Responsible Tourism in Africa
On Friday in Johannesburg I shall be chairing the judging of the WTM Africa Responsible Tourism Awards, there is a strong field and we have a highly qualified panel of judges. The Africa Awards are part of the highly prestigious World Responsible Tourism Awards presented at WTM, London on World Responsible Tourism Day each November. This growing family of Awards includes the India Awards and there will WTM Latin America Awards in 2020.
There is a long list of 36 from 8 countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Competition is always stiff and this year is no exception. The judging process is rigorous with a strong focus on the evidence of impact.
The World Responsible Tourism Awards family focuses on the impacts which travel and tourism businesses, destinations and organisations have on people and places. Responsible Tourism and Sustainable Tourism are not the same things. Sustainability and sustainable development are broad aims, concepts too often used in greenwashing.
Responsible Tourism, by contrast, is about what travel and tourism businesses, destinations and organisations do to make tourism better, to use tourism to make better places for people to live in. To win a Responsible Tourism Award it is necessary to answer some very probing questions about what you do, why you do it and the impact your business, destination or organisations has in addressing the issues of sustainability.
At WTM Africa this year we have just six sessions and the WTM Africa Responsible Tourism Awards. All of the speakers on these panels have been invited to participate because they are leaders in Responsible Tourism and because they have something to say. Our aspiration with the Responsible Tourism programme at all four shows, in Cape Town, Dubai, London and Sao Paulo, is to educate, challenge and inspire. And our programme at WTM Africa will do just that.
Wednesday 10th April
14:30 – 15:15 How can Travel and Tourism best reduce the carbon emissions of our industry? Conference Theatre
With high rates of growth, the sector will become a more and more significant as polluters come under increasing pressure from regulators applying the polluter pays principle. The business case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all parts of the sector has never been stronger and public awareness of the issue and its consequences is rising. Climate change is happening now with wildfires, heat waves, flooding sea level rise and extreme weather events. The most recent IPCC report reminds us that human activities have caused a 1°C increase on pre-industrial levels. Recently emissions have begun to rise again and the IPCC is now forecasting, with a high degree of confidence, that global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate. Life will become increasingly unpleasant and dangerous for millions of us unless we take action. More
Moderator: Harold Goodwin WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
- Calvin Boia, Head of Group Marketing, Verde Hotels
- Andrea Nicholas, Managing Director, Green Tourism, UK
- Rene Laks, Managing Director: Sub Saharan Africa, Solarus
- Lorraine Jenks , Founder & CEO, Hotelstuff / Greenstuff
16:00- 16:45 “What should the tourism sector be doing to effectively promote wildlife conservation?” Conference Theatre
There is mounting concern about the ethics, value and impacts of the tourism industry on wildlife conservation. Whilst views about what is desirable and unacceptable differ by source markets and age, there is no doubt that views are changing. The animal welfare issue was debated at WTM London and World Animal Protection has published research on how little the trade associations are doing to improve practices in animal welfare. In this panel, we are broadening the animal welfare debate to consider how the tourism industry can positively support overall conservation goals.
Moderator: Harold Goodwin WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
- Glenn Phillips , Managing Executive, Kruger National Park
- Jane Edge , Former Managing Director, Fair Trade Tourism
- Paul Zille, CEO, Tourism Conservation Fund.
16:45-17:30 African Responsible Tourism Awards 2019
Conference Theatre
The African Responsible Tourism Awards is a continent-wide search and celebration of Africa’s most inspiring and enduring responsible tourism experiences. Don’t miss the 2019 awards presented at a prestigious ceremony hosted as part of WTM Africa where the winners are announced to an audience of tourism ministers, destination managers, industry professionals and media.
Conference on the Business Case for Responsible Tourism
This year we are offering a conference over two days focused on The Business Case for Responsible Tourism running 09:00 to 11:30 on Thursday and Friday – come in early to beat the traffic. Responsible Tourism is not about charity, it is about doing better business. If done well it is good for the bottom line. We’ve invited a range of African businesses to explain why they have taken a responsible business approach and what it has contributed to their business.
Thursday 11th April
09:00 – 10:15 Introduction to the Business Case
There is a strong business case to be made for addressing the economic, social and environmental issues which arise as a consequence of tourism in the destinations we value. In this session we’ll explore the range of opportunities for improving your bottom line by taking responsibility enabling you to improve your business by cutting costs, improving your product and gaining more clients in the context of sustained growth in demand for experiential tourism.
Harold Goodwin, WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Heidi van der Watt, Managing Director, Better Tourism Africa
Andrea Nicholas, Managing Director, Green Tourism, UK
10:15 – 11:30 Responsible Tourism – The 2019 Africa Responsible Tourism Awards winners
Host Harold Goodwin WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Our 2019 African Responsible Tourism Award winners have been invited to talk about their initiatives and why it makes business sense for them. This year’s categories are water & waste management, habitat and species conservation, community benefit, experience of culture and heritage, best event and attraction.
Come along to hear about what these leaders in Responsible Tourism are doing and about why it makes business sense. Your opportunity to question them about what they do and why and to hear about what they have achieved.
THURSDAY 11 APRIL 13:30 – 14:15
DESTINATION THEATRE
Tourists Increasingly Demand Authentic Experiences – How do we deliver them?
Travellers and holiday makers increasingly seek experience; they want to encounter host communities and their culture – dance, music, song, food, stories and everyday life. How can quality encounters be delivered in ways that treat people respectfully? How should we judge authenticity?
Harold Goodwin WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Glynn O’Leary CE0 Transfrontier Parks Destinations
Eleanor Muller Marketing & Media Transfrontier Parks Destinations
Site Visit
The Radisson Park Inn in Cape Town is immensely proud to be Cape Town CBD’s first large-scale commercial property to have a unique solar technology which combines generation of thermal energy with the photovoltaic generation of electricity which produces one of the highest energy yields ever measured. When compared to traditional solar panels, it produces both electricity and hot water output up to 70°C and delivers three times more energy on the same surface area.
As part of the Responsible Tourism programme at WTM Africa there is an opportunity to see this technology in action – meet at the Park Inn reception at 18:30 on Thursday, April 11th. Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Foreshore
Friday 12th April
Why Responsible Tourism Makes Business Sense
Responsible Tourism is about making tourism better. On Day 2 of the Conference, we have invited previous Responsible Tourism Awards winners to share with us what they do to make tourism better for the communities they work in and the natural and cultural environments which attract their tourists. There is no one business case for Responsible Tourism, there is a range of reasons for taking responsibility. Each of these businesses will describe what they have done and, most importantly, why it made business sense for them.
09:00 – 10:15 in the Conference Theatre
Wilfred Chivell, CEO, Marine Dynamics
Glynn O’Leary, CEO, Transfrontier Parks Destinations (TFPD)
Donald Kau, Head: PR & Communications, V&A Waterfront
10:15 – 11:30 in the Conference Theatre
Neil Midlane Group Sustainability Manager Wilderness Safaris
Pete Allsop, Director of Operations, Ilha Blue, Mozambique
Julie Cheetham, Director, The Grootbos Foundation
Nicola Gerrard , Director, Blood Lions
FRIDAY 12 APRIL 11:30 – 12:15
SPEAKER’S CORNER –
How can we best use certification?
There are now many certification schemes but take up in the industry is still low and consumer awareness is poor. What are the problems and how can they be addressed? Looking to the future what might certification 2.0 look like?
Harold Goodwin WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor
Andrea Nicholas Managing Director, Green Tourism
Ana Lemmer CEO Fair Trade TourismJane Edge former CEO Fair Trade Tourism
Harold is WTM’s Responsible Tourism Advisor, he puts together the flagship Responsible Tourism programme at WTM London which attracts 2000 participants each year and the programmes run at WTM Africa, WTM Latin America and Arabian Travel Market. Harold has worked on 4 continents with local communities, their governments and the inbound and outbound tourism industry. He is Managing Director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and chairs the panels of judges for the World Responsible Tourism Awards and the other Awards in the family, Africa, India and Ireland. Harold works with industry, local communities, governments, and conservationists and undertakes consultancy and evaluations for companies, NGOs, governments, and international organisations. He is also a Director of the Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he is an Emeritus Professor, and Founder Director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism promotes the principles of the Cape Town Declaration which he drafted
