustainablesideofthestreet.com Lisbon PORTUGAL Do you find this valuable? |
|
Gillenium |
8. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 29 2008, 12:09 AM EDT
We are also having some interesting discussions in the ‘Don’t call tourism names’ blog….that ties in pretty directly with the discussions here also.
Do you find this valuable?
|
|
jecochrane |
9. RE: Moving to Resilience
Sep 29 2008, 7:21 AM EDT
HiYes, I've been following that one too. It's been great to see a senior government official taking such a proactive role. What I'm keen to see is an awareness that the 'sphere of resilience' must include all actors, including communities, the tourism industry and government agencies - none of them alone can achieve success in tourism, or at least not for very long. Also, things are changing so fast in markets that there has to be a constant cycle of learning and adaptation - a 'tourism learning network' to support business and policy networks. As an example, Kaliandra (the Indonesian NGO I'm involved with) is in working with communities and government bodies around Mount Arjuna, in East Java, to build tourism from the bottom up - but also from the top down, recognising that simply going in one direction isn't enough. They've been holding seminars amongst local stakeholders to explain what tourism is about, and its potential benefits and drawbacks. There's been some experiential training too, with volunteers from the university where I work coming along and acting as 'guinea pigs'! Does anyone else have any successful examples of this kind of learning? Best regards Janet 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
|
@lisbon |
10. RE: Moving to Resilience
Oct 12 2008, 6:03 AM EDT
What a great work Janet! You must be extremely busy. I've done anything similar so far. I did notice however, as probably most of you have, some interesting news related to the 'First - Ever Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria' http://www.unfoundation.org/press-center/press-releases/2008/ted-turner-global-sustainable-tourism-criteria.html Seems very timely to me. Best wishes, Maria Maria Lemos www.sustainablesideofthestreet.com Do you find this valuable? |
|
jecochrane |
11. RE: Moving to Resilience
Oct 14 2008, 10:50 AM EDT
Thanks for that, Maria - I hadn't seen the press release. The four criteria they mention are certainly highly appropriate for ensuring sustainability and positive impacts from tourism, and lots of companies are trying to achieve this. I suppose really with my resilience framework, I'm looking at the background conditions for enabling these positive impacts to occur.Best wishes Janet Do you find this valuable? |
