It was a great pleasure to be in Kerala again for the AITO conference and to have the opportunity to catch-up with Dr Venu. Responsble Tourism is making progress in Kerala. In and around Kovalam there have been initiatives which have generated additional earnings of

I was invited to speak at the AITO Conference in Kerala
about the commercial case for Responsible Tourism. I first became involved with
AITO in 1999 when following the VSO campaign I did a survey for AITO looking at
the activities and attitudes of their members. 
The membership was then, as it is now, taking responsibility � AITO was
in the forefront when it made its commitment in 2000.

�� we recognize that in carrying
out our work as Tour Operators we have a responsibility to respect other
people�s places and ways of life.

We acknowledge that wherever a
Tour Operator does business or sends clients it has a potential to do both good
and harm,  and we are aware that all too
often in the past the harm has outweighed the good.�

Stirring words � AITO had not capitalised on its early
leadership and has now fallen behind. The adoption of an opaque certification
scheme and carbon offsetting undermined the boldness and vision of the early
commitment.

The PowerPoint presentation which I made in Kerala at the
AITO conference can be downloaded here

Some AITO members remain leaders
in the field but AITO needs to do more to encourage them and others.
Responsible Tourism is the right thing to do and it brings commercial
advantage.

Back in 2006 the BBC reported concerns about the depopulation of Venice.
Private houses have been converted to tourism accommodation – the BBC reported then that accommodation prices were high, that empty apartments and buildings were being  snapped up by “wealthy hoteliers” and that young people could no longer afford the cost of living in Venice.

Mattia Baseggio who ran a guesthouse in Venice was reported as saying
“Almost half my friends have disappeared… This is now one of the only ways to earn a living in Venice. The easiest thing to do here is to run a guesthouse. If you want a profession or a career you have to move away.” Local shops and cinemas are being replaced by high priced designers shops and souvenirs.

The Mayor

Massimo Cacciari was reported as saying that the council is building affordable housing.  There is a real dilemma,  Venice can no longer exist without its tourists as they are the main source of income and the city faces a constant battle against rising water levels, it is money that is desperately needed.
“We must have the tourists,” said Mr Cacciari. “We want them to keep coming. But it is not enough. This is becoming a city solely for tourism. Venice is becoming a museum.”

Organiser Matteo Secchi of today's mock funeral for the city told the BBC that Venice had changed for the worse.

“We promised two years ago when we got less than 60,000 inhabitants we would plan a funeral [for] the city because we think the city with less than 60,000 inhabitants is not a city any more, it's more a village,” he said.

But officials say reports of the city's death are “premature”.

There was 171,000 residents in 1951 today there are now reported to be less than 60,000, although a further 120,000 live on the suburban islands. Venice gets 18 million visitors a year, most of them day trippers,  

Cape Town takes the lead on Responsible Tourism in Destinations
It was in Cape Town in 2002 that the concept of Responsible Tourism in Destinations was launched at the 1st International Conference held in Cape Town as a side event to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The Cape Town Declaration definition of Responsible Tourism  is used by the World Travel Market and UNWTO for their World Responsible Tourism Day.

In 2009 Cape Town won the award for most responsible destination in the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards. The City of Cape Town has taken responsibility for identifying and prioritising local issues from a responsible tourism perspective. The City�s Tourism Department has worked in conjunction with its colleagues in the city administration and with the tourism industry to develop a Responsible Tourism Charter which commits both the industry and the city government to address the local priorities and to report on progress.  They have committed to develop the principles into a corporate Responsible Tourism Policy within 6 months and to develop a corporate Responsible Tourism Implementation Plan with 12 months. Signatories have committed to define measurable goals and to monitor and report publicly on progress.

Heidi Keyser of  ICRT South Africa, and one of our Associates in the ICRT at Leeds Met,  has been the lead consultant working with the City to develop their strategy which has engaged not only the industry trade associations and their members but all relevant department in the city government.

The key resources are
November 2009 Responsible Tourism Policy for the City of Cape Town
This contains

Working our way through this year's long lists, we were impressed by the willingness of so many organisations to take responsibility and to do what they can to help make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. Despite the economic difficulties being faced by the travel and tourism industry, responsible tourism continues to move ahead and I'm continually impressed as more is achieved by more people. As judges we are all very aware of the great work that is being done by so many and our decisions are often very difficult and sometimes long debated.

For details of the process and of the judges see www.responsibletourismawards.com

Global Winner

Whale Watch Kaikoura, New Zealand (www.whalewatch.co.nz )

Rarely do we see a tourism initiative developed from the ground up by a local community to such a successful and grand scale. The founding of the enterprise by four Maori families has demonstrated that the local Maori community cannot only grow a considerable tourism business but, more significantly, use that business to buy back their ancestral land for the benefit of the indigenous people and their cultural identity.

BEST TOUR OPERATOR FOR CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT

Village Ways, India (www.villageways.com)

These community-owned and managed projects in the Indian Himalayas offer unique and authentic cultural experiences by facilitating mutual cultural engagement at every level. Their work has brought previously vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals from the Dalit community into focus as porters and committee members, while enabling tourists to experience and become part of rural landscapes in non-intrusive and rewarding ways.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Estrela, Brazil (www.estrela-brasil.com ) and Tropic Journeys in Nature, Ecuador (www.tropiceco.com )

BEST LARGE HOTEL/ACCOMMODATION (

YHA Wellington City, New Zealand (www.yha.co.nz )

With a host of innovative initiatives in place YHA Wellington goes above and beyond regular hotel practice to engage and communicate with their guests around issues of sustainability in an upbeat and inspiring way, putting the onus back on the guest to exercise, and even enjoy, responsible practices. Their Green Footprint Project includes a �Tree Planting Day� for guests, they invite school groups to take part in a sustainable living quiz, and host the annual National Youth Environment Forum.

BEST SMALL HOTEL/ACCOMMODATION

Rivertime Resort and Ecolodge (www.rivertimelaos.com)

Rivertime Resort and Ecolodge established themselves in what was, once again, an incredibly competitive category this year. The �Agreement of Cooperation� between the Lodge and the three local villages is a real rarity in this sector � a contract that sets out the rights and responsibilities of the company to maximising benefits for the local community, making contractual obligations of key responsible tourism principles..

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Beechenhill Farm, England (www.beechenhill.co.uk ) and Napo Wildlife Centre, Ecuador (www.napowildlifecenter.com )

BEST FOR CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE

Great Plains Conservation, South Africa (www.greatplainsconservation.com )

Great Plains Conservation incorporates a range of innovative projects across five African countries. Their work in the Masai Mara is particularly impressive, facilitating the creation of an 80,000 acre conservancy, and guaranteeing regular payment to the local communities for the use of their land for tourism purposes � regardless of the number of guests. On an unequivocal basis, they provide protected revenue for the indigenous peoples of the Mara, reducing the negative social and economic impacts of tourism.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Chimpanzee Sanctuary & Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT), Uganda (www.ngambaisland.org ) and Way Out Experiences, Malaysia, Indonesia & Borneo (www.w-o-x.com )

BEST FOR CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Selena Travel LLC, Mongolia (www.selenatravel.com )

In 2004 Mongolian inbound operator Selena Travel worked with the nomadic community in Tuv to found and establish a nomadic cultural festival, recognised by the Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism in 2007. In 2008 the festival attracted 300 locals, nearly double the local attendance in 2007 and 65 international visitors. The festival, which would not exist without tourism, fosters the local culture.   

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Rivers Fiji, Fiji (www.riversfiji.com )

BEST FOR POVERTY REDUCTION

Guludo Beach Lodge, Mozambique (www.guludo.com )

The work of Guludo Beach Lodge, through their charitable foundation �Nema� has had an unprecedented and undeniably positive impact on the immediate community, working towards major improvements in children�s health care and education conditions. Their portfolio of projects in the local area is exhaustive, having improved school attendance by 350 per cent, providing access to safe drinking water for 15,000 people, supplying over 10,000 women and children with mosquito-nets.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Rekero, Kenya (www.rekero.com ) and Tribal Voice Communications, Kenya (www.tribal-voice.co.uk )

BEST IN A MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT

Upland Escapes, UK (www.uplandescapes.com )

Upland Escapes is leading the way with their �No-Frills Escapes� (30 per cent cheaper than regular trips) – proof that it is possible to negotiate the effects of the economic downturn while still preserving the benefits of tourism to local communities. They have also achieved an increase of guests arriving by train, from just two percent in 2006, to 19 per cent just three years later.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Ecocamp Patagonia, Chile (www.ecocamp.travel/index.php ) and Wilderness Journeys, Kenya (www.wildernessjourneys.com )

BEST IN A MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Whale Watch Kaikoura, New Zealand

This 100 per cent Maori-owned whale watching operator has demonstrated the ability, at scale � they carry an impressive 90,000-100,000 passengers per year- to offer a very high quality whale watching experience from energy-efficient craft which have a very low impact on the marine environment, and provide ground breaking interpretation which enables passengers to understand what is happening below them. They are the largest financial contributor to the Department of Conservation�s research on the effects of marine mammal watching in Kaikoura, and demonstrate that marine tourism development can go hand in hand with the careful progress of marine conservancy

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Blue Ventures, UK (www.blueventures.org), Misool Eco Dive Resort and Conservation Centre, Indonesia (www.misoolecoresort.com ) and Camel Dive Club and Hotel, Egypt (www.cameldive.com )

BEST CRUISE OR FERRY OPERATOR

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, US (www.rccl.com)

Royal Caribbean has reduced emissions in its newest ships by 50 per cent compared with ships built a decade ago. This shows what could be achieved by the rest of the cruise sector if it shared this level of commitment.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

SeaFrance Ltd, France (www.seafrance.com )

BEST LOW CARBON TRANSPORT & TECHNOLOGY

Alcatraz Cruises LLC, US (www.alcatrazcruises.com )

While the Hornblower Hybrid provides a convincing flagship vessel for Alcatraz Cruises� innovative approach to sustainable tourism practices (an energy efficient vessel, constructed from a reused diving vessel, and with fuel savings of over 29,000 gallons per year) it is their commitment to the reduction of carbon use across the rest of their product range that proves their commitment to minimising their environmental impacts.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Seat61.com, UK (www.seat61.com) and Swiss Travel System, Switzerland (www.swisstravelsystem.com )

BEST VOLUNTEERING ORGANISATION

peopleandplaces, UK (www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk )

Committed to reporting transparently on the money that volunteers pay, they ensure that the volunteers meet their full costs and are not a burden on the community; and carefully match the skills of volunteers to the needs of that community without replacing local labour. They have taken the ground breaking step of having their work externally audited and publishing it online. These four principles set not only a practicable standard for operators to aspire to, but offer valuable guidelines for tourists seeking legitimate and socially beneficial volunteering experiences.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Coral Cay Conservation, UK (www.coralcay.org ) and Peru�s Challenge, Peru (www.peruschallenge.com )

BEST DESTINATION

Cape Town, South Africa (www.capetown.gov.za )

The City of Cape Town has taken responsibility for identifying and prioritising local issues from a responsible tourism perspective. The City�s Tourism Department has worked in conjunction with its colleagues in the city administration and the industry to develop a Responsible Tourism Charter which commits both the industry and the city government to address the local priorities and to report on progress. Signatories have committed to define measurable goals and to monitor and report publicly on progress.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, UK (www.kentdowns.org.uk )

BEST PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION

Gavin Bate, Founder of Adventure Alternative and the Moving Mountains Trust (www.adventurealternative.com )

Gavin Bate has proven with a number of projects that it is possible to share the benefits of responsibly run adventure travel with local communities in developing countries. His dedicated ethos lead him to found and hand over the reigns of adventure travel projects in Kenya, Nepal and Tanzania to local individuals, providing them with a minimum of ten years full employment, and the training, guidance, and inspiration necessary for a new vanguard in responsible tourism. As a serial entrepreneur, Gavin has worked hard to put local individuals at the heart of local initiatives.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Chris Thompson, Travelife Sustainability Manager, ABTA Ltd ( www.abta.com ) and Manda Brookman, director, CoaST, UK (www.coastproject.co.uk )

Further coverage

Responsible Tourism Awards website

R:travel

Daily Telegraph Winners

Whale Watch Kaikoura in the Telegraph

Irish Times

Today's seminar to launch the new report on Advances in Travel Philanthropy at World Travel Market was standing room only and participants shared examples and raised concerns about what travel philanthropy contributes.

The report commissioned by WTM discusses the main issues and provides lots of examples of different forms of travel philanthropy – we identified �160,000,000 of donations over the last two or three years, but that is only a fragment of the total.

Travel Philanthropy is is about paying back, it is about making a contribution to the conservation of natural and
cultural heritage, putting something back in the place we love to visit, as tourists. For tour operators it is about recognising the importance of maintaining the place or making it a better place to live in or visit, for hotels and accommodation providers it is often about being good neighbours.

Goodwin H, McCombes L, Eckardt C (2009) Advances in Travel Philanthropy: raising money through the travel and tourism industry for charitable purposes  WTM ICRT Occasional Paper

Today saw the opening of the 30th World Travel Market in London. Attendance is significantly up on last year and on the opening day the market felt much busier. Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of World Travel Market, said that Responsible Tourism is a hot topic �which targets the core of our industry�. In 1994 WTM began with Environment Day � World Responsible Tourism Day was launched in 2007 born, in Fiona�s words, �from a simple belief that we have a responsibility to protect the very product we seek to promote.� World Responsible Tourism Day bring together destinations and operators �in what we hope is an inspiring way, educating and spurring the industry on to positive action.�

Responsible Tourism now features on all four days of WTM. As Fiona said at the opening today, �There�s a growing realisation that sustainability is absolutely integral to the industry�s future success�. the industry will not have a future at all unless it takes responsible tourism as seriously as customer service, value for money and comfy beds.�

You can see the WTM Responsible Tourism programme at http://www.wtmwrtd.com/page.cfm/link=9

Reed Exhibitions Ltd has joined BS8901, a new British Standard for Sustainable Event Management. As a result the organisation of the event will be independently audited by the British Standards Institute this year.

In 2002 ResponsibleTravel.com was one of the first companies to adopt carbon offsetting and it is now one of the first to abandon the approach. Recognizing that flying is currently one of the fastest growing sources of CO2 emissions ResponsibleTravel.com has mounted a campaign to say no to carbon offsetting and to say yes to carbon reduction.

Justin Francis of ResponsibleTravel.com is reported in The Independent today. He said that he had decided to abandon offsets because he believes they have become �a medieval pardon that allows people to continue polluting�. He went on

“Carbon offsetting is an ingenious way to avoid genuinely reducing your carbon emissions,” he said yesterday. “It's a very attractive idea � that you can go on living exactly as you did before when there's a magic pill or medieval pardon out there that allows people to continue polluting.”

As the makers of the excellent film clip Cheat Neutral made clear you cannot offset the damage you do the environment by flying by paying someone else to reduce their carbon emissions. If you have not watched the movie, watch it now. It will make you smile.

As ResponsibleTravel.com say on their site �Offsetting flights has too often been seen as an opportunity to go on flying the same amount or more.� ResponsibleTravel.com�s message is clear fly less, make the essential life style changes and when we do fly make it count by choosing a holiday which will have a positive impact in the destination.

ResponsibleTravel.com have launched a range of lower carbon travel experiences, encouraging the use of the train and public transport and reminding us that there is much to be enjoyed and experienced closer to home with 200 UK holiday ideas. 

Whilst as individuals we can make a difference we should not ignore the scale of the problem we need national and international action to slow global warming –

The Independent quotes some of the offers available on offsets, it is surely a matter of considerable concern that the amount of carbon emitted varies so much and the cost too.. The British government�s official Shadow Price of Carbon is �28 per tonne Clearly offsetting provides a cheaper deal, but that is not covering the real cost of the damage caused by the carbon emitted which using the DFRA figure is significantly higher.

The examples reported by The Independent
What do some of the major offset companies charge for offsetting a return flight from London to Sydney for two people?
*Climate Care: 11.23 tonnes of CO2 which costs �98.03 to offset.
*Carbon Clear: 2.82 tonnes of CO2 which costs �21.15 to offset
*The Carbon Neutral Company: 6.1 tonnes of CO2 which costs between �52 and �122 to offset depending on which project you choose
*Offset Carbon: 8 tonnes of CO2 at �76

In the 1980�s Kaikoura was suffering from high unemployment, reduced self esteem, high levels of drug and alcohol offending. It became a ghost town when first the whaling ceased and then the railways were privatised. The railways had been the major employer.. Kaikoura was isolated and impoverished. The Maori were particularly hard hit and they tried river rafting and bush walking businesses. These failed. The whale was of huge significance locally but as was explained to me last August �when you live under the mountains you don�t see them.� From Kaikoura it is possible to see New Zealand Fur Seals and 18 species of whales and dolphins.
 
In 1987 four Maori families mortgaged their houses to raise the capital to try whale watching, under the chairmanship of Bill Solomon.. In 1987, their first year of operation, they operated an eight-seater Naiad, working for a year without wages they carried 3,000 people to watch the whales offering �a slight brush with God�. By 1991 they had four boats and carried 18,000 people. Since 1994 Whale Watch Kaikoura has operated with sound proofed inboard diesel motors. Whale watching was the salvation of the community, preserving its identity and sense of self worth.
 
In retrospect it may seem obvious that whale watching would be a great success at Kaikoura, it was not so obvious in the late eighties and Bill Solomon and the four original Maori families took an enormous risk as the community moved from hunting whales to watching them, the whales became a sacred asset. There was conflict in the community, there was jealousy, a bus was firebombed. The town has prospered with the growth and whale watching has brought renewed prosperity to the town with solid sustained growth in accommodation and tourism services. Today the offices of Whale Watch Kaikoura are in the railway station, the have found a sustainable use fot it.

Whale Watch Kaikoura now carries between 90,000 and 100,000 guests each year with an annual turnover of NZ$10,000,000. Whale Watch Kaikoura remains a 100% Maori owned business. Whale Watch Kaikoura is a community based company which invests its profits back into the town. The majority shareholder is the Kaikoura Charitable Trust which has 56.5% of the ownership which includes both the local tribe, Ngati Kuri, and the original four families (Solomon, Clayton, Oliver & Kahu). The company makes a minimum payment of NZ$550,000 from profits to the Kaikoura Charitable Trust for local distribution. The minority shareholder is the Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu the larger South Island tribal entity of 18 Hapu or sub-tribes of which the Ngati Kuri of Kaikoura is one.
 
Whale Watch Kaikoura is the largest employer in the town with over 70 staff at peak season and its success is at the heart of the development of tourism in the town providing a market for tour operators, cafes, restaurants, bars, hotels, motels, backpackers, holiday parks, transport providers and retail outlets, creating a vibrant local economy.
 
1) Each year all 8 year olds in Kaikoura are provided free with a whale watching experience so that they appreciate their heritage.
2) Whale Watch Kaikoura is Qualmark EnviroGOLD accredited
3) Whale Watch Kaikoura has supported the restoration of Takahanga Marae the traditional meeting place of the Ngati Kuri of Kaikoura
4) New whale watching vessels and coaches meet European emissions standards as Wale Watch Kaikoura reduces its carbon footprint.
5) Whale Watch Kaikoura invested NZ$1,000,000 in educational animation to enhance the guests experience by interpreting the undersea world and revealing the trench which attracts the whales.
6) Whale Watch Kaikoura donated 2.4ha of land to the Department of Conservation to establish a new nesting area for the endangered Hutton Shearwater.
7)The Kaikoura Peninsula was occupied by Maori for 1000 years with 14 pa sites Te Wairoa O Te Hiku (the flukes of the whales tail) was the most densely populated area when the Maori colonised what is now New Zealand. Whale Watch Kaikoura purchased the land for NZ$3,000,000  to secure their Maori heritage.
8) Since 2007 Whale Watch Kaikoura has invested NZ$6,000,000 in the Spirit of Migloo they are Sea World�s partner on the Australian Gold Coast providing the same high quality whale watching experience.
 
Harold Goodwin
ICRT Leeds Met 

video about Whale Watch Kaikoura