Rosa Santilli on managing the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre

Who would have thought 3 months ago that I would be busy chasing butterflies around, whilst frantically trying to organise a UN SEED Initiative Award workshop and honing my celebrity skills for an interview with CNN?  Certainly not me!

I came to Zanzibar to manage the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre (ZBC) – a community based project that merges tourism with poverty alleviation and environmental conservation.   Both my BSc and MSc dissertations focussed on different aspects of community based tourism so it was a great opportunity to put all of that theory into practice.

ZBC started out of a need to protect the remaining forest cover in Zanzibar which is being cut down to provide fire wood for many local communities around the island who rely on charcoal to cook with.  Electricity and gas are extremely expensive so there is little choice.

In 2006 17 charcoal producers from Pete village were trained as butterfly farmers and provided with all the equipment they would need to sustainably produce pupae, which they sell to ZBC, who in turn export this as well as use this for the tropical netted garden, which is the tourist attraction.

ZBC is a fantastic project from the point of view of the forest, the farmer, the visitor and the export client.  The farmers’ reliance on charcoal production as their main source of income has diminished and the farmers are now in complete control of how much money they earn.   One of the best farmers has in the past earned four times what he earned producing charcoal.  Visitors (even those who are a little sceptical about visiting) are in awe of the butterfly lifecycle, particularly the pupae stage, and are enthralled when walking around the garden with hundreds of butterflies floating around.  And farming pupae is sustainable and commercially viable – there is a huge demand for tropical butterfly pupae globally and as tropical butterflies only live for a maximum of 6 weeks, it is unlikely the demand will ever wain.   Despite these facts, as well as the fact that the project has been in operation for 5 years, sustainability is still a challenge.

Visitor admissions alone cannot support the project.  Pupae export is the project’s main source of income yet we have to turn away prospective clients because we are unable to supply the two clients we already have with the amount of pupae they need.   Why?   Because the farmers are unable to consistently supply sufficient numbers of pupae – some months they produce hundreds, others just a handful – and after trying to determine the reason behind this, it is literally down to whether they have the motivation on any given day, despite the fact that they can earn substantial amounts of money and even though this could jeopardise the centre’s future and thus their livelihoods.  They have a saying in Zanzibar – Hakuna Matata, which means no problem, no worries – and that really does sum it all up!!

Regardless of all of this, things are moving forward.   I am working with 50/50 (a microloan organisation based in the US) to take on and train ten new farmers and I am liaising with Care (international NGO) about the possibility of rolling the project out to 7 new villages.   Following on from the work of the previous volunteers I have managed to secure agreements with a number of tour operators and hotels to bring guests to the centre and have been running around the island distributing as many leaflets as possible to draw in the crowds!

ZBCs profile is also being raised – I recently did an interview about the project with CNN and one of ZBC’s Directors, Alfred Massawe, recently won a UN SEED Initiative award.  SEED awards recognise social and environmental entrepreneurs who are making a positive difference to eradicate poverty and protect the environment, while contributing to a greener economy and Alfred has won this award in part because of the fantastic work he has done with the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre -  .

So the future does look a little brighter and I’m happy that I’ve been given the opportunity to play a part in it!

Rosa Santilli completed her MSc in 2008

Guaranteed Gambian

As part of my six week stint in the Gambia this winter I’ve been working together with The Travel Foundation, Sandele Eco-Lodge and Rupert & Lynne (our craft experts) to promote a brand of jewellery, crafts and textiles that will be recognised by customers for its commitment to natural products and to a fair working ethic for the producers involved. During the last 12 months everyone has been working very hard here in the destination to develop new innovative designs and products that will meet all customer’s needs and pockets. The 8th December was agreed as the launch date of the ‘Guaranteed Gambian’ products and we were generously offered promotional space at the beautiful Gaya Art Cafe. A range of buyers and other interested parties were invited to the event, resulting in some fabulous feedback and interest for orders.  Following the launch, myself and Rupert met with Anna from Top Shop who has shops at three popular hotels, she has become our first Guaranteed Gambian customer and is placing orders for all of our items within the catalogue.

I also met with the Sales and Marketing manager for the Sheraton Hotel, she is looking for corporate gifts and is interested in seeing the Guaranteed Gambian catalogue that Rupert is currently putting together. She attends trade fares 6 times per year and if she was to become a customer this would have a huge positive impact on combatting the seasonality issue.

For many of the producers of our crafts, this is going to be the first time that they’ve ever had any kind of real employment and opportunity to make a decent living from tourism. The respect that will come from having this opportunity is something that I can’t even put a value on for them…instead of bumstering their wares on the streets they now have 3 confirmed outlets for their work.  With next year’s work focussing on marketing and building brand awareness of Guaranteed Gambian I know that the producers will really feel very proud to be part of it and to say that their work is sold under this label.  It guarantees a fair wage for their products and the time that they have put into making them.  The story boards of the producers will help to tell the story to the customer and bring life to the brand as well as awareness raising of sustainability as a whole.  We’ll be able to fully report on stats this time next year to demonstrate the difference this has made to the income of the producers.

I remember when I met a marabou (fortune teller) here the first time I came to do H&S 5 years ago, he told me that I would always come back to the Gambia and that I would bring wealth to people of the destination, I never believed a word of it, as far as I was concerned I was doing a one off trip there and never knew that I’d even come back.  As soon as we got the Top Shop agreement it struck me that this could be exactly what he was referring to all that time ago!  Scary that someone can know these things so far ahead of time

Of everything that I’ve done so far in this job, this is probably the highlight and the most amazing achievement yet. There’s a lot of special people working on this project here and it’s such privilege to be part of it.  I just wanted to share the good news!

Jo Baddeley

Thomas Cook

Graduated in 2011

Zalala Beach Lodge Mozambique

Zalala Beach Lodge, located on the Northern Coast of Mozambique, bordering a fishing village of 5,000 inhabitants is about to be launched as the first responsible tourism initiative in Zambezia Province, the largest and most populous province in the country. Within months after my first visit to the place in December 2006, I joined forces with a close friend and we launched into an ambitious ‘dream project’ – that of transforming a neglected and resource-starved slice of the Mozambican coast into a small haven attracting both domestic and international visitors and bringing jobs and opportunities for local inhabitants. The challenges were enormous: road access in the wet season almost impossible; very limited access to the inputs required, most of which had to be transported from South Africa via Maputo, 1,700kms away; notoriously slow-moving bureaucratic machinery; very low educational levels among the local population (the majority of the women have not had more than two or three years of schooling); the list goes on. But, on the plus side, the community response from the word go was very positive and, moreover, I was working with a team of natives all of whom were fully committed to making the dream a reality.

 

Applying a  ‘pro-poor’ perspective: In order to learn more about how to achieve this, I enrolled on the RT Management Course (which at the time was still at Greenwich University). The course readings and class discussions were thought-provoking and have helped to guide me and keep me ‘on the straight and narrow’! I mean, when caught up with the day to day challenges of managing an ambitious project in a remote part of resource-starved Africa, you can quickly lose sight of why you started in the first place! I don’t claim to have been able to successfully apply the principles of responsible tourism in the way I would have liked to. But, I feel I can give myself credit for adhering to some of the core principles, such as recognising that working with communities is not just about ticking a few boxes as a ‘do-gooder’. It means listening to and respecting community values and aspirations and trying to find common ground between the interests of the managers and those of the host community. The fact that the Project Steering Team , with the exception of myself (I a Greek living in the UK) is composed of native Zambezians, helped to establish trust between the Lodge and the community.

 

Using survey research to guide future decision-making : Having established a certain level of trust,  I  wanted to find out about the changes (both positive and negative) brought about in people’s lives since the advent of tourism in the area.

The first step involved gathering baseline data about people’s lives in the form of a community livelihoods survey. In order to compare the ‘before and after’, we plan to undertake a repeat survey in 12 months from Lodge opening. But, even at this stage, the survey provided strong confirmation that access to jobs and income-generating opportunities is the most widely shared hope amongst the host community. The findings and highlights of other initiatives taken to support communities (such as the establishment of rotating savings and credit groups, access to permanent and seasonal employment for large numbers of people, etc) are recorded in News Updates that can be downloaded from our website: www.zalalabeach.com. At the World Travel Market, I will be talking about some of the challenges of trying to provide equal opportunities to men and women in the community at an Event on Gender and Sustainable Tourism Development on 9 November, 12.30-13.30pm in the Excel Grounds, North Gallery, Room 8. If you are interested in supporting and finding out more about this work and in sharing ideas and experiences, please contact me, Angela Hadjipateras on angelahadji@yahoo.co.uk.

A Water Project on Rhodes

The last three months I’ve been predominantly based in the UK and haven’t really been visiting resorts – it’s a bit hectic overseas during the height of summer and they could do without having to look after me if I go over.  That’s all about to change now that the end of season is upon us and winter is about to start.

I’ve just visited Rhodes with a colleague from The Travel Foundation as we’re working on a water project with two hotels there, the SENTIDO Mitsis Rodos Maris and the Sunwing Kallithea.  Both hotels are at really different points of the sustainability journey with Sunwing being very advanced already.  This is a great challenge for us to therefore identify how we can go even further, it’s more than likely going to be technological solutions that we’re looking at so we’re working with a local consultant with a background in engineering to help us.  We also want to understand the impacts our operations have on water in general on the island and the risks to our business in the event that there are severe water shortages affecting the tourism industry.  It’s going to be a really interesting project.  Both hotel managers and staff are behind the programme and hugely supportive.  We’ll be working on a set of recommendations for both hotels over the winter – they also need to be applicable to other hotels within the SENTIDO and Sunwing chains in order for us to make a wider positive impact.  It’s something I’m really excited about working on and I can’t wait to be able to report back on progress at the start of summer next year.

Jo Baddeley

Thomas Cook

Graduated in 2011

Midnight Beast and the vulnerable image of destination Ibiza

Is this irresponsible tourism?  A group of London lads travel to Ibiza to film a music video parodying a certain brand of British tourism–cue littering, reckless spending, drunkenness, vomiting, and the wanton spreading of venereal disease–and subsequently achieve notoriety by posting their production, Pizza in Ibiza, to YouTube (390,000+ views since early June).

While the Director General of Tourism for the Balearic Islands’ autonomous community, Jaime Martínez has erupted–“it’s intolerable that four louts have smeared the image of Ibiza for their own benefit”–I was left wondering if they hadn’t captured part of the reality of mass party tourism to Ibiza.

As several academics have intuited, destinations that assume visitors are passive consumers of those products marketed to them, do so at their long-term peril.  Are Midnight Beast not rebellious tourists making a good point about the vagaries of the mass-market sun, sand and sea holiday industry, albeit not to everyone’s taste?

OK, I’m probably stretching the argument a bit there.  But see for yourself.  Reflect.  I know what “we Brits” can be like abroad, but…   Have you been to Ibiza?  Was the Mickey ripe for the taking?  Or was Ibiza just unlucky to have been singled out, given that any number of Mediterranean holiday destinations might have qualified for the same treatment?

Understandably, Martínez counters that the image portrayed by the music video is “false and distorted”.  And quite rightly he points out that Ibiza has more to offer than the sun, sand, sea and clubbing formula, including holiday experiences linked to the island’s past, its natural environment, gastronomy and so on.  But as an advocate for the island’s tourism industry in its current form he’s in a tricky position.  Besides conservation efforts and the need to encourage other kinds of tourism, Martínez states clearly that Ibiza’s acclaimed nightlife “must be maintained”.  So is the challenge to make hedonistic tourism to Ibiza more responsible?  Is this feasible?

In Taking Responsibility for Tourism Harold Goodwin considers that “once a destination gains a hedonistic reputation it is very difficult to move away from it: the established businesses rely on the kind of tourism for which they have a reputation and other opportunities are generally incompatible with party tourism.  There is a strong case for enclaving it and isolating it” (p.181).  But even if party tourism could be enclaved in Ibiza, those holidays would still take place in and be identified with Ibiza, leaving the island’s reputation vulnerable to the whims of the press, songwriters, videomakers, word-of-mouth, etc, etc…   the list of potential Channels of Denigration is long!.

Goodwin also highlights a number of initiatives to build bridges between the originating market–in this case the UK–and the destination.  This includes tour operators Club 18-30 and Thomas Cook working with bar owners in destinations, holiday rep training on sustainability in destinations, advertising campaigns, distributing awareness-raising posters to hotels, and providing pre-departure information on drugs, alcohol and sex; the UK’s Department of Health (Be Frank and Drinkaware campaigns), the UK Foreign Office (Know Before You Go) and the Travel Foundation (Make a Difference While You Party).

These are responses from a diversity of organisations in the originating market.  They attempt to nudge, encourage and warn young holidaymakers to avoid certain behaviours once in destinations like Ibiza.  What can the destination do?

I would like to see a reflective response from authorities and other major tourism stakeholders in Ibiza.  Regardless of Pizza in Ibiza’s dubious merits or intentions, it demonstrates how readily the destination can be disparaged, even by ‘amateurs’, in a marketplace much defined by social networking activity, stiff competition, and consumer whims.

Ibiza, much like other destinations, can only partially affect the image it portrays to potential holidaymakers.  In contrast, by prioritising the ongoing development of better places to live in and visit, tourism authorities might have less media crisis management to do in the long-run.

Perhaps a bit like a recovering alcoholic, those with power, control and responsibility in the destination need first to agree that they have issues to deal with; collectively, as a whole.  Ultimately, solutions will depend on many, often quite disparate groups recognising their role and responsibility in sustaining a shared place (the destination), a shared trade (tourism) and a shared image of both.

In the meantime, other intriguing illustrations of the vulnerability of destinations in relation to the behaviour of tourists, national stereotypes, fragmented business interests, and the difficulties of steering the destination towards a more desirable future, will surely abound.  I will write again soon on similar incidents that have emerged in Barcelona from that other group often overlooked or assumed to be passive in the creation of visited places.  “Locals” can be as rebellious as tourists, if not more so, corrupting efforts to maintain pleasing destination images in the process.

www.senseourway.com

All about ABTA – A lecturer’s guide

On 16th June twenty-five tourism lecturers both from HE and FE enjoyed a seminar arranged by ABTA and Andreas Walmsley at ICRT. The purpose of the event was to inform representatives from UK higher education institutions of ABTA’s activities, thereby facilitating closer links with industry. With continued emphasis in HE on employment and the industry relevance of HE programmes ABTA’s efforts in engaging with HE are very welcome.

The seminar covered much ground including the latest data on consumer trends in tourism as well as an overview of resources ABTA makes available for HE staff. A range of speakers from ABTA presented on the day, including a speech by Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s Chief Executive, and John de Vial, ABTA’s Head of Financial Protection. Emphasis was also placed on sustainability with a presentation by Nikki White, Head of Destinations and Sustainability explaining what ABTA is doing to make the industry more responsible. The ABTA consumer survey also covered ground in this area, identifying consumer attitudes towards aviation, taxation and sustainability, for example, as well as the role of the industry in sustainable destination development. A few highlights of the survey in terms of consumers’ views of sustainability include:

• 33% of consumers believe they have a good understanding of what is meant by sustainable tourism
• 22% of consumers said they would actively seek a company with a good track record in sustainability
• 41% of respondents said they did not want to think about being green when on holiday
  There was some agreement (50%) that flying and being green poses a significant dilemma.
• 17% of respondents said they would be willing to pay more for an environmentally friendly holiday, 31% disagreed.
• Interestingly, consumers from lower socio-economic groups were more inclined to pay for a more responsible holiday than those higher up on the socio-economic scale.
• Overall the data indicate that consumers expect industry to be doing something for the local population in the tourism destinations. Consumers appear to be pointing the finger of responsibility at industry rather than considering their own behaviour.
• Consumers were largely against the idea of increasing taxation as a means to curb demand for flying (14% agreed with an increase in taxation for this purpose).

The event was not solely about one-way communication healthy discussions also took place along a range of themes. Collaboration between HE and ABTA was identified in the following areas:

• Publication and/or reference of industry relevant research being undertaken at universities on ABTA’s website
• Attendance of an ABTA representative at ATHE’s annual conference
• ABTA’s provision of case studies, in particular on sustainable tourism for use in HE
• Identification of case studies of career paths in tourism, i.e. where tourism graduates have developed careers in tourism. Collaboration with People First was acknowledged.
• Co-ordination of supply and demand for industry placements.

Delegates were keen for future events such as these to take place and suggested that ABTA members might also be invited to present. ABTA should be praised for taking the initiative for this event. HE-Industry collaboration has long been on the cards and yet it is only through events like these that this becomes more than just a good idea.

The Intrepids,

Taking advantage of a conference to attend in London on the Monday and Tuesday, I headed for Faversham on the morning of Saturday, June 11^th to visit Harold and Kate for a long overdue catch up.

I took the new high speed train from St Pancras, a surprising treat; but it was the memories that came flooding back when passing through Rochester and Chatham that were overwhelming! Can it really be nearly 14 years since I and my 8 fellow classmates became the first intrepid entrants into Harold’s world of responsible tourism in academia?!

That first year the course’s home was Bridge Warden’s College in Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, part of the University of Kent, and the ICRT was just a dot in its Father’s eye, so to speak. The MSc in Tourism and Conservation was what had drawn us to this locale, and what a mixed (some might say ‘motley’) crew we were! Part-time study over 2 years (the full-time option only became available the following year), drew students from London, Oxford, the New Forest and elsewhere in Kent, although I was the only one to relocate (from Manchester). This first year focussed on nature tourism and bulking out our numbers were members of DICE’s MSc in Conservation Biology; from the very British, to the wonderfully Peruvian and the dedicated African, all added to the experience. By our second year we had lost a couple of the crew and looked forward to welcoming the first full-time students and shifting our focus to cultural tourism.

 It wasn’t all work and no play! There were after class pub sessions and a rather infamous weekend social in a converted barn. Friendships were forged, some for life, and we, The Intrepids, picked up the flame and carried it forward. Some still do! On finishing, I spent the best part of 6 amazing years in Uganda, Botswana and Gabon working in community tourism, community development and cultural advocacy. Since then I have been diverted off the path, not by choice, although I have returned a couple of times to Botswana; but I hope one day to return to ‘the path’ proper.

 And what of the course, the ‘cause’ even? Well, as have we all, it has undergone a number of changes, some radical. From the geographical: starting at the University of Kent in the Historic Dockyard, it took a short hop over the road to the University of Greenwich, where the International Centre for Responsible Tourism took hold; and from there it headed north to the  Leeds Metropolitan University with satellite ‘sister’ Centres in The Gambia, Canada, Belize, Germany, India and South Africa. At Kent I found one of the most impressive aspects of the course was how current it was, which was made possible by Harold’s active involvement in a range of consultancies; so it comes as no surprise that as well as the geographical progression, the course itself and the name it goes by, have moved forward in line with industry and research trends, environmental pressures and the needs of those in tourism destinations. ‘Tourism and Conservation’ blossomed to incorporate the commitment du jour and became ‘Tourism, Conservation and Sustainable Development’, which has since expanded to ‘Responsible Tourism Management’. I look forward to seeing the developments yet to come.

Over these past 14 years, hundreds have started on the path to Responsible Tourism and to all those who still carry the torch, and to those yet to step onto the path, I cry ‘Hail’; but the biggest ‘HAIL’ has to go to Harold: our teacher, our friend, our challenger and our inspiration!

 

Alison White University of Kent MSc in Tourism & Conservation

ICRT Alumni in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is recovering from its bitter civil war and is beginning to be rediscovered by the more adventurous tourist. Beach tourism was the main emphasis prior to the industry’s collapse in the 1990s, with package holidaymakers from France and elsewhere attracted by the countries incredible Atlantic-facing beaches.

Today however there is a realisation that beach tourism is an international ‘commodity’ product and therefore a high risk development strategy with prices controlled by the market: It may fail to deliver pro-poor economic benefits and sustainable growth. Indeed West African tourism (mostly beach tourism) is losing market share and needs to change substantially and quickly if the region is not to become even further marginalised in international tourism. Access is expensive for destinations like Sierra Leone and getting tourism going sustainably will be a challenge.

At the present time international tourism to Sierra Leone consists almost exclusively in business traffic (including short term aid workers) and family visits. It is small scale (c 38,500 visitors arrived by air in 2009). Leisure tourism is currently almost totally dependent on domestic tourism at weekends and day trippers from large resident expatriate population, but with a superb natural environment and a welcoming people, this country offers beaches without bumsters and a great sense of freedom to explore.

Various development agencies including the UN, USAID and Europeaid have identified tourism as a potential future development path for Sierra Leone. The possibility of Sierra Leone positioning itself as an unexplored ecotourism destination offering safe and genuine experiences which contribute to the local environment and to local community development does exist, as tourism starts again from a tabula rasa. Tribe Wanted has been one of the first to identify Sierra Leone as a future exotic destination and has begun construction of an ‘alternative’ beach resort on the shores of the mountainous Western Peninsula.

This Peninsula is likely to be the hub of tourism in Sierra Leone. The Chimpanzee Sanctuary there is probably the only international-standard visitor attraction in the country. There is a new Whale Research Centre run by a UK charity, offshore islands with their Creole culture and miles of spectacular beaches and jungle-covered hills which could help make this area, close to Freetown, the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the country’s likely tourism product: These products are essentially small scale ecotourism at present.

The Western Peninsula (and Freetown’s water supply) is however increasingly threatened by rapidly encroaching urbanization and deforestation due to house construction and fuel consumption: The city’s growing population mostly uses wood and charcoal for all its cooking needs. A present destruction rates the forest cover will probably be lost within a decade; and with it much of the country’s potential as an ecotourism flagship. Saving the Western Peninsula is therefore critical to Sierra Leone’s future tourism potential, and it is far from clear that this potential can be secured.
Sierra Leone is an interesting, beautiful and very friendly destination, but the challenge for delivering sustainable and responsible tourism is immense. There will be opportunities here for ICRT alumni to help make a difference.

Robert Travers travelled to Sierra Leone as a volunteer for the USAID PAGE programme, organized by ACDI/VOCA.

Shtrumpf Salad Bar & Grill’s Go Green program manager Omar J. Sakr, looks where environmental management stands in the country’s 4 and 5 star hotels

Hospitality and tourism management schools need to seriously introduce Responsible Hospitality Management in their programs and trainings, especially the courses related to Facilities Management and Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism Management.

“A proactive approach is necessary to overcome obstacles”

Lebanese hoteliers have the additional responsibility to educate and enhance awareness among their guests in order to help them become responsible tourists, not only within the hotel but also outside of it.

A proactive approach is therefore necessary to overcome the different obstacles that the hotel industry may face in implementing sound and responsible environmental practices.

Read more at http://www.hospitalitynewsmag.com/en/event/HN-Special-Report

Omar Sakr is an alumni of the Responsible Tourism Management Masters at Leeds Metropolitan University gogreen@shtrumpf.com

DEVELOPING A RESPONSIBLE TOURISM REPORTING SCHEME

Back in 2008 I chose the topic of developing a transparent verifiable reporting tool as my dissertation subject. For my literature review I researched the current offerings for showcasing a companies good practices. I covered certification, benchmarking, reporting, associations, online responsible travel agencies and awards.  I quizzed many individuals who use or are involved with the various processes available and the main outcome was they all lacked transparency.

In my research I found it difficult, if not impossible, to find out the criteria used in a certification programme and then which and to what level a business needed to reach in each criterion to be awarded the top grade. Benchmarking and reporting schemes are not common in the tourism industry but what is available is very Eurocentric and complex, mainly aimed at larger companies.  Many associations and online responsible travel agencies request for members to agree to their codes of conduct but rarely do they actually ensure that the members are meeting these requirements. As with certification, awards do little to highlight a company’s good practices. What the winner achieved or how is rarely published.

In the first stages of developing the Responsible Tourism Reporting tool I would simply ask companies to report their annual achievements against their Responsible Tourism Policy, which I would then independently verify. This turned out to be not so simple as I found many companies did not have a clear picture what responsible tourism included. They had never labelled their actions; they just saw it as the right thing to do. People could tell me the ways in which they reduced their impact on the environment, the treatment of their staff and their involvement in the community but when it came to writing the report they drew a blank. To help, I compiled simple yes or no questionnaires for each business type that joined the scheme. The aim was to get the company thinking along the lines of what aspects of their operations they need to be concentrating on for the Responsible Tourism Report. These questionnaires are now permanently updated as the industry adds more points.

The next step was to measure their business’ impacts. Again I found companies often had no way of telling me, for example, how much electricity they had used without trawling through paper bills. I wanted to be able to compare how much CO2 each business produced per bed-night/client each year. It was imperative that any tools I introduced must be simple as people were too busy running their businesses to have time to collect data. As a result, I now have some very simple Excel workbooks that allow businesses to monitor their environmental impacts on a monthly basis. Several businesses have started to use these and have found them easy to integrate into their working day.

I am still having trouble encouraging people to write their reports for me. People seem to think that when it comes to writing a report, longer is better. I don’t think it helps that the three published reports I have are all 15+ pages long. I try to stress that if your report is just a paragraph long this is fine, at least you are on the road to transparent reporting. But once again I found it necessary to help with this step of the process and am now providing report outlines based on the company’s questionnaire. These also include how each point will be verified. I hope to see in the future a more fluid approach where businesses are able to write their own reports giving priority to what they feel is important and not being lead by an outsider’s point of view.

Currently the reports are published at www.rtreporting.com/reports/reports.htm. I feel that by only having a collection of reports makes the Responsible Tourism Reporting process fairly opaque – an attribute I wanted to avoid. You have to be a pretty curious individual with a lot of time on your hands to read, evaluate and compare these reports. So this is my next stumbling block – how to make the data I collect more visible. Right now I don’t have enough completed verifications but this will change over the coming months. Once I do I can then start the process of setting up comparison tables showing, for example, which hotel in Nepal has the lowest carbon footprint. Or take another example using the trekking industry: many agencies claim to pay their guides above the national average but when questioned what the national average is no one knows.

Creating comparison tables will allow companies to make legitimate claims supported by independent verification. Lastly (well for now) I want to highlight companies who have missing data. Currently if a company does not want to report on something, for example fair employee salaries, then it does not have to. It is down to the reader to notice this omission. With comparison tables gaps like this will be more obvious and will in turn force businesses to be more transparent. One thing I should mention alongside transparency there comes a degree of discretion. My aim is not to make companies who are trying look bad nor is it to publish sensitive data. All data handled is done with complete confidentiality and is only published with the consent of the company in question. Sensitive data is disguised by percentages such as profit, payroll, training budget etc.

My scheme is very much in its infancy and everyday something new comes to mind but the interest and support I have is tremendous. So many businesses clearly see the benefits. Time will tell to its success but right now the future looks good.

Jenefer Bobbin (Current Masters Student)
Responsible Tourism Reporting Initiative (http://www.rtreporting.com)
Email: jenefer@rtreporting.com