Featured Stories

Madrid, Spain, 20 June 2018 – The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, called for the tourism sector to take more action to combat climate change and biodiversity loss during the 30th joint meeting of its Commissions for South Asia and Asia-Pacific in Fiji (18-20 June 2018).

The Lubombo TFCA is a cornerstone to the consolidation of the last naturally occurring elephant populations of the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa,and southern Mozambique, which historically moved freely across the border.

Maputo, 8 June 2018 – Two pristine reserves in southern Mozambique, Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, are set for transformative tourism development. This follows from an agreement signed by the Mozambique Government and Peace Parks Foundation to jointly develop Maputo Special Reserve (MSR) and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve (PPMR). The agreement is based on a strategic business plan, developed by both partners, and initial funding of $16 million donated by the Reinet Foundation, the Wyss Foundation and other private donors. The World Bank funded MozBio programme is also investing in the development of the Reserves.

Brussels, 11 June 2018 – On 21 June 2018, the European Travel Commission (ETC), the Flemish tourist board VISITFLANDERS and the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) will host an Educational Forum on LGBTQ Tourism in Europe. The event aims at advancing knowledge on LGBTQ tourism in Europe, discussing the status quo of Europe as a safe and welcoming destination for LGBTQ tourists, investigating new ways to strengthen the region’s attractiveness as an LGBTQ-friendly destination, and understanding the future evolution of LGBTQ travel.

Norway's Sustainable Destination Standard

June 7, 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Innovation Norway’s Sustainable Destination Standard has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status.

Innovation Norway’s Sustainable destination standard includes 45 criteria and 108 indicators to be measured, registered and monitored. The standard covers nature, culture, environment, social values, community involvement and economic viability. Measurable and continuous development is ensured through performance counts and renewing the brand every three years.

Transforming Travel

"Transforming Travel - Realising the potential of sustainable tourism"

Author: Jeremy Smith

CABI, ISBN 978-1-786-39419-4, Paperback, 124 pages, December 2017

A detailed survey of good practices in the hotel and some other sub-sectors of the Travel industry with an “instead-of-cursing-the-darkness-light-up-a-candle” attitude. The author, a leading travel and environment journalist, explains from the outset that this concise publication is not meant to be “a book exposing the ills of tourism”. What it is is uplifting and pleasant to read, avoiding jargon and a rigid academic presentation, without sacrificing accurate details and footnotes or a basic analysis of underlying issues. It includes direct, thought-provoking direct questions (e.g. Can hotels become water neutral?) and provides answers based on facts rather than endless theories. Academic readers may, of course, take issue with some of the sources, which apart from valuable first-hand experiences and a thorough literature review, unavoidably include company press releases. As a green ideas guide and tool book for tourism administrators, decision-makers, green tourism entrepreneurs and eco-friendly hotel managers (especially in large chains with long arms and big pockets where anything is possible) the book succeeds 100%. Equally so for conscious, responsible travellers. It serves as a useful record of green tourism progress (and indirectly of lack thereof) so far, a detailed picture documenting “what”, rather than a movie explaining “why”.

Thailands' STMS Ecolabel Now Recognised by GSTC

10 May 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Thailand’s Sustainable Tourism Management Standard, published by Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status.

DASTA’s Thailand’s Sustainable Tourism Management Standard has been created for managing tourism and aims at helping all types and sizes of tourism-related organizations to manage tourism systematically and sustainably. It is expected to enable those related organizations to achieve a performance that is higher than the basic level required by law. These standards, therefore, can be challenging for organizations that want to improve the efficiency of their operation, leading to 'Sustainable Tourism'.

Tourism Alert & Action Forum - "Salvador Statement on Just Tourism", March 18th 2018

Following on from the meeting of the Tourism Advocacy and Action Forum (TAAF) in 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey, a group of activists and representatives of organization working on tourism issues met at Salvador, Brazil in March, 2018 in a side event to the World Social Forum (WSF). The WSF ran under the theme “To resist is to create, to resist is to transform!” and the TAAF took inspiration on resistance and transformations in tourism.

Amending our name to the Tourism Alert and Action Forum, our group of activists and representatives: reaffirmed our commitment to the principles of the Istanbul Statement and considered the experiences of communities suffering the negative impacts of tourism policies and projects that are included within the imposition of models of hegemonic development. We also recognized that tourism works together with the execution of mining, oil, energy, forestry, marine resources extraction, bioprospecting, privatization of lands, water, goods, public services and cuts or violates human rights extensively.

Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

Berlin, Germany (6 March 2018) - The tourism sector’s role and responsibility in contributing to sustainable development on a global scale was the central message delivered at the opening of the 2018 edition of the ITB Berlin travel trade show by Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Speaking in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tourism ministers from around the world and the leaders of the tourism sector, Mr Pololikashvili stressed how tourism not only needs to consolidate current growth rate but “to grow better”.

In 2017, international tourist numbers grew a record 7% to reach 1.3 billion. UNWTO’s message underlines the need to turn these figures into benefits for all people and all communities. “Leaving no one behind” is the benchmark for true sustainability, which must also decouple growth from resource use and place climate change response at the heart of the tourism sector’s agenda.

“Tourism’s sustained growth brings immense opportunities for economic welfare and development”, said the UNWTO Secretary-General, while warning at the same time that it also brings in many challenges. “Adapting to the challenges of safety and security, constant market changes, digitalization and the limits of our natural resources should be priorities in our common action”, he added.

Speaking at the opening was the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Governing Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller, the President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) Dr. Michael Frenzel, the Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Manuela Schwesig and Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.

“Tourism is an example of the opportunities of globalisation. Tourism brings people closer together and creates the foundation for growth” said Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We are committed to the Agenda 2030. We are committed to sustainable tourism.” she added stressing the role of tourism in the sustainability agenda.

The UNWTO Secretary-General stressed education and job creation, innovation and technology, safety and security; and sustainability and climate change as the priorities for the sector to consolidate its contribution to sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda, against the backdrop of its expansion in all world regions and the socio-economic impact this entails.

To address these issues, Mr. Pololikashvili concluded that “public/private cooperation as well as public/public coordination must be strengthened, in order to translate tourism growth into more investment, more jobs and better livelihoods”.

Useful links:

Speech by UNWTO Secretary General delivered during opening ceremony

Press conference in Yaounde, Cameroon. March 7, 2017. Credit: Réseau des acteurs du Développement Durable (RADD).

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, hundreds of organizations and individuals demand an end to the violence against women living in and around large-scale oil palm plantations expansion.
A petition has been initiated by women in West and Central African countries where industrial oil palm plantations are expanding rapidly. In Cameroon, the petition is presented to institutions promoting oil palm plantations, such as the European Union, United Nations, as well as the embassies of Belgium and France, home countries of several of the oil palm companies active on the continent.

Over the past few years, African countries have been targeted as the new frontier for expansion of industrial oil palm plantations. Estimates are that governments handed over more than 4 million hectares of land in oil palm concessions. This has resulted in negative impacts on local communities. Conversion of community land to industrial oil palm plantations also has created specific and differentiated impacts on women. One of the most terrible impacts resulting from plantations expansion is violence against women. Often, women suffer sexual violence and abuse, the suffering made worse by the fact that these forms of violence are routinely silenced and thus, made invisible.

Given this situation, Women from different countries came together to launch the Petition on 8 March, International Women’s Day, as a way to draw attention to this suffering as a result of the expansion of large-scale industrial oil palm plantations. In the petition, women denounce that “industrial plantations bring sexual abuse, rape, harassment, persecution and destruction of their livelihood”.

The petition also exposes that when forests are destroyed to make way for plantations, the diversity of food, medicine and material that forests provide, is also destroyed. This destruction eradicates an important part of the economic and cultural values that women depend on and that characterize their traditional land use practices. Furthermore, rivers are polluted by chemicals used in large-scale plantations, and diseases and other health problems multiply.

The petition notes that children suffer from the consequences: “Livelihoods are drastically affected and women are forced to work as labourers in plantations where their wages are too low for them to be able to pay school fees, compromising their children’s future. Children end up resorting to theft and are regularly thrown in jail. Without decent jobs, even young children are drawn into taking drugs”, the petition says. Alcohol consumption among minors also often increases significantly around industrial plantations.

The petition, signed by hundreds of organizations and individuals from all continents, demands that oil palm companies stop the violence against women and give back community land and forests, which were illegitimately taken through government concessions.

Tourism Marketing for Small Businesses

New title from Goodfellow Publishers: Tourism Marketing for Small Businesses by Steven Pike.

February 2018; ISBN: 9781911396352 Paperback; 242 pgs; Price: GBP £34.99 €45.00 USD $55.00

This unique text focuses on the application of global marketing principles specifically for small tourism businesses around the world and links academic theory with real world practice illustrated via international case studies.
Written in an engaging style and structured to follow a 12-13 week semester course Tourism Marketing for Small Businesses enables understanding of formulating, implementing and monitoring a marketing strategy. 

Small tourism businesses form the majority of the employment opportunities within the tourism industry. However, many texts seem to overlook this significant sector of the industry and focus instead on the larger multinational companies. This unique text focuses on the application of global marketing principles specifically for small tourism businesses around the world and links academic theory with real world practice illustrated via international case studies.

Written in an engaging style and structured to follow a 12-13 week semester course Tourism Marketing for Small Businesses enables understanding of formulating, implementing and monitoring a marketing strategy. Each chapter will contain summary review questions and a mini case with discussion question. Accompanying the text are lecturer resources in the form of PowerPoint slides for each chapter, with links to relevant URLs and YouTube clips.

A vital text for all tourism and marketing students as well as tourism industry practitioners who have marketing responsibilities.

20% Discount for ECOCLUB Members - Contact us for details

Order direct from www.goodfellowpublishers.com 

 

 

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