Responsible travel requires co-operation

Transcription

1 MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM VIETNAM NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF TOURISM ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM NEWSLETTER - Responsible travel requires co-operation Developing talent for Vietnam s tourism and hospitality industry FAQs for Acting Responsible in Tourism

2 2 ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 3 CONTENTS 3 Spreading the responsible tourism message 4 Responsible travel requires co-operation 5 Fostering quality tourist information centres in Vietnam 6-7 Vietnam to put responsible tourism first at vitm Initiative towards a responsible tourism policy for Vietnam 9 Getting tourism training Right - identifying the skills that industry needs 10 Market driven training to take Vietnam s homestays to the next level 11 Developing talent for Vietnam s tourism and hospitality industry 12 FAQS for acting responsible in tourism Programme Implementation Unit Address: Room 402, 4 th Floor, Vinaplast Tai Tam Building 39A Ngo Quyen Street, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: (84 4) Fax: (84 4) info@esrt.vn Website: Publication Authorisation Number: /CXB/ /GTVT 6-7 This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. 8 In March 2013 the ESRT Programme officially kicked-off the Content Development Phase of its highly anticipated Responsible Tourism Awareness Raising Programme. Guided by the recently released ESRT Responsible Tourism Awareness Raising Strategy ( awarenessstrategy.esrt.vn), the Responsible Tourism Awareness Raising Programme will implement a range of strategies designed to increase understanding and awareness of Responsible Tourism principles and practices in Vietnam, with the desired outcome being to generate positive changes in thinking and action of tourism providers and consumers to better ensure sustainable social, environmental and economic benefits. To ensure local relevancy in design and implementation, local experts have been engaged to assist develop contents for the awareness raising programme. The first action of the Responsible Tourism Awareness Raising rank is the production of a series of Responsible Tourism Fact Sheets. The Fact Sheets will aim to provide tourism stakeholders with the core facts about Responsible Tourism with a particular focus on Vietnam What is Responsible Tourism? Why do we need Responsible Tourism? What are its benefits? What the impacts are of poorly planned and managed tourism in Vietnam within specific subsectors such as accommodation, restaurants & cafes, and tours? And what are some specific principles and practices that we can implement to create a more sustainable future for tourism in Vietnam? A number of Responsible Tourism Good Practice Guides will also be developed that will specifically target Village Spreading the Responsible Tourism Message KAI PARTALE, Tourism Sector Specialist Tourism Destination Management Authorities and Communities, Cultural Heritage Site Managers and Protected Area Managers, in order to assist them to mainstream Responsible Tourism considerations into their key activities. To generate dialogue and discussion within the Vietnamese structural and political environment, ESRT will step up its support of targeted tourism conferences, seminars and workshops in order to deliver its Responsible Tourism message. Already completed are the first Annual Conference on Responsible Tourism in 2012, and its support to the Vietnam International Travel Mart 2013 Conference to deliver a programme featuring a range of Responsible Tourism topics and themes. End of 2013, the 2nd Annual Conference on Responsible Tourism will be held. Following from this, a range of ongoing ½ day to 1 day workshops on Responsible Tourism will be implemented for the public and private sector that are specifically designed to build the capacity of key stakeholders on how to implement Responsible Tourism provisions within their key activities. To complete the set, a range of Responsible Tourism posters for workplaces, a Responsible Tourism slideshow with a Responsible Tourism message are also all lined up for production and expected to become publically available for download from the ESRT website later in the year.

3 4 ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 5 Responsible travel requires co-operation Vietnam has become a very popular destination for millions of domestic and international travelers. Nowadays they are not only looking for a fun and comfortable trip to Vietnam; they are also looking to give back to the destinations they are visiting, so responsible tours that respect local communities and the environment are increasingly attracting clients. While tourism has brought strong benefits to the nation s economy, tourism stakeholders need to be more conscious of the negative impacts derived from it. A responsible tourism initiative is, without a doubt, essential for the industry to gain long-term social, economic and environmental benefits. DANG XUAN SON President of Responsible Travel Club the relevant products with other companies to use, said Mr Thanh, product manager of Footprint Travel. Co-operation amongst local businesses is important and it s not sufficient to make a project successful on its own; it requires successful management from different parties with different expertise at the same awareness of their staff and local communities on the impacts of tourism and the development of responsible tourism products, RTC members work together to make tourist destinations more sustainable for communities, the natural environment and for business. Some of the achievements of the RTC Tourist Information Centers (TICs) play an important role in promoting visitation to tourism destinations and are integral in creating a positive travel experience for visitors through the provision of friendly and professional customer service and useful travel information. TICs also play an increasingly important role in supporting local communities by strategically promoting tourism by displaying or selling locally made products and services. However, with TICs in Vietnam being few and far between and with varying levels of quality, it is clear that there is still a long way to go before Vietnam has a strong, co-ordinated and effective network of TICs that provide visitors with a warm welcome and the information and assistance they need in order to have a pleasant experience in Vietnam. Fostering quality tourist information centres in Vietnam DON TAYLOR Responsible Tourism Specialist In order to strengthen the sustainability and the effectiveness of TICs in Vietnam, ESRT is collaborating with UNESCO to develop TIC Standards for Vietnam as well as a TIC Operations Guide that will cover all aspects of good practice including meeting legal requirements, design elements, management, customer service, communications, marketing, financing, building partnerships and visitor research. The TIC Standards and TIC Operations Guide are expected to be completed in May 2013 to coincide with the opening of the newly refurbished Hoi An Tourist Information Centre. To support implementation of the standards and guide, ESRT will develop and implement a training programme for the Hoi An Tourist Information Centre staff. See also Profitable Tourism through Information Quality and Community Partnership on page 9, Newsletter no. 2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS FROM MAY TO JUNE 2013 Footprint Travel, for example, started its first community-based tourism project in Ha Giang with the intention of bringing positive benefits to the economy, society and environment. Their plan was to create a new responsible tourism destination, not a mass tourism route. The results however, did not turn out as expected; the number of tourists arriving was insufficient to maintain the local people s interest and support of the project, We could have attracted better numbers of travelers to the villages if we had not attempted to sustain this project independently and shared time and in the right place. To help address this co-operation and co-ordination shortfall, in 2009 a group of small travel companies gathered in Hanoi to form the Responsible Travel Club (RTC). With a mission to co-operate in raising include working with the communities to develop responsible tourism products and services in Chieng Yen, Ngoc Son Ngo Luong, Pu Luong, as well as raising awareness among local staff on the principles and practices of responsible tourism. Over the years, RTC has also developed a guideline for suppliers on how they can be more responsible when working with tour companies. EVENTS TIME VENUE 2 nd Tourism Advisory Board Meeting May 29 th 2013 Hanoi National Tourism Marketing Conference May 30 th 2013 Hanoi Tourist Information Center Training May 15 th - 18 th 2013 Hoi An VTOS training for Small & Medium Enterprises May 27 th - 31 st 2013 Hanoi Workshop on Environmentally Responsible Operation for Tourist Accommodations May 22 nd 2013 May 24 th 2013 Technical Working Group meeting for Food Preparation May 24 th 2013 Hanoi Workshop on ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Tourism Professionals with VNAT Joint Donor and NGO Meeting for Tourism Development with VNAT Activities maybe subject to change June 26 th 2013 June 28 th 2013 June Viet Tri, Phu Tho Moc Chau, Son La Danang Hanoi Hanoi

4 6 ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 7 About the VITM The Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) held in April in Hanoi has attracted great interest and support from tourism and travel experts. The event was organized by Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) in conjunction with Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Hanoi People s Committee. For the first time, an event of this kind has been organized by a professional trade Vietnam to put responsible tourism first at VITM 2013 association representing the voice and needs of tourism and travel businesses. VITM Facts & Figures: 368 stands, 97 international and 271 domestic businesses presenting their products 15 countries represented Over 100 events took take place over 4 days, including conference Survey with participants in VITM 2013 The VITM 2013 is one of the most important tourism trade fair events in Vietnam, so far. We are introducing some of the findings from a survey conducted during the 4-days event with both hosted buyers and exhibitors. In total 257 trade fair participants have been surveyed in face-to-face interviews. The overall satisfaction with nearly 75% is already a big achievement of this year s VITM. The participants rated nearly all the aspects of the trade fair as good. The quality of the exhibitors, networking opportunities and the fact that VITM met the personal objectives stand out on the positive side. With the planning and organisation 25% of the participants were highly satisfied and 51% satisfied. In regards to communication & information only 20% were highly satisfied and 45% satisfied and in particular tour operators had most skepticism about provided information. sessions and many cultural events. Over 130 buyers and members of the international media attended VITM More than 40,000 visitors were expected VITM Conference Making Tourism Responsible The ESRT programme is stepped up its awareness raising in Responsible Tourism by supporting the VITM organizer with the implementation of a dynamic 2-day conference programme built around the theme of Making Tourism Responsible. The conference offered an exceptional opportunity to discuss the latest trends, research and key issues of importance to the tourism sector in Vietnam. Conference session themes included policy and planning for Responsible Tourism, destination marketing management & technology, going green, tourism sector challenges to market development, benefiting from Responsible Tourism practices, tourism capacity development, and a showcase on North West Vietnam. The conference attracted an internationally renowned roster of speakers from PATA, UNIDO, University of The Story Behind the Responsible Tourism Booth The ESRT booth demonstrated the principles and benefits of Responsible Tourism. The booth showed how Responsible Tourism can be simply and effectively incorporated into tourism marketing. We wanted to raise awareness about Responsible Tourism, but how could we make it interesting, fun and attractive to delegates? Our answer: turn people s visit to the booth into a physical and intellectual learning journey by taking them along the Responsible Tourism Path. Leeds and an extraordinary gathering of participants representing tourism education, government, and the tourism business. See presentations in the conference by visit this link: As visitors walk along the Responsible Tourism Path they encounter people, animals, landscape objects representing what we must look after and sign posts that inform them about key messages, facts and figures about responsible tourism. Starting in the Mekong Delta in the South, the path progresses through Vietnam s key landscape regions, finishing in the mountainous North. Further, we wanted to incorporate the principles of Responsible Tourism in the booth design: Constructed from cardboard, a natural material, and 100% recyclable No hazardous chemicals were required Low construction cost of booth material Using a small local booth design team who purchased locally In general, over 60% of the participants mentioned that they would visit/join VITM in 2014, among which tour operators have the highest share and 35% are still considering.

5 8 ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 9 Getting Tourism Training Right - identifying the skills that industry needs Initiative towards a Responsible Tourism Policy for Vietnam Photo by Ngoc Vinh In Vietnam, many thousands of graduates from universities and vocational colleges cannot find employment because their skills do not match labour market requirements, Deputy Chairwoman of the National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, Madam Ngo Thi Minh. With Vietnam s strong tourism growth, the country s key challenge is now how well can the country manage its tourism products to handle visitor growth effectively, and still ensure satisfaction. In recognition of these challenges, the Government of Vietnam has declared Responsible Tourism as the overarching goal for the future development of the sector and is calling for all players to accept responsibility for managing tourism, and to establish effective mechanisms to do so. While some initiatives have already started such as the Green Lotus environmentally responsible standards for hotels and advancements in the establishment of Responsible Tourism groups, more can still be done. With the help of the ESRT Programme, the first Annual Conference on Responsible Tourism was held in 2012, resulting in the articulation of a series of policy statements on Responsible Tourism. ESRT will now work with key stakeholders to further develop and complement these recommendations in order to deliver a Responsible Tourism Policy for Vietnam. The Vietnam Responsible Tourism Policy will facilitate the mainstreaming of Responsible Tourism into the principles and practices of national, provincial and local level stakeholders to ensure tourism planning and development has greater sustainability and reduced negative impacts on the Vietnamese people and the environment. With a consideration of governance structures, better means for co-ordination and cooperation, the policy will clearly recommend priority actions that should be implemented in order to make sure that Vietnam is a great place to visit and to live in. In tourism, making sure that students who complete training programmes are equipped with the skills that will make them instantly employable by the tourism industry is at the heart of a program to be undertaken by VNAT, with the support of the ESRT programme, over the next few months. The Tourism Training Needs Assessment (TNA) program will survey all the main areas of employment in the tourism industry, such as hotels, tour operators and provincial tourism bodies to identify what their key skills requirements are to meet the needs of international and domestic visitors in Vietnam. But tourism is a fast changing industry and it is important to look beyond the skills needs of today and to try to understand some of the new and emerging skills demands in tourism - areas such as cultural and heritage tourism; ecotourism; MICE tourism; adventure tourism; spa and wellness tourism; and e-tourism, all of which demand dynamic new skills which are often neglected in today s college and university training programmes. So, the TNA study will research these emerging skills areas alongside the more established sectors in tourism. The TNA study will allow VNAT, in consultation with relevant ministries, to provide detailed advice to government; education and training providers; and the private sector about the sort of skills that students will require for rewarding careers in Vietnam s tourism industry. It will inform VTOS and ensure that the occupational standards applied across the tourism industry are relevant and in line with the expectations of ASEAN. Finally and probably most importantly, the study will help all stakeholders reduce the likelihood of the skills mismatch which faces many graduates today and will ensure that the tourism industry is able to recruit high quality, enthusiastic and, above all, highly skilled employees to ensure their future success.

6 10 ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 11 Making Vietnam a repeat tourism destination is a challenge for tourism planners and government. How does the country become more than just a one-off stopping point between Thailand and China? Vietnam has a range of great attractions including world heritage sites, beaches, first class resorts and hotels, food and culture. The answer may partly be in the quality of its tourism human resources. How can Vietnam transform the quality of its tourism services to be on a par with other ASEAN countries like Thailand and Malaysia? It is much more than Developing talent for Vietnam s tourism and hospitality industry infrastructure, buildings and facilities, as important as these are. Tourists remember the human contact, the personal experiences more than anything, and these are the experiences they pass on to family, friends and others through their blogs, reviews and opinions of travel-related content in interactive travel forums. One of the key components of the ESRT Programme is to contribute to the HR development of tourism professionals and new graduates joining the industry in Vietnam. This is being done in a number of ways. Setting professional standards for tourism through the Vietnam Tourism Occupational Standards (VTOS) is the backbone of this initiative by developing a range of standards that define what and how tourism and hospitality services should be delivered. Standards range from entry level trainees to middle management, to staff working in hotels of all sizes and those working in travel and tour operations. The goal is to set standards of competence and to provide resources training materials and programmes to deliver those standards through local participation and engagement. Competence the blend of knowledge, skills and attitude, is key to tourism staff understanding and applying what is required to an international standard and being able to deliver this consistently and professionally. The ESRT is specifically targeting disadvantaged areas, minority groups as well as aiming at entry level employees where there is always high demand for tourism staff. ESRT is analysing, refining, updating and modularizing the original VTOS and making it accessible in a variety of flexible formats and delivery mechanisms. The new VTOS will cluster and package the standards to meet specific needs of sectors such as small hotel operators, small tour and travel companies as well as vocational colleges teaching travel, tourism and hospitality courses. An innovative initiative is, for example, in close cooperation with the Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Quang Ninh Tourism Association, to develop standards and training for pleasure boat service crew. Vietnam has over 7,000 boat crew working in hospitality and tourism positions on pleasure boats in the Mekong Delta, Central coast area and Halong Bay. This will be the first time that standards and training have been developed for these key tourism workers, and it is hoped it will raise the quality of service by equipping service staff with key hospitality skills such as housekeeping, front office and food service as well as basic English skills. The need for operating standards and competence-based curriculum for the tourism industry is not disputed. The challenge now is to ensure the high-quality programmes under development, reach, and are embedded, into the provinces and businesses throughout Vietnam over the coming three years of the ESRT programme. Market driven training to take Vietnam s homestays to the next level PHAM THI DUYEN ANH, Community-Based and Pro-Poor Tourism Specialist Homestays are becoming more prevalent in Vietnam. Typically a family-run business favoured by ethnic minority people, homestays are found throughout Vietnam, particularly in the mountainous north east and north west, the central highlands, and in and around Hoi An and Hue City. Homestays are not just about providing the tourist with accommodation and meals, but provide visitors with an authentic peek into the life of the Vietnamese people; in particular its rural people who represent the hardworking backbone that the country has been built on. Whilst homestays in key tourist destinations are becoming key income generators particularly for women and their families, a market study revealed that the sales and average income of homestays in Vietnam was poor, mostly due to a lack of understanding of tourists needs and wants, coupled with weak business skills and English language ability. Recognising the importance and development prospects of homestay businesses, the ESRT programme has thrown its support behind the High Impact Tourism Training (HITT) programme in order to help develop a highly-tailored and engaging homestay training curriculum and materials that are specific to the realities of the Vietnamese situation. Having been involved with the rigorous research that went into the homestay training programme, the ESRT programme is confident that the training will have a real and positive impact on the employment and income of Vietnam s rural homestay operators, and in particular ethnic minority women and their families. For this reason the ESRT programme has also decided to further extend the HITT training beyond 2013 to 2015.

7 12 ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM FAQS FOR ACTING RESPONSIBLE IN TOURISM What is Responsible Tourism? Responsible Tourism is grounded in the principles of sustainable tourism; to use environmental resources sustainably, respect, conserve and promote socio-cultural authenticity, and ensures viable, long term economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed. Responsible tourism requests us to be active participants in the creation of positive change through our actions and words. Why do we need Responsible Tourism? When not properly planned and managed tourism can cause a range of negative impacts such as over- or uneven development, environmental pollution, and cultural conflict from insensitive or disruptive visitors. Responsible Tourism offers a pathway forward that will maximise the positive benefits of tourism on the environment and society and minimise its associated negative impacts thereby creating better places to live and to visit. Whose responsibility is it? Responsible Tourism asks everyone to take responsibility to make tourism more sustainable. It requires both producers and consumers to identify sustainability issues that they can take responsibility for, and to implement actions that generate positive sustainability outcomes. It is not a niche market; Responsible Tourism aims to change the nature of tourism and make all forms of tourism more responsible. Key to Responsible Tourism is an understanding and acceptance of responsibility. Every decision and action we make can have a positive or negative impact. Responsible Tourism requests us to be guided by our ethics, morals and the laws of our society, be accountable to the impacts of our practices, and have the capacity to act in order to create positive change. What are the benefits of Responsible Tourism for business? You will meet consumer demand for companies to have ethical policies, pay staff fair wages, provide good working conditions, be sensitive to culture, and not harm the environment. It adds value to your product. Consumers feel good supporting organisations that positively contribute to the protection of the environment and support the local people. Responsible Tourism therefore enhances your reputation and differentiates you from the competition. It generates community support. By protecting the environment and positively benefiting the local people and economy, you will be more favourably received by local businesses, the community and the government. It creates positive media attention. Acting responsibly can generate positive media attention which in turn can help drive sales and create further business opportunities. It saves you money. Being more efficient in energy generates immediate cost savings, implementing good employment conditions creates a happier workforce and increased productivity, and looking after natural areas increases visitation and supports related businesses in the long term. It helps you retain staff. Having a responsible agenda creates business pride and helps to attract and retain staff, thereby reducing staff turnover and associated training costs.