The Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance Africa ( the Alliance ) 3rd Annual Conference

Transcription

1 The Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance Africa ( the Alliance ) 3rd Annual Conference Garden Court Marine Parade Durban, South Africa 8 May 2014 Conference Report Page 1 of 14

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance Africa ( the Alliance ) third Annual Conference was held on 8 May 2014 at Garden Court Marine Parade Hotel in Durban, South Africa. The event was attended by 46 delegates of through which 10 African and 5 overseas countries were represented. African countries represented included Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania. Overseas countries represented included Germany, France, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Regional organisations represented included the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA), Boundless Southern Africa, Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) and All Out Africa. International Organisations represented included Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Sector Project: Sustainable Development through Tourism and GIZ Responsible & Inclusive Business Hub South Africa, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (South Africa, Ethiopia and Mozambique representatives). Objectives of the conference were to: i. Establish a harmonised understanding (with initial focus on southern and East Africa) of the business and developmental imperatives for African tourism destinations to transition away from conventional tourism and move towards the adaptation of responsible tourism principles and practices; ii. Highlight the developmental and market access opportunities responsible tourism destinations are positioned to benefit from; and iii. Raise awareness of responsible tourism certification initiatives currently underway in southern and East Africa. The conference was opened by Greg McManus, Alliance Chairperson and Managing Director of Heritage Environmental Management Programme ( Heritage ). Following the official opening, welcoming remarks were conveyed by Bekithemba Langalibalele, Director of Responsible Tourism for the South African National Department of Tourism. The following presentations were made during the conference: 1. Background to the Alliance ( ), Netsai Sibanda, Alliance Secretariat and Stakeholder Relations Manager for Fair Trade Tourism (FTT); 2. The developmental and business imperatives for African destinations to transition towards sustainable tourism principles and practices (keynote), Anna Pollock, Founder of Conscious Travel (United Kingdom); 3. Demonstrating developmental benefits of sustainable tourism destinations, Manuel Bollmann, GIZ Sector Project: Sustainable Development through Tourism; 4. Understanding the challenges to sustainable development, Anna Spenceley, Founder of Stand cc; 5. Profiling a sustainable tourism destination in Botswana, Richard Malesu, Environment and Safety Coordinator, Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO); 6. Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL), Sinha Levkovic, Manager, Ministry of Tourism and Culture; Page 2 of 14

3 7. Establishing a national certification programme in Mauritius, Niven Muneesamy, Director, Mauritius Tourism Authority; 8. Rolling out responsible tourism certification in Madagascar, Sonja Gottlebe, Go To Madagascar; 9. Profiling a responsible tourism business, Simon Blackburn, Owner, Three Tree Hills Lodge; and 10. A ground-breaking collaboration: working towards mutual recognition, Jennifer Seif (Alliance Secretariat and Executive Director of FTT), Hazel Milne (Coordinator for Eco Awards Namibia) and Damian Bell (Executive Director of Responsible Tourism Tanzania RTTZ). The content of all presentations, as well as subsequent debates and discussions, were excellent. Important issues affecting sustainable tourism and sustainable tourism certification for Africa were well presented and discussed. The conference set the stage for well-informed discussions in relation to the Alliance Annual Meeting, scheduled to take place on 9 May Page 3 of 14

4 In Attendance Country Organisation Representative 1 Botswana Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) Richard Malesu 2 Botswana BTO Thilorthamay Naickers 3 Germany GIZ Sector Project: Sustainable Development through Tourism Manuel Bollmann 4 Germany GIZ: Responsible & Inclusive Business Hub South Africa Rebecca Szrama 5 France TV5Monde Ingrid Gressier 6 Japan Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Mpho Pekane 7 Japan JICA Urano Yoshihito 8 Japan JICA Sherrie Fujinuma 9 Japan JICA Takadera Keiichiro 10 Japan JICA Soichiro Ide 11 Kenya Eco Tourism Kenya (ETK) Jane Kahata 12 Madagascar Go To Madagascar Sonja Gottlebe 13 Mauritius Mauritius Tourism Authority Niven Muneesamy 14 Mozambique Ministry of Tourism Mohammed Harun 15 Mozambique Inhambane Provincial Association of Hotels & Tourism (AHTPI) Usta Raufo 16 Namibia Eco Awards Namibia Hazel Milne 17 Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Culture Sinha Levkovic 18 Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Culture Janice Bristol 19 Southern Africa All Out Africa Ashley Powdar 20 Southern Africa Alliance Secretariat, Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) Malebo Rammekoa 21 Southern Africa Alliance Secretariat, FTT Netsai Sibanda 22 Southern Africa Alliance Secretariat, FTT Jennifer Seif 23 Southern Africa Boundless Southern Africa Roland Vorwerk 24 Southern Africa Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA) Kwakye Donkor 25 South Africa Heritage Environmental Management Programme (Heritage) Greg McManus 26 South Africa National Department of Tourism (NDT) Bekithemba Langalibalele 27 South Africa South African Tourism (SA Tourism) Abby Swart 28 South Africa Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA) Mbuyiselo Kona 29 South Africa Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECTPA) Fezeka Mlungu 30 South Africa Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) Zoliswa Mnqokoyi 31 South Africa International Centre for Responsible Tourism South Africa Heidi van der Watt 32 South Africa Green Girls Africa Louise de Waal 33 South Africa Levelle Perspectives Lisa Scriven 34 South Africa Eco Atlas Rhian Berning 35 South Africa Stand cc Anna Spenceley 36 South Africa Stand cc Andrew Rylance 37 South Africa Three Tree Hill Lodge Simon Blackburn 38 South Africa Three Tree Hill Lodge Cheryl Blackburn 39 South Africa The Rawat Group Goolam Rawat 40 South Africa Cape Peninsula University of Technology Silo Mandisa 41 South Africa Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme (STPP) Caroline Ungersbock 42 South Africa Responsible Tourism Foundation Rest Kanju 43 Swaziland Swaziland Tourism Authority Bongani Dlamini 44 Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Janice Golding 45 Tanzania Responsible Tourism Tanzania (RTTZ) Damian Bell 46 United Kingdom Anna Pollock Conscious Travel Page 4 of 14

5 Conference objectives The conference was organised by the Alliance Secretariat and facilitated by Kwakye Donkor, Marketing Director of the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA). Objectives of the conference were to: i. Establish a harmonised understanding (with initial focus on southern and East Africa) of the business and developmental imperatives for African tourism destinations to transition away from conventional tourism and move towards the adaptation of responsible tourism principles and practices; ii. Highlight the developmental and market access opportunities responsible tourism destinations are positioned to benefit from; and iii. Raise awareness of responsible tourism certification initiatives currently underway in southern and East Africa. The conference programme is attached as Annexure 1. Alliance Chairperson s opening remarks On behalf of the Alliance, I would like to welcome you all to our 3rd annual conference. In particular, we welcome Mohammed Harun (advisor to the Mozambique Minister of Tourism); Yoshihito Urano (JICA) and his delegation, Ingrid Gressier (TV5 Monde) and Anna Pollok, our guest speaker. To our members and regular participants, welcome back to Durban. Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword that gets passed-around the tourism sector. It is a very real international issue with a growing following globally. However, as a continent, Africa faces a challenge in meeting the expectations of international travellers, and the question being asked is whether Africa can meet the demand for responsible travel. Do we all understand the dynamic of the global trend and do we appreciate the window of opportunity that we have been given? Africa is definitely becoming a world player in tourism, but although the continent represents 15% of the global population, we only attract 3% of world tourism receipts and slightly less than 5% of global arrivals. Bearing this in mind, Africa s tourism growth potential is likely to outstrip global trends according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), but the challenge is to ensure that this growth takes place in a responsible and sustainable manner. The mistakes made by other international destinations that have attracted dynamic growth in the past need to be learnt in Africa and where possible, avoided. Sub-Saharan Africa has for the first time eclipsed North Africa in terms of pipeline development and international brands will add a further rooms to their inventory in 2014/15. Including nonbrand developments, Africa is likely to exceed pipeline developments in Europe for the first time this Page 5 of 14

6 year. But is this development taking place with responsible development in mind, or are we about to embrace profit at the expense of our environment, culture and traditions? The recent acquisition of the Protea Hotel brand by Marriot Hotels has reinforced global interest in the region and the continent, but whether this will translate into meaningful and responsible development remains an unanswered question. Angola, often regarded as the sleeping giant of Africa s tourism, has suddenly realised the potential that it has to generate revenue from tourism, and recent developments in that country will result in Angola becoming an airline hub for West Africa. Although the UNWTO has identified air connectivity as a serious constraint in Africa, the liberalisation of air routes and the amalgamation of smaller, marginal airlines will ultimately result in even greater numbers of tourists entering previously inaccessible areas and greater potential degradation and erosion of the environment and local communities. An important component in the continent s tourism market is what I refer to as corporate colonisation the increase and development of tourism for commercial and business purposes. What concerns me most about this process is that corporate developments often take place at the expense of the environment and communities and there appears to be very little effort being made to ensure that responsible development is on the agenda of developing areas. This market has also resulted in the introduction of a uni-visa between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, and with this has come the sudden influx of travellers into marginally sustainable areas and the potential for severe damage and degradation. Development is taking place across the continent from Abidjan to Mombassa and Tunis to Cape Town, while the Indian Ocean islands have shown particularly strong growth in the past five years, but are we ready to handle this growth as a continent and how do we ensure that responsible tourism moves from being a footnote in the development space into an integrated agenda item. Today, we have a programme of speakers that will hopefully inspire and motivate change. Our speakers are ready to provide a real-time glimpse into responsible tourism and how we can collectively capture our share of the international market. We are pleased to have Anna Pollock with us - an acknowledged expert in responsible tourism and its business imperatives. Anna addressed the 2013 World Adventure Summit in Namibia a conference on this topic and we are honoured to have her deliver today s keynote. We will also hear from a range of public and private partners on subjects ranging from responsible initiatives including national and independent certification labels and programmes. Each one of our speakers come with fresh thoughts on the subject, and I am confident that you will find the conference enlightening. But perhaps the most important reason for coming together today is to create opportunities for dialogue and discussion on progress and initiatives being taken across the region. Today is about achieving change in the way that we market and develop the region responsibly and that we learn from one another. We need to recognise our collective need to bring-about change for long-term sustainability of tourism in Africa. We will lose that window of opportunity that we have been given unless we act now and protect the future of this destination. The time has come for us to stop talking about responsible tourism and to ensure that it happens. Responsible tourism is an imperative if we really hope to compete and benefit from this global Page 6 of 14

7 trend. We need to recognise that a lot of the work has been done by others in the region and perhaps understand that the time for reinventing the wheel has passed. The public sector needs to take the extended hand of the private sector and NGO s and work together to achieve a common goal positioning Africa as a responsible and sustainable destination. To all of you that have travelled from far to be here today, I thank you and hope that you will find the travel worthwhile. And for those of you from local destinations, I hope you find something to take back with you and that this conference energises you to start the journey towards sustainability in tourism. 1. Background to the Alliance ( ), Netsai Sibanda, Alliance Secretariat and Stakeholder Relations Manager for Fair Trade Tourism (FTT); Netsai Sibanda presented on the Alliance s background over the period Highlights of the presentation were as follows: i. The Alliance was established in 2007 as the Sustainable Tourism Network Southern Africa (STNSA). The Alliance was dormant from as a result of resource constraints and was successfully re-launched as the Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance ( the Alliance ) in 2012; ii. The Alliance was established in response to external trends towards international accreditation, harmonisation, dual certification and mutual recognition. The Alliance provides services to members seeking international recognition, mutual recognition and other forms of collaboration; and iii. The overall objectives of the Alliance are to: build regional capacity to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods, and promote resource efficiency through sustainable tourism management practices as well as to facilitate an integrated approach to sustainable tourism standards-setting and certification that will achieve higher levels of market and development impacts. The presentation is attached as Annexure The developmental and business imperatives for African destinations to transition towards sustainable tourism principles and practices (keynote), Anna Pollock, Founder of Conscious Travel (United Kingdom) Anna Pollock delivered a thought provoking keynote speech. Highlights of the presentation were as follows: i. The Conscious Travel movement is designed to integrate and support the creative thinking emerging from a diverse range of interests within tourism including ecotourism, geo-tourism, responsible tourism, adventure travel, tourism philanthropy, slow tourism, Tourism 2.0, green travel, ethical tourism, Page 7 of 14

8 ii. iii. community-based tourism, and indigenous tourism to name but a few initiatives that are responding to the challenges of our time; The need now is for integration, collaboration and unity of purpose. Most of all, there is an imperative for articulation of a clear, creative and positive vision for the future; and Influencing the corporate market may be key towards establishing significant growth in responsible tourism development. Labelling is becoming more accepted in the corporate world, although corporates have been slow to accept responsible tourism labelling. Large corporates could be motivated to establish travel procurement policies in favour of responsible tourism labelled products. This could inspire smaller companies to follow suit. The presentation is attached as Annexure 3 of this report. 3. Demonstrating the developmental benefits of Sustainable Tourism destinations, Manuel Bollmann, GIZ division for Tourism and Sustainable Development Manuel Bollmann shared lessons learned regarding establishment of sustainable tourism destinations. Highlights of his presentation were as follows: i. A destination with international orientation faces fierce competition and so greatly depends on its inclusion in international marketing and infrastructure networks; ii. Destinations are the sum of their businesses, their products and their services. Without them no destination brand can hold up; iii. In most cases, the long term brand value of a tourism destination is directly linked to the integrity of its ecosystem its natural capital and iv. If you don t harmonize the demand for a destination s natural capital with generating benefits for local livelihoods you are bound to destroy your core business in the long term. The presentation is attached as Annexure 4 of this report. 4. Understanding the challenges to sustainable development, Anna Spenceley, Founder of Stand cc Anna Spenceley presented on the main challenges to sustainable tourism development in the African context. Highlights of the presentation were as follows: Page 8 of 14

9 i. There is a perception that to operate sustainably is costly and interventions require expensive retro-fittings; ii. Certification schemes are perceived by some as too expensive for the average tourism operator who would rather spend their money on becoming more sustainable than getting recognition for it; iii. Often there is a lack of political buy-in; iv. There is a lack of steady interest from donors in tourism; and v. Voluntary certification is not available in all southern African countries. The presentation is attached as Annexure 5 of this report. 5. Profiling a sustainable tourism destination in Botswana, Richard Malesu, Environment and Safety Coordinator, Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) Richard Malesu profiled the Okavango Delta as a sustainable tourism destination. Highlights of the presentation were as follows: i. The Okavango Delta is the only mega inland delta system south of the equator. Moreover, it is the only inland Delta that floods in the dry season - a unique hydrological event that defines this system; ii. This scenically spectacular and biodiversity-rich inland Delta has been selected for nomination as a World Heritage Site a requirement for qualification as a responsible tourism destination; iii. The Okavango Delta system is a national asset and enjoys multi-layered protection through Botswana s national vision, laws, policies, plans and strategies as well as regional protocols and ratified international conventions. The property falls within the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) which includes conservation areas in Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe; iv. The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) is jointly managed through a tripartite agreement between Botswana, Namibia and Angola oversees the Page 9 of 14

10 management and use of the system on a sustainable basis and thus contributes towards its conservation; and v. Attainment of responsible tourism destination status is a time intensive and comprehensive process that looks not only at environmental aspects but also the wellbeing and sustainability of people and wildlife. The presentation is attached as Annexure Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL), Sinha Levkovic, Manager, Ministry of Tourism and Culture Sinha Levkovic presented on SSTL. Highlights of the presentation were as follows; i. Development of SSTL was made possible through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) biodiversity programme funding; ii. The label s criteria is aligned with Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria; iii. Less than 90,000 people reside in the Seychelles; iv. Approximately 60% of energy in the Seychelles is consumed by the tourism industry; v. The Seychelles tourism industry is heavily dependent on expatriate workers; and vi. There is a need for multi-stakeholder partnerships (public/private/community) with respect to responsible tourism development in the Seychelles. The presentation is attached as Annexure Establishing a national certification programme, Niven Muneesamy, Director, Mauritius Tourism Authority Niven Muneesamy presented on development of a national responsible tourism certification programme in Mauritius. Highlights of the presentation were as follows: i. Although the programme being rolled out is referred to as an eco-label it encompasses the responsible tourism tripple bottom line ; ii. Government in Mauritius is taking a leading role to ensure that the island s tourism industry is more sustainable; iii. The eco-label standard is aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC), was developed through an extensive consultative approach with key stakeholders and has, to date, been gazetted; and iv. A call for proposals has been issued for a service provider to raise awareness of the benefits of certification as well as to support businesses to prepare for and apply for eco-label certification. Page 10 of 14

11 The presentation is attached as Annexure Rolling out certification in Madagascar, Sonja Gottlebe, Boogie Pilgrim Sonja Gottlebe presented on rolling out responsible tourism product certification in Madagascar. Highlights of the presentation were as follows: i. Go To Madagascar is a membership organisation that works to provide a quality label for the tourism profession in Madagascar as well as to support its members to work towards aligned objectives; ii. Go To Madagascar partnered with FTT to roll out responsible tourism product certification in Madagascar; iii. Go To Madagascar 70 members from all tourism industry professions; iv. The tourism industry is a survivor of the political crisis in Madagascar; v. Go To Madagascar had to work hard to convince its members that responsible tourism was the way to go as it is considered a niche market in Madagascar; and vi. Through the partnership with FTT, some members of Go To Madagascar have recently undergone audits conducted by FloCert against the FTT product certification standard and are currently addressing corrective actions in order to achieve FTT-certification. The presentation is highlighted as Annexure Profiling a sustainable tourism product, Simon Blackburn, Owner, Three Tree Hills Lodge Simon Blackburn profiled Three Tree Hills Lodge as a responsible tourism business. Highlights of the presentation are as follows: i. Three Tree Hills first worked to establish itself as an operationally sound and commercially viable business; ii. After having achieved the aforementioned objective it focused on transitioning towards becoming an eco-lodge; iii. The business has doubled its occupancy over the past six years; iv. As the business grew it invested in people through initiatives such as local employment and staff training; v. The business employs strong local procurement policies and encourages its visitors to spend locally; and vi. The business implements environmental conservation and local community development initiatives. Page 11 of 14

12 The presentation is attached as Annexure A ground-breaking collaboration: working towards mutual recognition, Jennifer Seif (Executive Director of FTT), Hazel Milne (Coordinator for Eco Awards Namibia) and Damian Bell (Executive Director of Responsible Tourism Tanzania RTTZ) Jennifer Seif, Hazel Milne and Damian Bell presented on the collaboration between their respective organisations. Highlights of the presentation were as follows: i. 10 years ago there was little willingness to share knowledge, information and practices between various certification programmes operational in southern Africa. This has changed over the last five years resulting in a new trend towards collegiality and collaboration in the sector; ii. The collaborative approach between various certification programmes in southern Africa stems from acknowledgement that responsible tourism certification programmes experience similar challenges e.g. funding, low market penetration and poor label recognition; iii. Africa is leading the trend towards collaboration. There is less fragmentation and a high level of trust and collegiality in southern and East Africa; iv. FTT is pilot testing making tourism a product category of Fairtrade International the organisation is globally recognised as well as known and trusted by sustainability savvy consumers; v. Part of the FTT strategy is to work through partnerships i.e. where there is no standard or labelling programme in a specific country in southern Africa FTT plans to expand the scope of its standard into that country (FTT certification is currently available in Madagascar, South Africa and Mozambique). Whereas in southern African countries where there is an existing scheme, FTT will work on establishing platforms for collaboration. In this vein, FTT signed Memorandums of Agreement (MoAs) with Responsible Tourism Tanzania (RTTZ) and Eco Awards Namibia in support of working towards achieving Mutual Recognition by July Once achieved, tourism products certified by RTTZ and Eco Awards Namibia (once they have aligned their practices with any additionally required criteria) will be eligible for inclusion in Fair Trade Holidays currently on sale in Europe ; and vi. An invitation to collaborate with FTT is extended to Mauritius, Seychelles and Botswana. 11. Summary of interactive plenary An interactive plenary was facilitated in advance formal conference closure. discussions undertaken are as follows: Highlights of There is need to increase tourist volumes to Africa in a manner that supports responsible tourism development; Page 12 of 14

13 When dealing with the tourism public sector, there is a need to clarify how and why responsible tourism certification does not compete with tourism quality grading; Boundless Southern Africa is a Southern African Development Community (SADC) organisation. Boundless Southern Africa markets seven TFCAs across nine countries. and is happy to engage with private sector businesses operating within its areas of operation in support of increasing uptake of responsible tourism certification; Kfw funds a number of infrastructure development projects. This should be kept in mind when considering approaches for dealing with the challenge of infrastructure development in support of community tourism development. It is key, however, to carefully consider the appropriateness of increasing the number of access roads to parks/protected areas given that establishing more roads will make it easier for poachers to access protected animals; In Botswana (Okavango region) the private sector drives infrastructure development and improved access to tourism locations as the Delta is an established brand while government focuses more on marketing. Mozambique s tourism Ministry has historically supported donor-funded tourism development initiatives; In Mozambique some private sector tourism operators are interested in responsible tourism development. Their commitment to being responsible is, however, often put on the backburner when their businesses are not making a profit; It is important for responsible tourism businesses to communicate their impact and initiatives to visitors/guests. One way of doing this is by training staff to communicate impact and initiatives to visitors; In Tanzania the Honey Guide Foundation works to support community beneficiation from wildlife conservation. In the Foundation s experience, it has proved key to assess the wildlife conservation costs born by communities in their respective areas. In most cases, there are huge disparities between costs, risks and benefits. Communities will protect their resources if they derive what they view as sufficient benefits from wildlife conservation activities. One approach the Foundation has taken, for example, is to encourage investment of profits derived from wildlife in protected areas towards community development initiatives coupled with investment in reparation of damage caused by wildlife. This approach has been successful in enticing communities to engage with and support tourism development. 5. Summary and concluding remarks Kwakye Donkor provided a short summary of the day s events and closed the conference. In so doing, he thanked the organisers for a coordinating a successful event. Participants were also thanked for actively engaging and participating in the day s discussions. Page 13 of 14

14 Annexures Annexures Annexure 1 Annexure 2 Annexure 3 Annexure 4 Annexure 5 Annexure 6 Annexure 7 Annexure 8 Annexure 9 Annexure 10 Conference programme Secretariat presentation Anna Pollock presentation Manuel Bollmann presentation Anna Spenceley presentation Richard Malesu presentation Sinha Levkovic presentation Niven Muneesamy presentation Sonja Gottlebe presentation Simon Blackburn presentation Page 14 of 14