A Model of Sustainable Tourism

A Model of Sustainable Tourism Our vision has been to run a tourism business that allows everyone involved in providing a holiday to share in the economic benefits. Although we help people travel and discover new places around the world, we strongly believe that it is at a local level that tourism can really improve people’s lives.

This has been a process that began in 1991 and has resulted in founder Gavin Bate winning the Responsible Tourism Award in 2009 for Best Personal Contribution. For Gavin this has been a labour of love, and a lot of fun, as much as a clear-sighted and dedicated business model.

“In 2009, 38% of people would feel guilty if they didn’t do something ethical. This percentage is up from 19%. Consumers are expecting responsible tourism in their holidays and a sustainable value in their holiday” AITO Conference, Kerala, 2009 Equality in Business It is the main tenet of Gavin Bate’s belief that an employee in Africa or Nepal should have the same opportunity to create a long term career out of tourism as an employee in our Northern Ireland office. It is this vision of equality that has made running Adventure Alternative hugely rewarding as well as a diverse and colourful challenge.

In Kenya, Nepal, Russia and Tanzania the four companies set up by Adventure Alternative have flourished and still employ the same people who were involved at the start. Investing heavily in those companies during the days when there were fewer clients has enabled the operation to grow properly and organically.

Crucially all the staff really understand that they are taking part in the development of tourism and they are sharing in the income. With a good salary and permanent employment, they can afford a good lifestyle and are keen to provide an authentic holiday. For the consumer this increases the socalled EFM, or Experience for Money!

All the senior staff get to travel abroad and assist with holidays in other countries. Pasang Tendi Sherpa is Director of Adventure Alternative Nepal but he also guides our clients on Mt Aconcagua in Argentina. Kamanda and Lipman in Tanzania, our guides on Kilimanjaro, also work on Mount Kenya.

It is really a dream for a Kenyan or a Nepalese to travel abroad on business and get well paid for their skills.

Gavin visits all the country offices and develops the management technique that has made his company so authentic and popular. The employees are all long term friends and the word ‘family’ best describes it. For example Kelly Kioko was once a street kid in Nairobi who met Gavin when he was trying to pickpocket him! Now Kelly is Director of AA Kenya, which has 26 staff and runs trips all year round. He also manages Moving Mountains Kenya, a case of coming full circle, as he was once a beneficiary of this charity when he went to school.

Supporting local businesses It’s not just a matter of the full time staff either, what about the providers and small businesses which all contribute to the holiday? At Adventure Alternative some of our long term relationships with small hotels have literally kept them alive. For example: 1

Sustainable Tourism | Adventure Alternative

A Model of Sustainable Tourism The Blue Line Hotel on Mt Kenya: Mama Nyukabi runs her own hotel on the slopes of Mount Kenya, a small place struggles against a large chain hotel down the road which soaks up almost all of the tourist business. We have been bringing clients to the Blue Line for eleven years and Mama Nyukabi is categorical that without us, her business would have failed a long time ago. The large amount of cash she makes in the busy summer months allows her to develop and save for the slow months.

Responsible or Sustainable?

‘Responsible tourism’ has become a bit of an overused hackneyed catchphrase designed to present some credential of integrity in an industry which is all about profit and little about sharing. Generally consumers use the word responsible, while the industry now prefers the word sustainable. Not until recently has consumer knowledge and interest increased so much that the industry has had to take a long hard look in the mirror. Suddenly it’s all about educating people on the issues of social tourism and trying to make it work.

Adventure Alternative was there right at the beginning, building a foundation which has been recognised as a standard when Gavin won the Responsible Tourism Award. The company has maintained its principles as the industry has evolved and we can truthfully say, after so many years, that the business model has worked. Gavin was also one of the founding members of the Ethical Tour Operators Group which is making significant inroads to protect the rights of people against exploitation and highlight real issues of concern in tourism.

Community-based management Adventure Alternative helps to set up co-operatives or community groups. Gavin has spent many years working in remote places like Bumburi in the Himalayas, showing the locals how to do this properly. While the charity has always provided capital investment, like building a hydro-electric plan in the mountains, it is the use of continued revenue from trade that really is the key to the future. Our groups now visit the likes of Bumburi and we spend our money locally. The advances in everything from education to health to self-esteem have always made it worthwhile. It’s so much fun to go there now and be welcomed with open arms by the villagers; they have seen their lifestyle improve beyond anything they could have imagined.

Voluntourism Volunteering in a developing country is rewarding and often life-changing, as much for the local community as for the visitor. We really do work to change that attitude of foreigner visitors coming to Africa to ‘do good’. The relationship is always two way and often the visitor comes away with far more. But we really do use the income from our gap students and youth trips to develop schools, clinics, orphanages and even monasteries! It’s not a nominal figure; it’s a real investment. Because of the success of this model, visitors are often overwhelmed by the welcome they get. This is really a case of tourism working to create a better world.

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Sustainable Tourism | Adventure Alternative