The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook v7

The Responsible and Sustainable

Tourism Handbook South Africa Volume 7 The Essential Guide

ISBN ISBN9-78062-045-1 0-62055-9874

06 07

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The Responsible and Sustainable

Tourism Handbook South Africa Volume 7 The Essential Guide EDITOR

DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION MANAGER

Niki Glen

Edward MacDonald

CONTRIBUTORS Niki Glen, Caroline Ungersbock, Wilna Botha, Ian Gordon-Cumming, Kevin Mearns, Iain Gunn, Xolani Hlongwa, Åsa Nilsson, Kerry McLean, Dulcineia Basílio Ramos, Carl Momberg, Hugo Marcos, Rudi van der Vyver, Lisa Jade Kirkham (Merven), Hannes Grobler, Greg Vogt and Martin Hatchuel

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EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION

Niki Glen Shannon Manuel

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Chevonne Ismail

CLIENT LIASON Linda Tom

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The Sustainability Series Of Handbooks

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ISBN No: 978 0 620 45240 3. Volume 5 first Published February 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or in any form without the prior written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Publisher or the Editor. All editorial contributions are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary copyrights and permissions.

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Contributors Niki Glen (Editor)

I am the co-founder of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme, a nonprofit company established with the specific aim of assisting tourism businesses across South Africa to implement Sustainable Tourism (the STPP is a UNWTO Affiliate Member). I am also providing project consulting services as an independent tourism specialist, and my projects include N3 Gateway Tourism Association, Project Preparation Trust as well as Next Step Consulting. I have previously served on the board of the N12 Treasure Route Association and was their acting CEO. I am the editor of an annual handbook on Sustainable Tourism and the author of the RETOSA Sustainable Tourism Handbook, published in October 2017. I started my career as a Civil and Structural Engineer. Upon completing my MBA (Cum Laude) in 2000, I became a project and programme manager for international companies, including Absa, Barclays, Standard Bank and Liberty Life, running mass scale programmes stretching over 11 African Countries. My passion for sustainability, environmental best practice and social preservation led me to leave my 18-year corporate career to pursue sustainability in tourism.

Caroline Ungersbock

Caroline is the chair and co-founder of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme. She is deeply entrenched in tourism and is a hands-on change agent, who makes it her business engage tourism stakeholders, helping them move into the realms of sustainable tourism. Caroline has travelled to more than 80 South African towns to assist tourism businesses and municipalities with sustainable tourism awareness, development of tourism plans, responsible tourism implementation and community tourism development. She has also visited many international destinations, where she is a regular guest speaker on sustainable tourism related topics.

Wilna Botha

Wilna Botha is the founder and CEO of Africa!Ignite, a not-for-profit rural development agency that focuses on development of women and youth, tourism enterprise development and story-telling. She is a former investigative journalist, communications specialist and college lecturer. She worked as a journalist from 1976 to 1992 and won national awards as South Africa’s medical journalist of the year, runner-up to education writer of the year and for health reporting.

Ian Gordon-Cumming

Ian Gordon-Cumming holds a degree in geography along with the United Kingdom Meteorological Office’s diploma in advanced weather forecasting, was awarded an Honours degree in Environmental Management cum laude and has recently completed his master’s dissertation cum laude through the University of South Africa. He spent much of his career as a divisional director and business manager leading global multi-cultural teams across Africa, southeast and northeast Asia, Australasia, India and the Middle East.

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Iain Gunn

Iain Gunn has been working in, and living tourism for over 35 years and has worked in all aspects of tourism today. Iain was born in Zambia and from an early age assisted his father in nature conservation and tourism, learning the ropes the old-school way. He was moved to South Africa in 1972 to complete his schooling. Having developed a passion for traditional culture and African food, he tried his hand at lodge development, tour guiding and management.

Xolani Hlongwa and Åsa Nilsson

Xolani Hlongwa (Socioartistic Engineer) is a South African and Swedish citizen and founded Green Camp Gallery in 2012. The search for sustainable solutions that include both indigenous knowledge systems and modern science has been his highest priority; hence, he has researched sustainable development in 16 countries (Africa and Europe). Xolani has a background in arts and culture as a professional ballet dancer, and a professional vinyl DJ. Åsa Nilsson Holds a Degree of Bachelor of Social Science in Education and Health Promotion. Åsa, a Swedish citizen, has a professional and activist background within sexual and reproductive health and rights. She was working with school development for Swedish municipalities when she decided to re-educate herself. While doing an internship in South Africa, she met and fell in love with Xolani and the Green Camp Gallery. Through further academic studies and learning-by-doing Åsa has developed knowledge and skills in urban farming, social cohesion, environmentally friendly living, and sustainable city planning.

Kerry McLean

Kerry Mclean currently holds the position of Project Manager for the Tourism Green Coast Project, implemented by WESSA on behalf of the National Department of Tourism. Her background is rooted in sustainable agriculture, environmental education, skills development and training into both the youth and adult sectors of South Africa. She has undertaken several roles within WESSA with a strong focus on youth development.

Dulcineia Basílio Ramos

Dulcineia Basílio Ramos holds a degree in Tourism (IPL -2004), Master’s degree in Territorial and Environmental Planning (FCT / UNL - 2007) and a PhD in Tourism (University of Aveiro - 2016). Since 2008, she has held professorships in several institutions of Higher Education, teaching in areas such as: Tourism Planning, Tourism and Sustainability, Tourist Attractions Management and Tourist Recreation. Throughout her career she has held several positions, with emphasis on the coordination of courses and in the Student Counsellor Office.

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Carl Momberg

Carl Momberg is the publisher of capeinfo.com.

He has over 40 years of experience in tourism.

Hugo Marcos

Hugo has 15 years of experience organizing events, and he spent nine years as director of ART&TUR the Portuguese festival of tourism films.

In February 2017 he assumed the position of General Secretary of CIFFT (International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals) based in Vienna, Austria. He holds a degree in Tourism from the University Institute of Maia - ISMAI, and holds a specialization in Organization and Event Management.

Rudi van der Vyver

Rudi van der Vyver was appointed as CEO of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) early 2017, bringing a wealth of management experience in the financial services, business consulting and hospitality industries to the umbrella body of the business events sector in Southern Africa. A driven, innovative and creative individual with a comprehensive management and leadership background, van der Vyver brings 15 years of extensive and diversified experience, a comprehensive training foundation and an exemplary career at leading organisations to SAACI.

Lisa Jade Kirkham

Founder and Head Ginger of GingerBiscuit, a company that contributes to making the world a better place by creatively connecting people in a sustainable way through green event management, outsourced sustainability consulting and training. Highly qualified in the University of Life with a QBE (Qualified by Experience), Lisa-Jade has had experience in a number of industries ranging from the dramatic arts, advertising and marketing, event management, the non-profit sector, right down to working within the emergency medical services field.

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Hannes Grobler

Jacobus Johannes Grobler is an MSc Environmental Management student at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He obtained his BSc Honours in the same discipline in 2015 and holds a National Diploma in Eco Tourism Management from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). After 6 years in the tourism industry he changed careers into the environmental management sector.

Kevin Mearns

Kevin Mearns is a Full Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of South Africa and a Y2 NRF Rated Researcher. Kevin’s specialist area of research involves the application of sustainable tourism indicators to tourism ventures across Southern Africa. Kevin received his academic training both locally and abroad in the United Sates and the United Kingdom in Environmental Design and Management as well as Geography and Environmental Management. Kevin is an active scholar and has published more than 23 peer reviewed scholarly papers and chapters.

Greg Vogt

My journey and love for the outdoors began as a young boy, growing up in the heart of Zululand. My youth knew no boundaries as I explored places with local kids; nature being the backdrop to our playground. I explored places that were then wild and today are tourism resorts. My first major conservation achievement was as a founder member and Chairman of the Whale Route that went on to win a Tourism for Tomorrow Award (Sponsored

by British Airways), A Raptor Award and two Green trust awards.

Martin Hatchuel

Freelance communicator. Copy writer (not mad about that monies though, because I don’t copy: I create. Tourism consultant. Qualified horticulturist - a background which gives me a powerful ability to translate scientific jargon into English. Years and years (and years) in PR and advertising as a writer and a communications projects manager on books, brochures, print ads, and web sites - where my strengths lie in planning site architecture and creating content. But first and foremost I am a dad, granddad, writer of stories.

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Foreword:

Caroline Ungersbock Chair and Co-founder Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme This past year has brought some further travel abroad for me. I once again attended the ART&TUR Portuguese Tourism Film Festival but this time as a jury member. It was great fun being part of the jury as I got to evaluate 115 promotional films from many different countries. I am pleased that there were a few entries from South Africa and they both got places. This is great recognition for our film makers and South Africa as a destination.

FITUR is another great event on the tourism calendar. This event takes place in January in Madrid in Spain. South African Tourism had a great stand. Whilst in Spain I was asked to be on the jury of the Terres Tourism Film Festival which takes place at the end of April, beginning of May. I look forward to evaluating the entries. I trust that South Africa and some African countries will feature once again.

On that note, my involvement with the tourism film industry over the past few years, has resulted in the first International Tourism Film and Video Festival to be planned for Africa, and the STPP is facilitating this process. This prestigious event will be taking place in South Africa in November in Cape Town and Victoria West in the Northern Cape. We look forward to your participation and putting your establishments, your regions and our country on the map, firstly as a great tourism

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destination and secondly as a great filming destination. If you want to know more about the impacts of the international tourism film festivals and international event on our economy, please read the three chapters which we have dedicated to the topic.

This year the STPP will be embarking on a series of workshops on Sustainable Tourism in partnership with FEDHASA and the IMVELO Programme. The aim of our workshops is to help build capacity for sustainable tourism implementation and how to apply for the Awards, in addition to promoting the Awards. We will take the workshops into 50 destinations and we hope that over the next few years, we can visit all the smaller towns in South Africa. We trust that we will see you participating in these workshops so that we can help mobilise tourism businesses and communities to adopt sustainable tourism principles and get the rewards that they deserve.

Once again, the STPP will be taking part in the UNWTO General Assembly for 2019 which will take place in St Petersburg, Russia where we will partake in many interesting discussions and bring them back and adapt them to local conditions.

All in the name of sustainable tourism development.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

I recently conducted a workshop in Clermont, a vibrant and history-filled township situated in the City of eThekwini (Durban). A young man, who has recently started his own tourism business, came up to me, and gave me the greatest compliments I have received in many years. He said that he completed his studies the previous year at UKZN, and for his research on one of his projects, he had read each and every chapter of the past six editions of the Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook. He said it had helped him tremendously in understanding what sustainable tourism is and how the industry can be

Niki Glen, Co-founder of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme (stpp)

transformed. It also gave him good guidance on how to run his own business.

I have met a number of people over the past few years who specifically asked for a copy of the new handbook, and it is not uncommon for people to have “met” me via the handbook before they have met me in person. It is therefore very exciting to know that the handbooks have achieved what they had set out to achieve: provide the industry with sustainable tourism insights and share sustainable tourism knowledge.

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Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch ABOUT US The lodge lies on the edge of the Southern Kalahari in the mixed tree and shrub Savanna. The ranch is charac-terised by huge red sands dunes running parallel, and in a northern-westerly to southeasterly direction.

This ‘Spirit of Africa’ atmosphere, coupled with service and delivered with graciousness in an unashamedly luxurious setting, will be the hallmarks of this establishment, providing excellent value and unforgettable memories for the discerning traveller.

The Kalahari – an ancient living desert A harsh land, a land of relentless sun and searing wind – a land of great thirst and mystery. After the first rains, a land transformed into exquisite beauty with the dunes erupting in a blaze of colour!

The Kalahari conjures up different images in the minds of different people. Some see it as a scorching desert. Others see it as their future, built on cattle and sheep, ostriches and wildlife. The Kalahari is all of this, but also something more.

The word ‘Kalahari’ means wilderness! Its relative inaccessibility, the harsh unyielding red sand dunes, the uncertain rainfall and lack of surface water, make it truly one of Africa’s last frontiers.

BRILLIANT SIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES Game drives offer a variety of game such as rhino, black wildebeest, waterbuck,

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sable, giraffe, kudu, zebra, Oryx, blue wildebeest, eland, springbok, red hartebeest, impala and so much more. The reserve has some of the highest dunes in this region with views over the pan, characteristic to the Kalahari. Between the dunes, which are called streets, are the beautiful Acacia trees. The Kalahari has more than 150 species of birds.

Discover this unique region and all it has to offer - from morning walks with San Bushmen, horseback safari and a close-up experience with our rhinos, to sundowners on the dune and dining in our traditional Boma. And then there are the exhilarating night game drives sighting nocturnal animals such as aardvark, aardwolf, bat eared fox and spring hare.

View the spectacular Southern Hemisphere Sky from the Bagatelle Observatory using a state-of-the-art computerized telescope.

Enjoy a swimming pool oasis to escape the heat of the day with a refreshing cocktail or rejuvenate at our Desert Treatment Spa. Meet our Meerkat colony at early morning breakfast, tea time or while lounging around the Lapa before the sun sets.

Cheetah feeding allows one the opportunity to come up close to the cheetah, great for taking photos. Our guides will provide interesting facts about this incredible cat and the history of the cheetahs in our care. www.bagatelle-kalahari-gameranch.com

game drive • Sundowner safari • Horseback Cheetah feeding • Morning walk with the San • Kalahari treatment spa • Stargazing •

info@bagatelle-kalahari-gameranch.com www.bagatelle-kalahari-gameranch.com Reservations: Tel: +264 61 250725 reservation@resdest.com

contents Introduction By Niki Glen

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Sustainable Development Goals for 2019 By Caroline Ungersbock

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WOWZULU Sustainable Tourism – hard lessons learned By Wilna Botha

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Benefits and participation: two fundamentals that can impact community-based conservation and wildlife tourism outcomes

By Ian Gordon-Cumming and Kevin Mearns

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Tourism Friendly By Iain Gunn

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Green living in the middle of the industrial Durban Harbour - Green Camp Gallery By Xolani Hlongwa and Åsa Nilsson

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Government funded skills-based tourism Learnerships towards Sustainable, Coastal Tourism By Kerry McLean

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To certify or not to certify? By Niki Glen

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The story of a small town, and an aerodrome waiting to be developed

By Caroline Ungersbock

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Municipalities – their role in tourism development! A simple guide of good practices By Dulcineia Basílio Ramos

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Tourism is successful in spite of government, not because of government By Carl Momberg

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The value of international tourism film festivals By Hugo Marcos

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The importance of international conferences in the South African economy By Rudi van der Vyver

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The Impact of Event Greening on Tourism By Lisa Jade Kirkham (Merven)

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The role and importance of water quality management at wildlife lodge across Southern Africa

By Hannes Grobler and Kevin Mearns

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A better model for measuring welfare in wild animal sanctuaries

By Greg Vogt and Martin Hatchuel

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Introduction

By Dr. Niki Glen

The Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Handbook of South Africa is in its seventh edition. This year, we have more contributions from industry practitioners and business owners of tourism and hospitality businesses.

Caroline Ungersbock starts off in Chapter 2 by reviewing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2019. Every year, the UNWTO promotes certain goals more than others, as the chosen goals highlight where the focus for industry practitioners and businesses should be when planning and executing their various projects. This year’s goals are (4) Quality education; (8) Decent work and economic growth; (10) Reduced inequalities; (13) Climate change; and (16) Peace, justice and strong institutions. It is therefore fitting that our chapters touch on all of these goals in some way or the other.

In chapter 3, Wilna Botha, the CEO of Africa!Ignite, shares some important lessons learnt from their project that was funded by the global 10YFP (Ten-year programme for sustainable consumption and production) Trust Fund. Together with the National Department of Tourism (NDT) and Better Tourism Africa they tested and refined the WOWZULU Sustainable Community Tourism model as a bestcase sustainable model for South Africa.

Wilna highlights how local context within previously marginalised communities can severely impact the envisaged outcomes of projects in South Africa. However, Wilna concludes that while a project does not always roll out as planned, it nevertheless achieves successes,

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CHAPTER 1 and if that brings benefits to communities in South Africa, then the project is worth it. If you are visiting KwaZulu Natal in the near future, I would suggest that you visit one of the seven WOWZULU Market Places, to see how new energy can be brought into established destinations.

Ian Gordon-Cumming and Kevin Mearns illustrate in Chapter 4 how benefits of tourism development should accrue to local communities and that it should be recognised that local communities cannot be isolated from decision-making or active participation. It is important that expectations are managed, and that cooperative and mutually beneficial relationships are forged for long term success. However, they also point out that it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure necessary participation towards change. This factor is emphasised in chapters 9, 10 and 11, where contributors discuss the urgency for local governments across South Africa to start playing a proactive role in driving change, and not to continue hampering it.

Iain Gunn will then (in Chapter 5) put a smile on all our faces – who cannot smile when you see that bright yellow smiley face that is increasingly being recognised as a symbol to invite tourists and businesses to interact and have fun.

Tourism Friendly is an affordable on-line booking platform with the extended benefit of Iain and his team being hands-on involved in getting SMMEs educated and supported to enter the tourism value chain.

They have recently launched an exciting project in North West Province where street vendors are now frequented by tours that bridge the divide between the established commercial hospitality businesses and emerging enterprises. This is a model for the whole of South Africa, and Iain invites

everyone who has a tourism, hospitality or craft business to get noticed.

I must say, I don’t usually have favourite contributors, but if I had, it would most certainly be Xolani Hlongwa and Åsa Nilsson, who wrote Chapter 6. Especially because I visited the Green Camp Gallery Project, which has literally risen from the rubble, and I have seen what they have achieved. Xolani and Åsa are visionaries with a 10-year plan to take a condemned space and turn it into a welcoming place where local people and visitors can meet, where art and food is celebrated, and where old things become new. When visiting Durban, I suggest that you visit their Green Camp Gallery Project, at 246 Umbilo Road.

In Chapter 7, Kerry McLean provides us with an overview of two initiatives that are being implemented by the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) and partners, the National Department of Tourism (NDT) through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) . The Tourism Blue Flag Project and the Tourism Green Coast Project are two initiatives that bring together private business, NGOs, municipalities and local community members to collectively manage coastal areas, including beaches and estuaries, in a more sustainable manner. The projects bring benefits to communities from increased tourism traffic, while at the same time providing jobs and skills for youth who deliver critical ecological services around tourist areas.

The award element of the WESSA projects reminded me of the question that I am often asked about eco-labelling for accommodation businesses. So, I have dedicated Chapter 8 to discussing my views on the matter, based on my own experience

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and some research. Certification companies as well as other organisation that implement sustainable tourism projects all work towards a common set of goals. So, in the end, as long as the results are achieved optimally and successes can be illustrated, it is worthwhile to continue such projects.

Caroline Ungersbock then takes us back to a very important factor - which many of the previous chapters have highlighted. Tourism cannot have the economic impacts it is capable of having, if all stakeholders do not work together towards the same goals. In Chapter 9, she refers to a project that could have a significant impact on the economy of a small town, but is now threatened and could come to a permanent standstill because of bureaucratic processes and the inability of a local municipality to ratify important decisions.

In Chapter 10, Dulcineia Ramos, one of our international contributors, then outlines the role that municipalities should play in local economic development. Dulcineia states that it is critical that for strategies to be formulated and implemented to the benefit of all, multidisciplinary teams should be established, transparent participatory processes should be followed, involving all stakeholders including local communities, tourism should become part of integrated special plans and good governance should prevail.

Carl Momberg agrees with this approach, but in Chapter 11, he takes a rather strong view on the current issues with tourism developments in local municipalities. He points out that in accordance with the South African constitution, municipalities are responsible for supporting and growing tourism

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in their respective towns and regions However, as has been illustrated both in this handbook and previous ones, Carl rightfully states that this is not always the case. He points out some examples of efforts that are taking tourism forward, but in general, calls for national, provincial and local governments to get their act together and deliver on their mandates for tourism development. Then, in Chapter 12, Hugo Marcos, our second international contributor, provides us with fascinating facts about the international tourism film industry and the emergence of tourism film festivals. Film festivals create linkages between audiovisual art, professionals and destinations.

More importantly, however, is that film festivals represent a significant injection into the host economy, which is really what we need to see more of in South Africa. Watch this space to see how South Africa can tap into this very important industry, under the guidance of Hugo.

Linked to film festivals, which in fact are international events, Rudi van der Vyver sketches out the important role that events play within the larger tourism industry as well as the national economy in Chapter 13. All industries have business events.

After events, industries experience the ripple effect of economic impact, as new contracts are signed, new investments are made and new partnerships are formed, all of which involve additional job creation opportunities.

Events support a whole new type of tourism and benefits to the economy, but Rudi points out that it is imperative that events are run in a sustainable manner.

In Chapter 14, Lisa Jade outlines the importance of event greening, and how this practice in itself is contributing to the sustainable development of tourism.

CHAPTER 1 However, she also points out that there is a downside to events in terms of its potential negative environmental and social impacts.

She provides us with excellent statistics on these impacts, and how investing in reduction of these impacts makes good business sense.

Hannes Grobler and Kevin Mearns highlight in Chapter 15 another important factor to consider in the sustainable tourism practices within destinations. They provide very insightful data on the water quality of lodges within Southern Africa. They found that water quality and the testing practices of water quality in lodges are not sufficient to ensure clean water is provided to guests and staff alike. They point out that the consequences could be disastrous to human health, both on and off the property, and contribute to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and increase business risks through reputational impacts. Last, but

not least, Greg Vogt and Martin Hatchuel discuss the attempts that are being made by the tourism industry to create an ‘ethical framework for animal interactions’ and why they believe it would not have the desired outcomes. They provide a compelling argument for why standards should be created and enforced by law, and that these standards should come from scientific assessment of animal facilities undertaken by a registered professional body would deliver a measurable, governable, enforceable level of objectivity. This chapter, in my mind, represents one of the most important and urgent priorities for tourism in South Africa so that we can create a lasting positive impact on animal welfare in tourism and ensure that incorrect practices are eradicated.

That then brings us to the end of Volume 7, and I trust that you will find it as interesting, educational and insightful as I have!

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MOHOLOHOLO

Moholoholo – the experience of a lifetime The Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at Moholoholo contributes to the conservation of endangered species and the rehabilitation of injured and poisoned wildlife. Moholoholo also facilitates a number of successful breeding programmes.

Situated in the shadow of the majestic “Maripeskop”, our unique rehabilitation centre is home to many animals and birds.

The centre has a successful Serval Breeding Project. Having bred and releases over 160 back into the areas where they have previously become extinct.

Wherever possible rehabilitated birds and animals are returned to the wild and those who are not so fortunate due to the nature and extent of their problems are used for educational talks to the, many people who visit each year.

Our tours are on an awareness basis and are to awaken us to the critical situation our wildlife is in.

We invite you to come and share a unique experience with the animals of Africa . . .

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For more info and bookings: Forest & Rehabilitation Centre: Rehab – Tel: +27 015 7055236 | E-mail: moholorehab@wol.co.za Forest Camp – Tel: +27 012 – 361 7218 E-mail: forestcampbookings@moholoholo.co.za Mountain View – Tel: +27 012 943 0474 Ya Mati – Tel: 072 191 2024 / +27 012 361 7218 Fax: +27 012 348 4926 | E-mail: moholo@worldonline.co.za

WWW.MOHOLOHOLO.CO.ZA

For more info and bookings: Forest & Rehabilitation Centre: Rehab – Tel: +27 015 7055236 | E-mail: moholorehab@wol.co.za Forest Camp – Tel: +27 012 – 361 7218 | E-mail: forestcampbookings@moholoholo.co.za Mountain View – Tel: +27 012 943 0474 Ya Mati – Tel: 072 191 2024 / +27 012 361 7218 | Fax: +27 012 348 4926 E-mail: moholo@worldonline.co.za

WWW.MOHOLOHOLO.CO.ZA

Sustainable Development Goals for 2019

By Caroline Ungersbock

In 2015 at the 70th session of the United Nations (UN) Assembly, the heads of state from 154 countries adopted 17 bold and ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for 2030. This year the UNWTO will also be dealing with six more SDGs The six that are under the spotlight for 2019 are all under the theme of empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

These are:SDG4:- Quality education Access to good quality education is the foundation of sustainable development.

Education improves quality of life. There is a lack of quality education amongst teachers worldwide, and as a result, they are inadequately trained. Poor conditions at schools prevail, and equity issues related to opportunities provided to rural children continue.

For quality education to be provided to the children of impoverished families, major investment is needed in educational scholarships, teacher training workshops, school building and improvement of water, sanitation and electricity as well as access to schools. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Competitiveness Report, South Africa has high levels of poverty and inequality, which goes handin-hand with poor education. We therefore have a great task ahead of us. We need to teach young children how to read. We need to entice children to enjoy maths and science.

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CHAPTER 2

SDG8:- Decent work and economic growth We need to achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors. We will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment. We need to create job opportunities and decent working conditions for the working age population, starting with our youth.

The Expanded Public Works Programme and other poverty alleviation and economic development programmes in South Africa has already started addressing some of these issues, but we need to step up the pace. There needs to be increased access to financial services so people can accumulate assets and make productive investments. We need increased commitments to trade, banking and agriculture. This will assist to increase productivity and reduce unemployment levels in the world’s most impoverished regions.

SDG10:-Reduced inequalities To reduce inequalities by 2030 we need to empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. We need to ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome. We need to eliminate discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promote appropriate legislation and policies. We need to adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social

protection policies to progressively achieve greater equality.

SDG13:-Climate change This SDG focusses on the improvement of education, awareness, capacity and institutional capability for climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. We need to educate young people on climate change early so that they can embrace and look after their planet going forward. But more importantly, all the current efforts that are being made towards economic development, job creation, SMME creation and capacity building should be underpinned by a deep understanding of human impact on the environment and its sustainability. South Africa is not there yet, and this matter needs to be taken seriously by practitioners world-wide.

SDG16:-Peace, justice and strong institutions We need to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

We need to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of women and children. We need to promote the rule of law at national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all. We need to substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms. We need to develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. We have seen how municipalities have become defunct due to massive incompetence’s and corruption.

This needs to change. We need to develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. We need to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and

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representative decision-making at all levels.

Which brings us to the last SDG. SDG17:- Partnerships for goals This SDG is the one that underpins all the other SDG’s. The only way that we are going to achieve the ambitious goals set out by the UN by 2030 is through partnerships. All national government departments need to hold hands and adopt the principles and the targets. Everyone needs to know what their role is to achieve these goals.

Provincial governments need to make the same commitment and disseminate information to the districts and the local municipalities.

Municipalities need to work together with the communities and private business to achieve the goals. Municipalities need to engage in public private partnerships to attract investments and start creating environments where all people want to work and live. They need to be serious about producing meaningful and impactful integrated development plans (IDP’s), to create a conducive environment for job creation. Organised business platforms need to be the watchdogs to make sure that the municipalities carry out their mandates in a manner that the SDG objectives and targets can be attained. They need to actively participate in the integrated development planning processes.

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As organised societies, communities need to be involved in what goes into the IDP’s.

We need investment. We need the use of technology. We need to build capacity in the rural areas, and we need to promote trade in order to create the jobs that are needed. We need to tackle our sustainability challenges as a collective and develop meaningful and impactful plans and implement these through setting strong attainable goals.

Inclusive partnerships between public sector, private sector and civil society is key.

Partnerships must be built on principles and values, shared vision and goals that place people and the planet at the centre. Public sector needs to set clear direction. Private sector needs to unlock resources. They need to make long term investments.

We need to equip the citizens of this country to start educating themselves. The more our citizens are educated the greater the chances are of achieving decent work and achieve higher levels of economic productivity.

Citizens need to be empowered to promote social, economic and political inclusion for all. We need to educate ourselves on climate change and become responsible citizens and we need to find our moral fibre in order that we can achieve peace and justice for all.

The only way that we can achieve all these ambitious goals is to leave politics out of the equation especially at grass roots level. We all need to hold hands and work together.

WOWZULU Sustainable Tourism – hard lessons learned

By Wina Botha

‘Rural development is not for sissies’.

Whoever the person was who first said this, she or he had a point. The statement sums up a key lesson that rural development agency Africa!Ignite and partners the South African National Department of Tourism (NDT) and Better Tourism Africa learned when we tested and refined the WOWZULU Sustainable Community Tourism model as a best-case sustainable model for South Africa. The project was funded by the global 10YFP (Ten-year programme for sustainable consumption and production) Trust Fund.

It is very difficult to achieve successful and sustainable tourism development in rural tourist destinations so that previously marginalised communities can start to participate equally in the tourism economy of more ‘inclusive’ destinations. To quote Mr Bekithemba Langalibalele, NDT Director for Responsible Tourism and chairperson of the project steering committee: ‘Working in rural communities can be like a minefield. You never know where the next disruption will happen, and what it will be. The issues are different, but the dynamics are always complex.’

In spite of these challenges, the motivation for helping communities to participate in the tourism economy is compelling and the rewards are great when you get it right.

Partners are therefore convinced it is worth doing, and WOWZULU has shown that it can be done.

Tourism constitutes 10% of the global and South African economy, and to quote Paul Zille of the Tourism Conservation Fund: ‘More than any other sector, tourism is founded on small businesses, is labour-intensive, includes low-skill roles, and employs women.’

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CHAPTER 3 In November 2018, Mrs Elizabeth Thabethe, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, launched WOWZULU Sustainable Tourism as a ‘Best-case model for sustainable tourism in South Africa’. Africa!Ignite is confident that this model can be successfully adapted for replication in different contexts across South Africa and Africa. But we also believe that it is essential to take note of the hard lessons which we’ve learned over many years. We would like to briefly share elements of the model and even more importantly, the lessons learned.

WOWZULU Sustainable Community Tourism – the inclusive destination model

The WOWZULU Sustainable Tourism programme aims to ensure that previously excluded communities on the doorstep of seven popular tourist destinations across rural KwaZulu-Natal participate equally in the tourism economy. Africa!Ignite helps the communities to offer authentic, active cultural experiences to tourists and to sell locally-made art and handcraft. The model creates ‘inclusive destinations’ which fuse together the commercial and communitybased tourism components.

WOWZULU Marketplaces, at the entrance into community tourism areas, are catalysts for igniting community-based enterprise

development. Marketplace teams first welcome tourist warmly into the community, sell locally made art and handcraft, serve coffee and a ‘taste-of-local’ food, and share stories of the area’s history and culture.

From the Marketplaces, tour guides take tourists into communities for authentic, active experiences. The Marketplaces are operated and co-owned by previously unemployed rural youths.

The WOWZULU model is market driven.

In first deciding to pilot it in 2014, Africa!Ignite’s decision was inspired by the words of Dutch senior tourism specialist Ewald Mittendorfer, who had done an assessment of tourism potential across proposed WOWZULU destinations: ‘The products are there. The markets are there.

You must only connect them.’

WOWZULU tourism products target the growing market of international tourists who want to get off the beaten track; have an active and memorable experience; meet locals; and know that their trip benefits the environment, society and economy. Our Fair Trade art and handcraft products appeal to consumers who want to buy products which are locally made, sustainably produced and create fair income for producers.

WOWZULU – The key lessons learned Below, we summarise some of the key learnings which emerged during product implementation and which may be of value to others.

1. THERE IS A WIDE GAP BETWEEN GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FRAMEWORKS AND RURAL REALITIES There is a disconnection between the global context within which sustainable tourism criteria aligned to the Global Sustainable

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Tourism Council (GSTC) were developed, and the rural contexts in which WOWZULU operates. It has therefore been difficult to make sustainable tourism ‘sexy’ for tourism stakeholders in destinations or to convince them of its urgency. This has been the case with district municipalities as ‘destination authorities’, as well as individual enterprises. It was hard to convince destinations and enterprises to adopt more sustainable practices that benefit the environment, society and economy.

The language of ‘sustainable tourism’ and ‘sustainable consumption and production’ is also foreign to rural stakeholders and needs to be made more accessible to increase support for critically important conservation concepts. We trust that the project and the insights that it has brought will help to bridge these gaps.

2. ASPECTS OF RURAL CULTURE CONSTRAIN SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT As mentioned, various elements of the culture and context in KwaZulu-Natal’s rural communities jeopardize the successful development of small, emerging enterprises.

Key challenges include: • Long distances to far-flung destinations, KwaZulu-Natal’s broken terrain and very poor rural road and communication infrastructure.

• Lack of an entrepreneurial culture in rural areas, which can lead to suspicion of entrepreneurs, jealousy and contestation.

• Political, sectoral and personal agendas which threaten to derail tourism initiatives.

• Linked to this, tensions between

authoritative traditional leadership in

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•

•

•

•

•

rural tribal areas, and youths who rebel against this.

The ‘legacy of apartheid’, which often results in white commercial hospitality owners’ reluctance to actively support or refer their guests to emerging community-based enterprises.

Emerging rural entrepreneurs who have been victims of a poor education and who lack work or business experience.

‘Gatekeepers’ in communities –

traditional leaders and influential individuals who attempt to assume ownership of the initiative or to mould it for their own benefit.

The common belief that entire

communities, rather than individuals, must benefit equally from enterprise development, as well as jealousy and suspicion of individuals who operate enterprises for profit. Inherent in this is a lack of understanding that successful business development demands that one or more individuals puts ‘skin in the game’; making sacrifices and putting in whatever time and effort is needed to make the enterprise work.

Linked to this is the insistence of

government entities to invest in cooperatives rather than individually owned enterprises, irrespective of how they were formed and how successfully they operate. There are countless examples across South Africa of cooperatives that /have failed.

It will be interesting to research to assess whether the situation in other rural areas of South Africa and Africa are similar.

3. SUCCESSFUL RURAL TOURISM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT TAKES TIME AND REQUIRES EXTENDED SUPPORT

CHAPTER 3 Largely because of the elements that are mentioned above, rural enterprise development is never a ‘quick fix’ and emerging young (and older) entrepreneurs need concerted and consistent support over an extended period of three, five or more years before their enterprises can be sustainable. This is a major reason why hundreds of rural enterprises across South Africa have failed. The agencies that finance and drive the implementation often have unrealistic expectations of how soon businesses will become successful, and underestimate the amount of support they will need. Donors often invest in infrastructure and set-up, rather than in sustained mentoring and support.

4. MARKETING AND SALES IS KEY A key element of ensuring the success and sustainability of new tourism enterprises is sustained, proactive marketing and sales driven by competent specialists. This support is needed over an extended period, at least until the new tourism products have been entrenched in the market and probably beyond that. Few emerging enterprises have the capacity or skill to do their own marketing or sales into international or domestic markets. This point cannot be over-exaggerated.

5. RURAL TOURISM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IS WORTH THE EFFORT Many elements stack up against successful rural enterprise development, which makes it is easier to achieve success in urban areas where the environment is more conducive. But given the strong development imperative to create employment and business opportunities for youths and women in rural areas where unemployment levels are extremely high, we are convinced that the effort needed

is justified. WOWZULU has shown that rural entrepreneurs will ‘shine’ if they have the will and drive, and if the necessary investment in time, effort and money is made.

6. WOWZULU IS A BEST-CASE MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Partners have concluded that WOWZULU’s ‘inclusive destination’ model is indeed a ‘best-case’ model for sustainable community-based tourism development, if prospective future implementers take account of the lessons learned.

WOWZULU model – key lessons learned While lessons learned are important to strengthen the WOWZULU model for refinement and future roll-outs, it also possesses a number of strengths, which are listed below.

THE CONCEPT OF INCLUSIVE TOURIST DESTINATIONS links the tourism offering of previously excluded community entrepreneurs into the wider offering of popular tourist destinations. In the process, the emerging community entrepreneurs benefit socially and financially, the commercial hospitality sector benefits because the destination offers more to visitors, the destination benefits because

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of the enhanced product offer, and tourists benefit because they have more products and experiences to choose from.

IDENTIFICATION AND MARKETING OF COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM EXPERIENCES, ACCOMMODATION, HANDCRAFT AND OTHER ‘PRODUCTS OF ORIGIN’ provide viable options for long-term unemployed women and youth on the doorstep of popular tourist destination to earn a decent living.

WOWZULU MARKETPLACES ACT AS CATALYSTS FOR COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT. These ‘welcome centres’ for tourists play a critical role in promoting communitybased tourism development (they are sales points for local products, provide ease of access and information about the area, create a comfort zone and warm welcome, and lessen tourists’ potential fears for their safety.)

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PROACTIVE AND SUSTAINED CENTRALISED MARKETING AND SALES services are provided by WOWZULU. These are essential services for the success of emerging communitybased tourism enterprises and for entrepreneurs producing handcraft or agroprocessed ‘products of origin’.

SUSTAINED MENTORING AND SUPPORT FOR EMERGING ENTERPRISES offered by WOWZULU provide sustained, longterm support to emerging community entrepreneurs over a period of five years and more. As mentioned, we believe that many funded community tourism projects fail because funders/investors invest in infrastructure, and often provide no or hardly any follow-up support to help emerging entrepreneurs.

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Benefits and participation: two fundamentals that can impact community-based conservation and wildlife tourism outcomes

By Ian Gordon-Cumming and Kevin Mearns

Introduction Biodiversity conservation, protected areas and wildlife tourism are three fundamentals in an intricate, multifaceted and interlinked system. Globally it is acknowledged that conservation is heavily dependent upon protected areas (IUCN, 2015; CBD, 2016), which in practice need to become increasingly multifunctional.

For instance, they are often sought after tourism destinations (Harilal & Tichaawa, 2018), with the number of visitors and their willingness to pay largely dependent on the abundance and diversity of wildlife (Damania & Hatch, 2005).

Of concern, however, is that the best available data indicates current rates of biodiversity loss are unsustainable, and in Africa more species are under threat than ever before (IPBES, 2018). In parallel several studies have shown wildlife conservation outcomes are strongly influenced by adjacent communities (Andrade & Rhodes, 2012; Brooks, Waylen & Mulder, 2012; Muzirambi & Mearns, 2015; Bennett, 2016).

Hence the continued focus on communitybased conservation (CBC), in its many and varied guises including wildlife tourism.

Notwithstanding this effort, extensive research has shown that although win-win situations do occur, relatively few CBC initiatives have been wholly successful. For example, Friedman, Law, Bennett, Ives, Thorn and Wilson (2018), in a systematic review of 138 world-wide case studies concluded that most resulted in negative or mixed social equity outcomes (76%). Separately, across 73 studies spanning 12 countries in Africa, social outcomes were assessed as positive in only 34% of cases (Galvin, Beeton & Luizza, 2018). In reviewing and reflecting on how local residents perceive their involvement, the aim of this chapter is to help identify

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CHAPTER 4 some of the practical limitations and respond pragmatically to the long-term benefit of both conservation and wildlife tourism at the local scale.

Perception of benefits Community involvement can be considered from various viewpoints, two of paramount importance are benefits and participation.

The former is addressed in this sub-section, the latter in the next. The literature reveals a strong correlation between benefits, positive attitudes and community support for protected areas (Kiss, 2004; Mbaiwa & Stronza, 2011; Snyman, 2013). By comparison restricted access to natural resources and benefits is seen to impact livelihood strategies and attitudes negatively, leading to conflict between stakeholders (King, 2007; Harilal &Tichaawa, 2018). Generally tangible direct benefits such as employment and access to natural resources have been much valued in local communities (Barnes, Craigie, Dudley & Hockings, 2016; Muzirambi & Mearns, 2018). Significantly in this regard, it is argued that too narrow a focus on material benefits is unsustainable while available evidence suggests that the broader subjective and relational dimensions of wellbeing need to be leveraged to build local support (Woodhouse, Bedelian, Dawson & Barnes, 2018).

Against this background, and a review of the literature, three practical limitations that need addressing at the local-scale can be identified. Firstly, very few community members perceive or are aware of any benefit from biodiversity conservation and/or wildlife tourism. This is as true for large parks like the Kalagadi as for small financially volatile ones like Borakalalo in the North West province. By way of illustration, respectively in the former a

study of nine village communities revealed only 17% of respondents perceived any tangible or intangible benefit (Moswete & Thapa , 2018), while in the latter across five neighbouring communities it was as low as 12% of the respondents (Gordon-Cumming, 2017). Secondly it is crucial that benefits are distributed equitably, as perceived by the communities involved. In practice, however, there are many examples of perceptions and practice that point to an imbalance, with a small elite benefitting while those most in need are further marginalised (Dudley, Mansourian, Stolton & Suksuwan, 2010; GordonCumming, 2017; Muzirambi & Mearns, 2018). A situation that inevitably leads to discontent, as well as a lack of community support for conservation and wildlife tourism therefore arises. Thirdly is the practical reality, given the magnitude of most rural communities, compared to the scale of sustainable wildlife economies and tourism, tangible benefits at the household level are inevitably minimal and so risk compromising long-term, sustainable support (Suich, 2013; Brichieri-Colombi, McPherson, Sheppard, Mason & Moehrenschlager, 2018).

Pragmatically at the local-scale it is imperative to address the above limitations.

Crucially there is a need to manage and monitor the distribution of information in local communities regarding the benefits that may be available, as well as any associated limitations. This needs to be communicated proactively by park and tourism management. Depending on circumstances the method applied may vary with context, budget and location but it nevertheless remains a primary linking mechanism (Brichieri-Colombi et al., 2018).

Clearly the availability of benefits derived from protected areas and wildlife tourism are important, but to avoid escalating

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negative attitudes it is critical that they are transferred optimally and equitably (Dudley et al., 2010; Barnes et al., 2016). In this regard building local capability along with access to improved education are considered key to community members being equipped to capitalise on available tourism benefits and enhancing employment opportunities (Spenceley & Meyer, 2012).

Ultimately, however, the challenge remains that available tangible benefits are generally too small to have a long-lasting, sustainable positive impact (Snyman, 2013; Suich, 2013). Hence the significance of not only optimising and distributing benefits fairly, but also ensuring conservation and wildlife tourism managers help establish realistic expectations with community members.

Notably Mutanga, Vengesayi, Muboko and Gandiwa (2015) determined in developing countries, even when benefits are too small to have a meaningful impact, community members still value and associate participation with improved livelihoods and positive attitudes.

Perceptions of participation Stakeholder participation by local communities in conservation and wildlife tourism, including related decision-making processes, is one of the most pertinent and misunderstood requirements for sustainability (Spenceley, Nevill, Coelha & Souto, 2016; Muzirambi & Mearns, 2018).

Crucially, it is argued positive synergies between stakeholders are most likely to occur when local processes cater for meaningful local community input. By way of illustration, in separate reviews of multiple casestudies, Andrade and Rhodes (2012) concluded community participation was the most successful strategy for generating support, while Brooks et al.

(2012) resolved community participation was key to driving positive behaviour.

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Conversely where park and tourism management are in dispute with local people, they are at risk of failing to achieve their primary goals (Barnes et al., 2016). Given the potential value to be derived from effective participation, the question then becomes how do neighbouring communities perceive their participation with adjacent parks and wildlife tourism projects?

In trying to answer this, it is important to note participation ranges across a wide spectrum from strictly passive to more effective and active forms of involvement (Pretty & Hine, 1999; Cornwall, 2008). For this reason it is conceivable that various stakeholders will perceive the level of involvement differently. Notwithstanding this apparent ambiguity, it is contended that by genuinely trying to understand local community perceptions, conservation management can be improved (Bennett, 2016). Yet, in many diverse instances, research has determined local perceptions are that for the most part their participation is both minimal and at a low-level. By way of illustration, the following examples are listed: • At a local government level in the Eastern Cape, community members perceived they were neither well informed nor fully included in decisions concerning local tourism development (Ramukumba,2018); • At Borakalalo, a provincial game reserve in the North West province, Gordon-Cumming (2017) determined almost three-quarters (71.3%) of the respondents perceived they were not involved while a further 10% considered the only participation by local communities is what Cornwall (2008) described as ‘tokenism’

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• On a national scale, Motswete and Thape (2018) identified similar perceptions of minimal participation amongst nine communities surrounding the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park.

Similarly, with regard to private game reserves, Muzirambi and Mearns (2018) also established at Phinda, members of the local community perceived that they were not involved in management and decisionmaking, were largely involved in low-skill activities and that little was in place to transform a less than desirable situation.

Notably, these perceptions prevail despite widespread community appreciation of infrastructural improvements introduced in association with the primary tourism operator in the game reserve.

Clearly research has determined highquality meaningful participation at the local-level between key stakeholders is both fundamental and good practice. Logically, that many local communities perceive this not to be the case is a major weakness, potentially impacting both sustainable conservation and wildlife tourism negatively.

It is suggested this state of affairs can likely be traced to three structural limitations, which are in need of practical local solutions. Firstly it is widely recognised that a lack of knowledge and limited capacity in communities are key factors to local residents not being able to fully participate or capitalise on opportunities offered by wildlife tourism (Muzirambi & Mearns, 2015; Agyei-Ohemeng, Nyantakyiwaa & Daniella, 2018; Moswete & Thapa, 2018; Ramakumba, 2018). Moreover, this is often the justification for employment of outsiders, as well as leading to an imbalance in power dynamics to the disadvantage of local communities (Brichieri-Colombi et al., 2018). The net result being negative

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attitudes prevail, often contributing to illegal exploitation of natural resources,. Any response, to what is essentially inadequate education, will require considerable investment in time and capital. Nevertheless, at a local level it is suggested a start can be made by park and tourism authorities using in-house skills, especially with regard to increasing local environmental awareness and appreciation. Secondly, it is vital to recognise that the attitude of conservation and tourism authorities is central to shaping the nature of local participation. Although expert in their chosen fields generally acknowledge participatory principles, available evidence often indicates that these professionals do not necessarily appreciate the full value of building close relationships through regular, meaningful and interactive participation based on mutual respect (Von der Weppen & Cochrane, 2012; GordonCumming, 2017). Crucially, the way forward lies in recognising that while protected areas are often managed by conservationists and ecologists, it is social and governance challenges that often pose the greatest threats (Barnes et al., 2016). Thirdly, the need for good governance is fundamental and underpins being able to successfully address the challenge of ineffective participations (Muzirambi & Mearns, 2018).

Conclusion To summarise, in this chapter the value of optimising available benefits and recognising that local communities cannot be isolated from decision-making or active participation, but rather be treated as valued stakeholders and sustainability partners was reviewed. Interventions, including education and training can lead to improved participation, fairer power dynamics and more accountable governance, as well as contribute to managing unrealistic community

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expectations. As succinctly summarised by Muzirambi and Mearns (2018:11) “[c]ordial, cooperative and beneficial relationship[s] … is a necessity in the interest of conservation, tourism and the community”. In all this it is suggested that the onus lies with the authorities to drive the necessary change rather than the community. In practice, however, it is suggested that the onus for driving change lies with the conservation and tourism authorities rather than community members.

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Spenceley, A., & Meyer, D. (2012). Tourism and poverty reduction: theory and practice in less economically developed countries.

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(3), 297-317.

Spenceley, A., Nevill, H., Coelha, C.F., & Souto, M. (2016). An introduction to tourism concessioning: 14 characteristics of successful programs. Washington: The World Bank Group.

Suich, H. (2013). The effectiveness of economic incentives for sustaining community based natural resource management. Land Use Policy, 31, 441-449.

Von der Weppen, J., & Cochrane, J. (2012). Social enterprises in tourism: an exploratory study of operational models and success factors. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(3), 497-511.

Woodhouse, E., Bedelian, C., Dawson, N., & Barnes, P. (2018).

Social impacts of protected areas: exploring evidence of trade-offs and synergies. In: Schreckenberg, K., Mace, G., & Poudyal, M. (Eds.). (2018). Ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. New York: Routledge.

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Tourism Friendly

By Iain Gunn

“There is a place where reality exceeds your dreams, where time is not measured in days, hours or minutes but in SMILES, new EXPERIENCES and NEW FRIENDS. A place where happiness is not a feeling but rather a way of life. Here you are family not just a visitor. There are many languages in the world but in South Africa our SMILE speaks them all. Tourism Friendly is here to stay and we are looking to partner with everyone to make South Africa a destination of choice” Iain Gunn, Tourism Friendly Ambassador

Tourism Friendly is an innovative tourism company that launched in October 2016.

The purpose of Tourism Friendly is to assist SMME’s with affordable on-line booking platforms, social media marketing, business plans and unique networking opportunities within the tourism sector. Their slogan “putting the smile back into tourism” and bright yellow welcome badges, say it all- “smile and the entire world will smile with you”.

Iain admits that they are late starters in the on line bookings space. But with years of experience working on several systems, they have successfully found a way to assist the new, emerging businesses to participate in the tourism value chain. Through the

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CHAPTER 5 Tourism Friendly platform, SMMEs are linked to big operators and millions of “tech savvy” customers who want to go on holiday or experience an activity.

Tourism must be sustainable, and we have to be responsible in business today. We have seen a multitude of university graduates, entrepreneurs and people with brilliant ideas fail before their ideas have actually been implemented.

“WHY?”, we ask? The answer is simple: with no support, networks, market access or actual plan, 90% of these emerging businesses fail to get off the ground.

Tourism Friendly is able to pull together a team of tourism experts with the relevant and specific experience to assist the SMME’s in areas where they need it most. We have adopted three rules in our company: 1. We have no borders in Tourism; 2. We have no colour in Tourism; 3. We have no politics in Tourism; A large market that has not been incorporated into the tourism sector is street vendors who sell traditional African street food. This is an unbelievably exciting project we have developed in the North West Province. International tourists travel to South Africa and want to experience something new and memorable. A few years ago, I was with a group of Canadian tourists who bought a packet of dry Mopani worms on the side of the road.

They were incredibly intrigued that by this delicacy and for them it represented a photo opportunity and tons of laughter.

What they did not realize, however, was that by buying one packet of Mopani worms for R25-00, they were acting responsibly and supporting a mother of four to feed her children.

We have recently launched our incubation programme for SMME’s, which involves loading their businesses onto our website, assisting them with marketing and arranging for tour operators to connect with them and incorporate them in tour packages. For the SMMEs, this is offered free of charge.

How many tourists have tasted a fire cooked ‘Mielie’? Not enough, but as this programme has been rolling out and the vendors have been exposed to our tour operators, we have seen the street vendors’ sales increase. The feedback received from the operators was amazing. Their guests were loving the tastes of Africa and this has opened up a new and exciting “On the move Tour Experience”.

Is it true that only certain businesses benefit from tourism? The answer is “NO”.

Small villages and towns with tourism products have more retail establishments than non-tourism towns. Tourism towns

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therefore provide additional employment opportunities. All businesses benefit from the tourism sector including petrol stations, pharmacies, doctors, estate agents all the way down to the street vendors. Increasingly, tourists and visitors (both domestic and international) want to experience the authentic local culture and food within the destinations that they visit. It is for this reason that Tourism Friendly is targeting street vendors in tourism towns, thereby enhancing the overall tourist experience,

while at the same time increasing the benefit for all businesses.

In many instances, the small business that come onto our programme are not

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registered or they do not have all the required licences to operate a legal business.

This does not mean that they should be excluded from the tourism supply chain.

The Tourism Friendly programme is currently assisting these small businesses, facilitating, for example, their application for the required licences and helping them understand local bylaws so that they can adapt their businesses accordingly. It is always a challenge to determine where we should start assisting our SMME’s. We have to help them get the basics right, and we have to support them and assist them to understand the implications and legal requirements to operate a business. This is a slow and extremely time-consuming process, but we are prepared for the long road ahead and have had several positive meetings with local municipalities, local government institutions and potential investors to help us streamline the process.

Should your company wish to join the Tourism Friendly Family to enhance the tourists experience please contact us and experience the Power of a Smile.

Aluminium

Stainless Steel

Green living in the middle of the industrial Durban Harbour Green Camp Gallery

By Xolani Hlongwa and Åsa Nilsson

While many strive to rise from the rubble, we choose to work with the rubble instead.

Sustainable living and sustainable travelling is quite easy if you have the financial means to make choices. With R250 000 to invest, we would build that green modern architecture that we see in magazines with amazing water harvesting and filtering systems, high-tech solar panels, and state of the art hydroponics. Instead, with other forms of capital and materials than the commercial one, such as collaborative, social and cultural capital, we at Green Camp Gallery have built – brick by brick and seed by seed – a green oasis in the middle of the industrial Durban harbour. This haven attracts many different individuals from near and far, from humans to plants and animals. Hence, we have demonstrated how to develop a (bio)diverse melting pot that focuses on meaningful interactions.

We would like to invite you to look through a small window of Green Camp Gallery, and read about some of our key strategies to create more sustainable and innovative meeting places for both tourists and locals.

Anti-gentrification An increasing number of tourists in urban cities are looking for those hidden gems that ooze of artistic and local expressions.

Imagine walls with graffiti appearing, green plants creeping, African jazz playing, and a double espresso being served in an industrial warehouse in between concrete and pallets. Feel the vibe of a small art exhibition that only a few have exclusively been invited to. Taste that sip of Cava in your mouth while finding the perfect Instagram-shot. You’ll find these cool spots around the world, and they have that same feeling whether you’re in Johannesburg, Berlin, or New York. However, these spaces are often a product of urban regeneration

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CHAPTER 6 investment projects, which make sure that these tourist- and hipster heavens are ‘clean’ and ‘safe’, but still creating an illusion of ‘rustiness’, ‘roughness’, and ‘realness’. These projects raise the value of abandoned land; thus, transforming areas into a landscape of power and profit, which pushes out the local people previously staying there – a phenomenon also known as gentrification (Adams & Hardman, 2013).

The question is how derelict spaces can be renewed from the grassroots into sustainable environments that still attract tourist, while also including and benefiting the local communities. The answer is anti-gentrification, which means uplifting neglected spaces that welcome everyone, regardless of circumstances and financial means. To do this, we need to start to work with who is right in front of us and what is right underneath our feet, as well as thinking: greening, greening, greening, and greening.

Recycling – Rehabilitation Stimulation Created out of the leftover material from derelict and notorious buildings, and a few donated odds and ends, our prototype Green Camp Gallery has grown into an organic and sustainable lifestyle hub that focuses on urban farming and creativity in all its forms. The theory of our work is built on cycles of three phases: recycling, rehabilitation, and stimulation. We have proven that in order to uplift spaces, communities, and individuals, these phases (in that specific order) are imperative and cannot be overlooked.

Recycling is about looking “inside the box” and discovering what and who are already around us, and start working there. Instead of demolishing that ‘bad building’ (e.g. in

Durban there is an estimated of 95 bad buildings) and insourcing designers constructors/architects from other places to build a new commercial hostel with modern green architecture and green energy, we engage with the local community – e.g. the people that may be ‘squatting’ in that place.

They become involved in cleaning, recycling half-broken bricks to build garden beds, building a stage, making art, and growing paw-paw trees.

Urban farming and arts enable rehabilitation. By growing organic food in the urban space, the children growing up in apartments get in touch with nature and we can feed ourselves as well as a person that sleeps on the street. Also, hands in the soil create the same skin-color, and no matter what higher power one believes in, the seed will grow with the right amount of nurturing! Thus, urban farming is a practical method for urban greening, environmental education, security, as well as social cohesion. Art also enables rehabilitation as it brings colour, movement and music to a space, which makes it is easier to attract people and convey the message of sustainable living. The best thing is that everyone can grow plants, and everyone can do art. When the individual and the community are more rehabilitated, then – and only then – we are ready for sustainable stimulation, which includes inviting tourists, arranging events, and generating economic profit.

Organic living and organic meetings Modern lifestyles mean connection to the digital cloud, but disconnection from the soil underneath our feet. Therefore, there is a great need of greening cities in order to promote environmental awareness, as well as attract tourists that want to be close to

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nature. Because if “people can’t (or do not think they need to) go to the mountains, we bring the mountains to the people”. We (part of the management and occasionally artisans within our Artist Residence Program and volunteers) who are living on the site of Green Camp Gallery do not just talk about sustainable living with our visitors, and then drive cars home to flats with big TV screens and air conditioners, we stay on-site with the rubble and the plants and we show, rather than talk about, organic lifestyles. Also, the street of our site (Umbilo Road in Durban) has a notorious reputation and tourists are recommended to avoid walking here. With Green Camp Gallery we challenge that and invite everyone to come here. Instead of barbed wires and security companies, we have built a safe space with the help of our social capital, i.e. with the people living, working and roaming around in the area.

Furthermore, the aim of sustainable tourism is no longer to visit a destination and taking away experiences and souvenirs that fit preconceived ideas regardless of environmental or social footprint, but rather to engage constructively and actively with the destination and the locals in order to enable a win-win situation. Meaningful interactions with ‘real people’, investment in local cultures, and preserving biodiversity are essential parts that sustainable tourists are wanting. However, urban spaces are known to “encourage action, not interaction [...] The task is consumption, and consumption is an utterly, irredeemably individual sensation. The crowds filling cathedrals of consumption are gathering congregations, clusters, not squads, aggregates, not totalities. However crowded they might be, there is nothing collective in these places” (Bauman 2001).

With our methods, Green Camp Gallery turns physically and spiritually depressed spaces into organic environments for organic meetings. For example, the tourist who wants to engage in

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CHAPTER 6

sustainable practices is drawn to the greening, the local youth who needs a colourful place for recreation pops in, the homeless person who is thirsty gets a glass of ice-tea, and the university doctor who is searching for cultural data comes by for an appointment. The result is a melting pot of people from different paths that can engage in meaningful meetings that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else where consumption is the norm.

Some last words Green Camp Gallery is a ten-year program with the intention to create an international replicable model in how to recycle and rehabilitate depressed spaces into thriving and stimulating environments. We are on our sixth year, which is just the beginning of our stimulation phase. Therefore, we are actively inviting people and organizations to interact within our frame of reality.

More information www.greencampgallery.org References Adams, D. and Hardman, M. (2013). Observing Guerrillas in the Wild: Reinterpreting Practices of Urban Guerrilla Gardening, Urban Studies Journal Limited. Bauman, Z. 2001. Community.

Cambridge: Polity Press.

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Government funded skills-based tourism Learnerships towards Sustainable, Coastal Tourism

By Kerry McLean

The Tourism Learnership Model The National Department of Tourism (NDT) is supporting job creation and youth skills development in the tourism sector of South Africa through a variety of training programmes.

The Social Responsibility Implementation Programme, popularly known as the SRI, is the job creation or the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) of the Department of Tourism. It is a targeted grant, aimed at supporting the development of communitybased tourism, thereby stimulating job creation, sector transformation, economic empowerment, community benefit and geographic spread of tourism investment.

The high level of unemployment in South Africa (SA) makes job creation a crucial challenge. However, job creation without skills development and training does not lend itself to sustainable employment. Training is a crucial element of all EPWP SRI projects of the NDT. South Africa has a very high youth unemployment rate, yet at the same time it has a shortage of qualified people to fill the many vacancies in various fields. To address both problems, the government looked for practical ways to educate the population and organise training systems for school leavers and unemployed adults. The introduction of learnerships has gone a long way towards achieving this.

While all EPWP interventions have a training component, the learnership model goes beyond poverty alleviation strategies which often focus on short term employment contracts. A learnership is a workbased learning programme where classroom contact sessions are combined with on-the-job experience. This gives the participant the opportunity to put the theory to practice in a

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CHAPTER 7 ‘real life’ working scenario. In their workplace, participants are assigned mentors who play a supportive and guiding role during the learning journey. Mentorship plays a critical role in the learnership model.

Learnership participants receive monthly stipends which support their living expenses while completing the programme. This allows participants to earn while they learn, which addresses financial barriers to accessing further education.

Learnerships form part of a nationally recognised qualification that is directly linked to an occupation. This means that learning is not just related to the current job, but it also forms part of a higher qualification that can be completed through other learnerships or short courses. All learnership contracts must be registered with the Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) for that specific industry, which guarantees that the learnership is of a high standard.

Tourism Blue Flag Since 2016, the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) has partnered with NDT to implement high impact tourism learnership-based training projects on a national scale. The projects are implemented by WESSA’s Eco-tourism Unit, which aims to promote the development of inclusive sustainable tourism in SA through capacity development, eco-accreditation, environmental education and citizen science.

Current learnership projects, funded by NDT through EPWP, have a coastal tourism focus and are linked to a major tourism draw card in South Africa, namely an abundance of quality beaches, both in urban and rural settings. WESSA is the national operator and appointed implementer for the wellknown

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international Blue Flag eco-label. Blue Flag is an accreditation standard for urban swimming beaches that are associated with well managed facilities, safety, access, cleanliness and sound environmental management. The Tourism Blue Flag (TBF) LEARNERSHIP project was initiated by NDT to target unemployed youth living in proximity to existing Blue Flag beaches.

The Tourism Blue Flag project aimed to improve the experience of local, domestic and international visitors to SA beaches, while simultaneously providing youth with accredited training with the goal of developing them for further employment in the green and blue economy. Two hundred participants have taken on the role of “Beach Stewards” at Blue Flag sites in three provinces (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal).

The Beach Stewards are hosted and mentored by local coastal municipalities, business and NGOs are involved in activities, including: • Monitoring of beach activities; • Conducting of visitor surveys and other data gathering; • Providing updates on weather and

general beach-conditions via Twitter; • Coordinating fun and interactive

environmental education activities for school-going children; • Assisting lifeguards by helping to

improve water safety at their beaches; and • Helping beach managers to maintain high Blue Flag standards relating to safety, environmental management, water quality and environmental education at their beaches.

The accredited training in the Environmental

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Education, Training & Development Practices (EETDP) (NQF Level 5) consists of 4 modules and 122 credits. Stewards that have successfully completed the training are awarded the ETDP SETA National Certificate.

The Stewards also received training in Lifeguarding Basics, First Aid, Health and Safety Awareness and digital media training.

Stewards were encouraged to seek other training opportunities which would benefit them and enhance their access to further employment. This additional training included: Response to Stranded Marine Animals, Basic Botanical Knowledge, Integrated Environmental Management, Swimming Programme and Tourism Ambassador Training.

The pilot Tourism Blue Flag Programme will end in March 2019, giving opportunities to over 200 South African youth. The training programme has successfully transferred skills in the field of environmental education and Blue Flag maintenance to the participating Beach Stewards. In addition, the Stewards have gained soft skills that support their transition into permanent employment.

It has been recognized that including a component that supports participants to obtain their drivers licenses would greatly increase the graduates’ chance of successfully gaining employment.

Long-term structured mentorship provides the participants with a wealth of experience, knowledge and guidance. By combining training and mentoring, the programme has allowed youth to grow their skills set, developing self-confidence, and finding direction to a career in the green and blue economy. The Tourism Blue Flag Beach Stewards have supported municipalities to maintain Blue Flag beach status, and thus indirectly supported the local economic

CHAPTER 7 development of their local economies.

National government have committed to increasing the number of Blue Flag beaches from 46 to 100 by 2030. With mentoring and support, Stewards will be able to fill the gaps related to additional capacity needed to increase the number of Blue Flag beaches have potential to take on positions within their municipalities. This will strengthen municipalities’ role in further developing coastal tourism through eco-accreditation programmes such as the Blue Flag Programme.

WESSA Beach Stewards have been actively promoting South Africa’s coastal tourism products to local and international visitors.

They offer a unique service which is not found on any other Blue Flag beach in the world.

Since the start of the WESSA Tourism Blue Flag Programme in 2016, there has been a 790% increase in media exposure for the programme.

Through this increased media coverage, the Beach Stewards have provided an important marketing avenue to promote South Africa’s beaches to the wider community.

WESSA Beach Stewards have conducted significant tourism surveys over a twoyear period. Over 7,000 questionnaires were completed on over 50 South African beaches. The surveys have collected valuable data on visitor expectation and satisfaction of WESSA Blue Flag and pilot beaches. Due to the volatility of the tourism market, it is vital that these surveys are continued as they are important tools in gauging the changing tourism trends over time.

This will also allow local municipalities to respond to the changes of an unpredictable tourism market. WESSA Beach Stewards have provided capacity to enhance our understanding of visitor needs at South African beaches.

Tourism Green Coast This innovative new National Department of Tourism (NDT) funded tourism learnership project is WESSA’s first project under the WESSA Green Coast banner. The WESSA Green Coast Award is awarded to coastal sites in South Africa where sensitive species, habitat or cultural heritage sites are being sustainably managed, leading to increased tourism along our coastline.

The Tourism Green Coast (TGC) Project supports rural communities, municipalities and tourism establishments along the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape. Since May 2018, 115 local youth living close to 25 sites with Green Coast potential have been recruited as ‘Green Coast Stewards’ to participate in the TGC learnership until May 2020.

The CATHSSETA accredited Tourism Guiding course (NQF L2, 135 credits), is a comprehensive skills-based course which exposes learners to tourism concepts and skills. Green Coast Stewards who successfully complete this course will be eligible to register as tour guides through the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA).

WESSA Green Coast Beach Stewards are hosted by tourism establishments along the Eastern Cape Wild Coast. In addition to focusing on Tourism Guiding, Beach Stewards are also being trained to support Green Coast development through ecological monitoring and environmental education activities. There are already several stakeholders looking forward to receiving reports based on the data collected by the Beach Stewards at each site. There is a noticeable deficit of ecological data from this stretch of coastline. The Beach Stewards, as citizen

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scientists, will therefore be playing an extremely important role in filling this gap and opening the way for further research which will inform future conservation efforts.

WESSA Tourism Green Coast connects communities, private sector, government and civil society through an innovative eco-tourism concept. The concept supports the development of inclusive, sustainable tourism on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, and a successful pilot will encourage continued investment into future similar concepts which will expand to other areas.

Conclusion It is too soon to gauge the long-term impacts pertaining to employment statistics and coastal sustainable tourism development. However, success stories are emerging, whilst the availability of jobs remains scarce. The employability of exited

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participants has increased significantly, improving their chances to either gain full time employment or study further. We are hopeful that entrepreneurial Beach Stewards will go on to start their own tourism-related businesses, linking in with existing entrepreneurship training programmes and securing funds for business incubation support. This would encourage sector transformation and the development of job -creators.

The investment by government into holistic, skills-based training projects such as these demonstrates commitment to not only developing the youth, but also involving the youth in the development and transformation of sustainable coastal tourism. Partnering with private sector and civil society brings added value and builds bridges between all components needed to realise true sustainable, responsible tourism in South Africa.

Tsitsikamma Falls Adventure

Phone: 082 578 1090 www.tsitsikammaadventure.co.za

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2014/09/03 1:34 PM

To certify or not to certify?

By Niki Glen

Over the past few years, I have been asked the same question by many accommodation businesses: “do you think responsible (sustainable) tourism certification will be good for my business?”.

This is a very difficult question to answer.

I actually became involved with tourism in the first place because of a certification company. In addition, the certification companies I have dealt with are occupied by people who share the same goals and objectives for sustainable development as I do. And surely if we share the same goals, it would be a good idea if it will help the business in question to actually do something towards implementing sustainable tourism practices and making tourism more inclusive. So, I have asked many certified businesses the question: “is certification the right thing for your business?” The answer invariable starts with “Yes, but….”. Three of the most frequent reasons provided for the “but” part of the answer is that 1) it is expensive, 2) it is a very onerous process and 3) I don’t know if I really get the marketing benefits that are on offer. We therefore need to look at whether the benefits of certification outweigh the cost and effort that goes with it. Once again, I don’t have a straight answer, but I did decide to investigate what is happening in the eco-labelling space world-wide, so that I could determine how important it is in the bigger scheme of things.

In South Africa, the need to develop tourism sustainably had already been discussed in 1996 in the White Paper for the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa. South Africa was the first country in the world to adopt a responsible tourism policy at national level (ICRT, 2009). In August 2002, the Cape Town

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CHAPTER 8 Declaration was signed by a number of national and international stakeholders committing to incorporate sustainable tourism in policy and implementation (ICRTD, 2002) . Between 2002 and 2009 a variety of responsible tourism certification providers appeared in the South African market. Amongst these are Fair Trade in Tourism (FTT)1, Heritage Environmental Management Company (Heritage)2 and the Green Leaf Environmental Standard (GLES)3. In 2010, the South African National Department of Tourism (NDT) created the National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (NMSRT). The NMSRT was originally developed with accommodation businesses in mind and consists of 42 criteria for compliance in four categories known as the four pillars of responsible tourism i.e. cultural and social criteria, environmental criteria, economic criteria and management and operations criteria. The NMSRT’s 42 criteria are modelled very closely on the GSTC’s 42 criteria Invalid source specified..

Certification and eco-labelling of tourism related businesses have been in development since the 1980s Invalid source specified.. The 1990s saw an increase in eco-tourism standards and labels – almost 100 by the beginning of 2000. Some of these standards and labels provide good accreditation standards, but others could mislead businesses and customers (Spenceley & Bien, 2013). The

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) then started a programme to standardise eco-labels by working with global stakeholders to develop a strategy to address the challenges faced by the tourism industry. Invalid source specified..

The Mohonk Agreement, was “an effort to bring coherence and good practice to these programmes” (Spenceley & Bien, 2013, p. 404). In 2004, the World Tourism Organisation (now the United Nations World Tourism Organisation or UNWTO) developed a set of indicators for sustainable tourism destinations which then supported the establishment of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) – previously known as the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC)4 (Spenceley & Bien, 2013).

The STSC (now GSTC) wanted to co-opt certification companies worldwide to create a more streamlined certification system. This ultimately led to the creation of their 42 criteria for sustainable tourism (GSTC, 2007). Coming back to South Africa, a survey of the websites of the three certification companies showed that by early 2019, fewer than 150 accommodation establishments in South Africa had been certified by the main certification companies, with more than 80% being large hotels5 or lodges. This is up from 2015, when this number was hovering around 100, but down from 2012, when it was around 500.

Considering that estimates for the number

1

Fair Trade Tourism was previously known as Fair Trade Tourism South Africa (FTTSA). FTT Standards adopts Fair Trade Principles (http://www.fairtrade.net/what-is-fairtrade.html) and has attained the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s ‘recognised’ certification status (https://www.gstcouncil.org/en/about/news/711-fair-trade-in-tourism-south-africafttsaachieves- recognized-global-sustainabletourism-council- status.html) 2 Heritage follows ISO 14001; 17001 and others (http://www.heritagesa.co.za/#!heritage-standard/c1hr6and).

3 “The requirements of the GLES were established by a Technical Committee of sustainability experts in industry and academia.” (http://www.greenleafecostandard.net/the-standard.html) 4 The STSC was merged with the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria to create the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in August 2010. Refer to https://www.gstcouncil.org/en/about/gstc-overview/our-history.html 5 At this point, there is no single set of criteria that distinguishes a large hotel from an SAE. The definition of smaller accommodation establishments (SAEs) that will be adopted for this research is an accommodation establishment with 20 rooms or less. Therefore a larger hotel is an establishment with more than 20 rooms that also meets the criteria of the TGCSA definition of a hotel i.e. “A hotel provides formal accommodation with full or limited service to the traveling public. A hotel has a reception area and offers a dining facility.

A hotel must have a minimum of 4 rooms” http://tourismgrading.co.za/getgraded/whats-in-it-for-me/grading-criteria-3/

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of accommodation businesses in South Africa are around 100,000 (Glen, 2017), the 2019 number represents 0.15 %6 of total businesses. From an international perspective, the following was noted.

Travelife, established in 2007, is an international certification system which is managed by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) in the UK. The Travelife collection stood at 364 certified establishments in 2015 (Travelife, 2015) and 969 in 2019 (Travelife, 2019). The GSTC programme for certification standards recognises certification companies for the integrity of their standards and processes (GSTC, 2019). By 2019 GSTC had listed 32 eco-labels as ‘recognised’. Green Hotel World, an NGO that promotes green tourism, stated the existence of 140 eco-labels by 2016. Green Hotel World calculated the density of certified green hotel per continent, based on the number of hotels that are certified out of a base of 130,000 hotels and the activity levels of more than 50 eco-labels. Their results show that the Global Green Hotel Density was 6.2% in 2016 (Green Hotel World, 2016).

The results published on their website in 2016 showed the following: Certified Green Hotel Concentration per Continent: 1. North America = 10.1% 2. Europe = 6.1% 3. Oceania = 4.8% 4. Africa = 3.7% 5. South America = 2.7% 6. Asia = 0.9% Source: https://www.greenhotelworld.com/2016/06/24/ green-hotel-density/

Online booking engines are also increasingly making provision for green travel, with 6

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Green Hotel World (2019) providing links to Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Trivago, Tripadvisor, Lastminute.com, Ctrip and Agoda. What is clear, is that a plethora of organisations have entered the sustainable tourism certification space (eco-labels) and that certification programmes are gaining ground (CREST, 2014 and GSTC, 2019).

However, considering that eco-labelling has been around for more than 20 years, the growth seems slow, and while it is not clear how many accommodation establishments exist worldwide, the numbers provided by the Green Hotel World had not been verified, and seems on the high side.

With the 2019 percentage for South Africa being very low comparatively and with the number of ecolabels still increasing worldwide, I am wondering how confusing it has become to travel “green” and whether eco-labels really provide such a competitive advantage. The average accommodation occupancy rate in South Africa is still hovering around 55%, which means that the average accommodation business is still attracting good business. Another factor to consider, is that in South Africa, most rural economies are still struggling, structural poverty makes the country one of the least competitive countries in the world (World Bank, 2017) and extreme poverty exist amongst more than 10 % of the population (Klaus Schwab, WEF, 2018).

I believe that accommodation businesses need to gear themselves up to make tourism in their areas more inclusive, and spend their money wisely on projects that support inclusive growth and development. They should utilise frameworks for sustainable tourism implementation which will enhance the competitiveness of their businesses and

Number to be verified with through more detailed and structured analysis

CHAPTER 8 of their towns. They need to ensure that they spend their time, money and effort engaging and developing SMME supply chains and working collaboratively with other businesses to increase demand for local products and services. Once they are able to illustrate that this is happening in their town, and that for every direct job they create, seven to 12 indirect jobs are created, I would argue that they can start considering eco-labelling their businesses.

Eco Hotels of the World. (n.d.). Search Eco Hotels. Retrieved March 2016, 2016, from Eco Hotels of the World: http://www.ecohotelsoftheworld.com/index. php?option=com_jreviews&task=list&criteri a=2&query=all&order=alpha&Itemid=117 Ecotourism Australia. (2015, August 8).

Ecotourism Australia. Retrieved August 8, 2015, from Eco Certification: http:// www.ecotourism.org.au/our-certificationprograms/eco-certification/

References Biosphere Tourism . (2015, August 8).

Biosphere Certification. Retrieved August 8, 2015, from Biosphere Tourism : http:// www.biospheretourism.com/en/certificadobiosphere/6

Environmentally Friendly Hotels. (n.d.).

Green Hotel Search. Retrieved March 31, 2016, from Environmentally Friendly Hotels: (http://environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com/ search.php)

CREST. (2014). The Case for Sustainable Travel: Trends and Statistics. Centre for Responsible Travel. Retrieved May 8, 2015, fromhttp://www.responsibletravel.org/ resources/documents/2014_Trends_&_ Statistics_Final.pdf DEAT. (1996). White Paper The Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa.

Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

EarthCheck. (2015, August 8). Our Clients. Retrieved October 3, 2015, from EarthCheck: http://earthcheck.org/about/ our-clients/

Glen, N. (2017). Sustainable tourism implementation for small accommodation establishments in South Africa. University of South Africa.

Global Sustainable Tourism Council. (n.d.).

What we do. Retrieved March 31, 2016, from Global Sustainable Tourism Council: https://www.gstcouncil.org/en/about/gstcoverview/welcome-tosustainable-tourism. html Green Hotel World. (2016). Green Hotel World. Retrieved 12 March 2019, from Global Green Hotel Density: https://www. greenhotelworld.com/2016/06/24/greenhotel-density/

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The story of a small town, and an aerodrome waiting to be developed

By Caroline Ungersbock

Over the past two years, I have had a most frustrating time, as most of my plans were put on hold due to no fault of my own. It is incredible how bureaucratic issues can stifle economic advancement, which could benefit many people and bring many new SMMEs into the tourism value chain.

I have been working on an infrastructure project for more than two years. It all started with much excitement in 2017, when I was invited to an investment summit in a small town in the Northern Cape. I had immediately recognised the economic development potential of the town, considering its current infrastructure base and location on route between Cape Town and Upington. There are passionate tourism and hospitality stakeholders and a very important agricultural sector, primarily focussed on sheep rearing for wool. While it was all very exciting, the major worry was that the municipality was bankrupt - and still is bankrupt. The municipality has many assets that are not maintained and are standing vacant or are under-utilised. The golf course, the squash courts and the sports club are some examples. These assets provide opportunities for development.

The project that I identified presents a major opportunity for investment into a town that has huge tourism development potential. The town has already taken great strides toward attracting more tourists and visitors. Over the past five years, guest houses have increased their number of rooms and more guest houses have opened. The hotel was been renovated and re-opened. All the churches have been renovated and painted. The town’s film theatre has also been renovated. Three coffee shops and three restaurants have opened.

I started investigating the opportunities of resurrecting the aerodrome. I invested in

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CHAPTER 9 appointing a project manager and specialist airport consultants. We put together business plans and project plans, and presented these to the local municipality, the district municipality as well as the premiere’s office and the Department of Economic Development for the Northern Cape. Thus far, we have gained interest in the project from many fronts, including national and provincial government as well as private companies (both locally and international and state-owned entities).

While we have made good progress, there are consistent delays within the bureaucratic space where decision makers become preoccupied with non-developmental activities and face ongoing political challenges. In the short space of time, the town has seen the appointment and departure of four mayors, three municipal managers and twelve different councillors. As a result, there is no political stability in the municipality.

Every time we take a few steps forward and make some progress, it seems that we have to take a few steps backwards as the new politicians come and go. The worrying part is that if certain decisions are not signed off

by April of this year, the aerodrome will be condemned by the Civil Aviation Authority for ever because the municipality has not maintained the asset the way they should have, nor have they realised its importance in economic development. Another fact that is very important, is that the aerodrome development includes everything that a small town airport needs to be sustainable.

The aerodrome would include an international flying school for a minimum of 50 students over a 60 week period. This would see the appointment of 15 instructors and flight school personnel. It would also include an AFGAS fuelling station, an aviation academy, a maintenance hangar, a

restaurant, car hire facilities and a tourism information centre to start. The medium to long term plan is to have scheduled flights to service towns such as Loxton, Carnarvon (for the SKA project), Three Sisters and Richmond. With the planned scheduled flights, the town would be a logistics hub for the Central Karoo.

The re-ignition of the aerodrome would see an initial cash injection of R30 million into the local economy and has the potential to create 50 direct jobs and 350 indirect jobs.

The function of the aerodrome would not only be to bring leisure tourists into the town, but also business tourist that have an interest in the agricultural activities.

While these types of travel are mostly season driven, the aerodrome would serve as the base of an international flying school, which will ensure a year-round customer base for guesthouses, the hotel and other accommodation. All other businesses will benefit too: the restaurants, coffee shops, super-markets, retailers, pharmacies, petrol stations – even medical and dental care.

The property industry – both residential and commercial, will also get a boost.

More importantly, however, it will open up the opportunity for inclusive tourism development, where emerging SMMEs from the poorer communities around the town will be provided with economic opportunities. To date, we have involved everyone in the planning of the aerodrome, as it is critical that all stakeholders understand the potential impacts (both positive and negative) of such a development and that they can add their opinions and suggestions. Once community buy-in and approval has been achieved, the signing off from the municipality and other authorities should be a rubber-stamping

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exercise. The project has been approved by the council of the municipality. The sad part is, that if the airport does not make it into implementation phases, all the efforts from everyone who has been involved will come to nil. This will be a great pity for a small town that, like many other rural towns in South Africa, already possess a significant asset base, which could be developed to provide livelihoods for many more people.

So how long would the next project take, and will the impacts be as big? Would the town ever get such a good project investment?

On the positive side, however, is that the process of planning the aerodrome has

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helped to open up communication amongst many different stakeholder groups from the town and surrounding areas. This has been underpinned by the passion and drive of all the local tourism stakeholders, who have worked tirelessly to help lift the whole community up from the doom of a nonfunctioning municipality. Let us hope therefore, that the bureaucrats can catch a wake-up call and the necessary decisions can be ratified on time. The UNWTO 2019 theme is Tourism and jobs: a better future for all – so let’s get to work.

Together we can improve our planet, our people, and our profit in the name of Sustainable Development in Tourism.

Municipalities – their role in tourism development!

A simple guide of good practices

By Dulcineia BasĂ­lio Ramos

Tourism is a strategic component for local development The multiplier effect of tourism is like a web that spreads over a territory. The activity has the possibility of establishing itself as an axis of integrated development, based on modernization, creativity, technological innovations and the qualification of human resources in the most different areas.

Concrete examples include income provided to the various stakeholders involved in the provision of services; creation of new jobs (although many are seasonal); leverage to invest in infrastructure such as accessibility and recreation structures; promoting the development of other activities (for example: transportation); contributing to the meeting of cultures and exchange of experiences. Tourism values and recovers the landscape and/or cultural heritage and can also contribute to reducing regional asymmetries.

So, if acting locally provides global development, who are the agents that know best and who are more interested in developing their territory and improving their quality of life?

Obviously, it will be the local public institutions, mainly the municipalities, the community and the companies.

Local development based in tourism will only result with the active interaction of these three agents. They have the knowledge, the power and the interest. In spite of the central importance that the private sector can have in these actions, it should be the responsibility of national and local administration to create reference frameworks that guide matters such as spatial organization that have as main purpose the balanced development of the territory.

One of the most used methodologies for these kinds of partnership is the use of

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CHAPTER 10 strategic planning in tourism based on the principles of governance, especially: sustainability and public participation. Planning should be taken as a working tool. It should be observed as an aid to decision-making that allows the rational organization of all actions that must be performed in order to optimize results.

Strategic planning in tourism must take into account the increase in visitor satisfaction, but essentially also the quality of life of the local community and the protection of resources, using, according to interventionist planning, a conciliation of the interests of tourists and inhabitants. This refers us to the importance of using a planning methodology, which enables not only the fluidity of the process, but also, through the information acquired, the reduction of risks throughout the process.

Strategic planning in tourism based on governance principles- good practices to be applied by municipalities.

Tourism planning must be carried out in an integrated way with the territorial planning instruments since tourism is a consumer and a transformer of territory. It is also an activity that creates images and representations that affect both tourists and the local community.

Planning is a way for society to exercise power over its future, rejecting resignation and cooperating for initiatives that define its destiny, mainly through the creation of partnerships among the various stakeholders. The mediation role of the municipality is very important so that the whole process can present positive results.

Successful experiences of local development

usually result from the joining forces of various stakeholders operating in a stable social and political environment. However, the formula of competitiveness and innovation is required, as it should not be forgotten that the “place� is inserted in a regional and national context.

In order for sustainability goals to be achieved, there is a need to adopt a participatory model involving the community, representatives of the tourism industry and government institutions in order to build consensus on the planning options. Collaborative planning aims to foster direct dialogue between stakeholders and public sector planners, leading to shared negotiation in the decision-making process, and building common goals.

Diverse actors of the community should be integrated, preferably in a horizontal organization. According to several authors, the relationship between planners and individuals can be divided into three main typologies that characterize their participation and interaction: i) active collaboration: participants and planners develop and participate in all stages of planning; ii) cyclical process of interaction: happens when there is a period of reflection in each one of the phases and consequent advice for subsequent stages; and (iii) an advisory process: that is, mobilization for the public participation of various actors in the diagnostic phase.

Planners should choose the most appropriate solution taking into account the objectives and the socio-cultural characteristics of the participants. So, it is important that the managers of these processes are carefully chosen since they

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will be the facilitators of the exchange of knowledge and the achievement of consensus.

Several practical examples of public participation in strategic tourism plans can be mentioned. It will always be necessary to start with a public presentation session of the project, inviting all the stakeholders involved in the process so that the methodology to be adopted can be presented. It is necessary that all stakeholders should clearly understand what the objectives are and the period of implementation. In this presentation the most important factor will be the accountability of each of the actors involved.

They will be the main decision-makers and also the beneficiaries of the plans and measures that will be put into practice.

At the same time a survey, preferably online, should be made available so that the stakeholders can contribute to a diagnosis of the destination.

Questions should be asked about the available resources, noting both the supply and tourist demand. Questions should assess , for example, whether the resources are sufficient, whether they meet certain quality levels and what actions are needed to improve them. For example, most respondents say that one of the biggest problems of a destination is its lack of promotion or even the lack of tourism information signage. These are easy questions to solve in the shortterm but not always identifiable in everyday life.

Evidently, for the preparation of this survey, the technical team should already have carried out an in-depth field study. It is not uncommon for most of the official

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information to have been collected by the municipality. The team responsible for the planning process should preferably be composed of municipality technicians and external expert, for example tourism practitioners or academia. At this stage a survey on the brand awareness of the destination, involving tourists or potential visitors, can also be carried out.

The next task to be carried out by the municipal team is the analysis of the tourist potential and especially the various products. There are several forms to aggregate information through complex logical exercises and even some more simplified ones such as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).

After the processing of information, it will be necessary to hold another public participation session. Most of the methodologies used at this stage of planning are similar to a “World Cafe�, where the stakeholders feel at ease and in a relaxed atmosphere.

The main objective will be for the participants to prioritize the products they wish to promote and / or develop. Practices used should be clear. The process of voting after discussion should be as transparent as possible. Everyone will be able to see who votes on what, a necessary principle for the accountability of the stakeholders. In the end, the product(s) with the most votes will be the one(s) in which the municipality should invest.

After the reorganization of the information, several local or national public entities may be called upon to collaborate, which will give value to the actions to be designed.

Structured interviews or discussion forums can be used for this group.

CHAPTER 10 In the end, in the presentation of the plan, everyone will feel that they were part of it, so it will be easier to put it into practice. It is important to mention that municipalities are usually the main drivers of these plans and therefore also the main agent responsible for their implementation.

However, there may be several reasons that do not allow the implementation of a strategic tourism plan, for example: •

•

•

•

•

Difficulty in obtaining financial resources and sometimes training of multidisciplinary technical teams; Setting of unrealistic deadlines for the several phases of the project; Absence of the commitment to the

implementation of the actions (here, also the bureaucratic processes stand out); Non-prioritization of strategies (wanting to do everything at once or wanting to first put into practice the strategy that will give more visibility instead of that which will give longevity / sustainability to theproject); Absence of adequate involvement /

agreement of the local community; • Lack of coordination and communication between the various stakeholders; • Absence of a holistic vision of the

territory; • Failure to develop monitoring processes and indicator systems to evaluate the evolution of processes.

In conclusion, the main role of local municipalities for tourism development can be summarized in the following actions: formation of a multidisciplinary team; development of a transparent participatory process; integration of spatial planning instruments and tourism; leading technical, regulatory and financial implementation (often only these public institutions have this capacity) and carrying out constant monitoring actions.

But in the end the main idea that should remain throughout all the processes should be: PLAN WITH AND NOT FOR THE COMMUNITY.

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Tourism is successful in spite of government, not because of government

By Carl Momberg

Constitutional responsibility for tourism is split between national, provincial and local government, which means that municipalities are responsible for nurturing and growing tourism in their respective towns and regions.

In a recent story on capeinfo.com/blogs/ spaniard, I looked at what is happening in the Western Cape at various municipalities. It is not a happy story. There is a lack of direction.

National Government While South Africa (SA) has a good tourism minister in Derek Hanekom, he can do much better. After CapeInfo interviewed Sisa Ntshona, SA Tourism’s CEO, in February 2018 about how South Africa can double tourism receipts, CapeInfo was unable to get minister Hanekom to respond. This is what Ntshona had to say: “What’s it going to take?

Very simply, it’s going to take the entire government entity.”

“And what I mean by that… it’s not just the Department of Tourism… but the Department of Transport coming aboard and making sure that they license tour operators on time, it’s about Home Affairs making sure that we have a visa-friendly regime around the targeted sectors, as well as Safety & Security coming aboard …

“It’s about the entire cabinet needing to identify the roles they are going to play in terms of delivering on this goal that the president has set.

“The president is in charge and he has to make sure that the performance agreements which he signs with his ministers are aligned to his goals.

“What you found previously, in my

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CHAPTER 11 view, is that we had this National Development Plan but there was no alignment in terms of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the management towards it.

“My understanding is that when the president says he wants to see double the growth, he’s making sure that in everyone’s scorecard, everyone has to identify what role they are going to play in contributing towards it.

“And when obstacles or barriers are identified, there must be a way of removing them or mitigating against them.”

At a national level, there needs to be a much clearer road map and agenda. It needs to set the pace for provinces and municipalities to follow. If they do not follow the agenda, they should be penalised.

One of the most outlandish discussions I ever had was with the person in charge of tourism at Buffalo City (East London). She was complaining that the reason Buffalo City does not do as well as Cape Town was the lack of promotion by SA Tourism. Apart from the complete lack of any comparison between the amenities and attractions of the two cities, I asked her if Buffalo City exists on any map; if there is a Buffalo City airport or post office…. Tourism is a business, not about wishful thinking and political ideals.

Provinces Western Cape provincial MEC for Economic Opportunity, Beverley Schaffer, conceded that the Province’s Tourism Act is outdated but ignored requests to contribute to this article.

She had said the 15-year-old Act will be updated but only after the elections. Politics has its own priorities, and they don’t always

converge with those of tourism as a business.

Politicians see tourism in political terms, not as a perishable business. A body in a bed, or a bottom on a restaurant, bus or airline seat not sold today, cannot be sold tomorrow!

The Western Cape is one of the few provinces where there is a tourism act and where there is entrenched private sector participation in running tourism. The province is facing challenges like never before though, where municipalities are upsetting the apple cart.

Wesgro is the provincial investment, trade and tourism marketing agency. And under CEO Tim Harris, it has been doing a very good job. But without very clear expectations, can it really do its job?

One of the most nonsensical replies I received from Wesgro was in response to my question, “Does Wesgro have a view on the direction being taken by Swellendam municipality?”

They answered, “No, local tourism is the responsibility of the municipality and therefore this is their decision.”

How can you promote tourism to the province if you don’t have a view - and some kind of say - on changes being made to tourism structures? Is Team Provincial Tourism pulling in the same direction? In Ladismith, where the municipality ceased all tourism funding, the municipality should be penalised for abrogating their constitutional responsibility.

One of the most telling stories I heard during a trip around SA a few years back was after a new CEO of Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism addressed his staff for the first time. They were expecting action plans, but he recounted the story of his holiday in the Western Cape, ending by saying that he wanted tourism in that province run like that!

Wanting and doing are poles apart.

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Municipalities And so, municipalities are left to do their own thing with little direction from above.

And it’s not working. Outside of the Western Cape, things are even worse. There are many municipalities, especially outside the Western Cape, where they cannot even get the basics right. Service delivery is a misnomer. Touristfriendly environments do not exist and, when they do, they are outside the towns on game lodges or in country establishments.

There are exceptionally competent tourism organisations at a town level – and Cape Town Tourism and Plett Tourism are examples of these. Finding competence, let alone business acumen, within the municipalities themselves is much more difficult. Politicians and bureaucrats come and go, and every new broom sweeps a new path. When the next municipal elections are held in a few years’ time, there needs to be a vocal tourism lobby that ranks all politicians by their commitment to tourism.

Sustainable solutions There are solutions. Tourism businesses in the Langeberg municipal area are exploring the introduction of a tourism levy to fund their collective activities.

This would be collected by the municipality and ring-fenced for tourism promotion and marketing. It requires a wide buy-in from all sectors that benefit from tourism. There are precedents for this — there are 39 City Improvement Districts (CID) in Cape Town (with two more about to be launched).

Their successes have been enormous. This was how the Cape Town Partnership was established in 1999 and the first of the CIDs was established in 2000. These have been a Cape Town success story. Strong and well-funded organisations are a pre-requisite

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for sustainability and stability. There need to be service level agreements between organisations and municipalities, rather than organisations having to go to municipalities with cap-in-hand to request funding.

Political solutions for tourism are rarely sustainable because they follow political agendas rather than business agendas, and create revolving door scenarios. And politicians cannot always be trusted. The Party comes first.

Accreditation The accreditation of tourism organisations is noted in the Western Cape’s Tourism Act and used to be a requirement for municipal funding. When the old Cape Town Routes Unlimited was merged into Wesgro, this function fell away. Today, Wesgro says, it works with all official regional and local tourism offices across the Western Cape. It is time that all towns and organisations are accredited (and categorised by their aspirations – since not every town is a tourist town) and, if they are not, they should not enjoy the benefits of national and provincial support.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure Tourism is a business, not a political ideal.

Maybe this is the real reason that South Africa’s tourism statistics are so abysmal.

Rectifying this should be everybody’s priority.

Government at every level will never get their acts together until they are confronted by a united and strong private sector organisations.

And maybe minister Derek Hanekom will make it compulsory for all public servants in the tourism sphere to preface every meeting with “We are public servants. How can we help you?” Without political arrogance, more good people will come forward to play a meaningful role.

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The value of international tourism film festivals

By Hugo Marcos

Introduction Every year the Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit travels the world through 18 cities and 16 countries to recognize excellence in promoting destinations through the audio-visual film medium. Culminating at the “Festival of Festivals” in Vienna, Austria, CIFFT is unique in the world, and recognized as the most comprehensive in the Tourist Audio Visual Industry.

On the occasion of the 8th International Festival of Tourism Films, “Festival des Festivals”, in Vienna, in 1989, along with the Austrian initiative of Filmservice International chaired by Rudolf Kammel, the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT - Comité International des Festivals du Film Touristique) was founded. The major tourism film festivals in Europe immediately joined the committee (Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Montecatini, Porec, Trouville and Vienna).

Over 30 years CIFFT grew from six festivals to eighteen festivals and now includes New York, Cannes, Los Angeles, Czeck Republic, Berlin, Zagreb, Portugal, Spain, Istanbul, Azerbaijan, Maldives, Poland, Greece, Deauville, Bulgaria, Riga, Serbia and Vienna. The attraction of the CIFFT Circuit is not only in the number of festivals, but also in the diversity of the cultures which generates a very attractive collection of venues from across the world.

From Cinema to Global Digitalization The end of the nineteenth century marked the beginning of an era that would change forever the way to entertain, communicate, educate and reach a specific audience.

The invention of “Magic Lanterns” (Phenakistoscope and Zoetrope), used to

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CHAPTER 12 represent images drawn in a short time and repetitively, changed everything. The Praxinoscope by Émil Reynaud, much like the Zoetrope, put the images on strips of celluloid (instead of the discs used by all previous devices). As a result, a whole series of inventions, additions and improvements followed, finally allowing Louis Le Prince to film motion photographic images in a two-second filmstrip.

The first short films appeared in 1912, created by D.W. Griffith. Then, in 1913 the first epic film (Quo Vadis) was created by Enrico Guazzoni. In the 1930s, in middle of Nazism, television could be seen in 22 public rooms in Germany. One of the first major television broadcasts was the 1936 Berlin Olympics. But it was not until World War II (1941) that we saw the first TV commercial, a 10-second spot, which kicked off an industry that would generate tens of billions of dollars per year. The world did not stop and, in this rush for innovation the first personal computer was created in 1981, and in 1983, the first generation of mobile phones. This was followed by the highway of information the World Wide Web – in 1990. In 1991 the first mobile phones with 2G network made their appearance and in 2007, Apple introduced the device that changed our lives and the advertising market forever. The iPhone, which was the first smartphone, is a format that changed the appearance of most mobile phones, being the first device to present the multi-touch screen. The massive use of smartphones enabled the development of new highspeed mobile internet making it possible to stream video in real time, and videoconference with the help of new front-facing camera equipment near the viewfinder.

Importance of Video for Tourism Destination Marketing “Video is impactful. One minute of video has the same value and impact as 1.8 million words, according to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research.”

According to Cisco, video accounted for all consumer Internet traffic in 2107.

Growth in video and film for marketing will continue to be rapid. Statistics show that video is one of the most important tools for tourism marketing. YouTube is the most used site for travel videos. A whopping 79% of users are looking at personal travel options. In a Google search in 2014, 66% of people reported watching videos online while thinking about taking a trip.

Sixty four percent of respondents used the online video to help them choose a destination and 57% watched the video to help them choose accommodation for their trip. According to the report, travelers watch a combination of professionally made videos and user uploaded videos, but the preferred source of video (62%) is from corporate industries such as hotels, airlines, cruises and tours. This is not the best part: of travelers who reported watching online videos while planning their trips, 45% of leisure travelers and 72% of business travelers said they made reservations as a direct result.

Video involves and unites people in an experience, whether in the allencompassing, 360-degree virtual reality or just straight TV. In travel marketing and promotion, this type of transportive capability is particularly powerful. Anyone can learn facts and see photos of a place with an easy search on Google, or through various materials like brochures

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or catalogs, but video sells an experience and the best videos capture the experience and the essence of a place and creates an experience for the viewer. According Chris Torre from travel Marketing Agency, “In travel, you are selling an experience, an emotion and a feeling. Film and video marketing create a faster emotional connection than any other channel. “ Tourism Film Festivals According the European Audiovisual Observatory “The audiovisual sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the European economy and a leading global market.”. The latest statistics show that 90% of all Internet traffic will be based on videos in 2019. According Statista – The Statistics Portal, “TV and video revenue worldwide will grow from 286.17 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 324.66 billion in 2020.”

Festivals are a vital link in the chain of global audio-visual culture and are ideal venues for meetings between professionals who share the same affinities. Other advantages of festivals are that they allow you to present creative work and discuss topics shown in the videos, as well as the filming and creative process by including people in the discussion. Festivals are also excellent platforms where anyone can analyze strategies and create new ideas for future projects.

Tourism Film Festivals are events to target a specific unique market segment. There are various advantages of these niche events. One benefit of this niche market is that there is no or little competition. The Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit is virtually the market leader, and each of its members has the same status in their countries and worldwide. Another of the advantages is

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that even being a niche market does not mean that it is small but that it involves specific target audiences with a specialized offer. Nowadays, niche events with strong cultural ties are perceived as an opportunity to trigger local action programs with multiple objectives such as attracting visitors, promoting the destination, boosting local economies, strengthening the collective identity, among others, with the main aim of creating a distinctive brand identity through the integration of all external and internal forces (such as local actors). According to Jago (2002) it is necessary to be attentive to five factors that can contribute positively to reach this mark. These are: • Being supported by the local

community.

• Creating insight between the event and the city environment e.g. regional characteristics and historical features.

• Guaranteeing positive media coverage, impacting perception of the destination and awakening interest abroad.

• Including components of the event that reinforce desire.

• Creating symbolic value through

including unique and innovative features.

The events that make an exceptional brand are those that achieve a consolidation of the brand or destination which creates distinctive feature. Therefore, it has the ability to promote the destination, help create tourist flows, give credit to the destination, provide solidity to the destination’s image, involve the community through their support, get the media to provide good coverage and encourage the creation of new opportunities for other

CHAPTER 12 existing events. In one of the studies elaborated by Jago (2002), a series of issues that play an important role in the use of events for the consolidation of a distinctive brand or destination are highlighted. The two most frequent and important issues are: •

•

The support and inclusion of the local community as a basic need; and The creation of a good strategy that contextualizes the culture within the destination, giving rise to themes that relate to smaller events.

Addressing these issues and utilizing available resources and social capital will support the creation of a regional distinctive brand.

In 1997, Getz; Crompton and McKay; (Jago, 2002) reported that the contribution of local residents and the involvement of local communities end up dictating the success of many events. The local community is seen as the advocate of events and, in turn, of the image given to the destination brand. In this way, the existence of a brand is instilled as the success of the event engages with the locals. If the local community identifies and feels integrated into the event, their support is seen as a positive impact on how their visitors witness the destination and the event itself.

All the CIFFT member festivals are multicultural and multifaceted since they include exhibitions, shows and all kinds of initiatives that allow various arts to be a noble vehicle for tourist promotion.

But festivals are not only a vehicle that makes art the currency of exchange. These events also recognize and reward the excellence in promoting destinations and

product services through video. Annually, destinations (countries, regions, states, cities, villages and institutions of the public sector, as well as the entire tourist trade of the private sector, hotels, tour operators, air companies, etc.) worldwide contract production companies, agencies and freelancers to create video content for their tourism marketing strategy. And the best place to get recognition among our peers is the Tourism Film Festivals.

Why Winning Awards at Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit Festivals are so important?

An award by itself is already good, but in the entertainment industry is even more important. Winning an award at one of the Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit Festivals means that the video is worthy of attention More importantly, it will make everyone emotionally involved with the film, generate new content to get the attention of that award. In addition, becoming an award winner will improve the morale of many film making participants, from the production team to the fans and local inhabitants of the destination. Awards can also contribute to successful public recognition in the following manner: • Visibility: Awards can help garner a significant amount of visibility; • Validation: Awards speak volumes about a destination’s attributes and substantiate credibility; • Reputation: Awards can improve the perceived reputation of the destination; • Differentiation: Awards set a destination apart from competitors and help differentiate the quality of achievements and services from others.

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Other advantages include being part of the CIFFT Rank List. Winning awards at the member festivals of the Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit, gives points to the CIFFT Rank List that will determine the TOP of the World’s Best Tourism Films & Videos. At the end of the year, in the Chamber of Commerce in Vienna, the films with the most points in the CIFFT Rank List will be awarded with the title “Nominees to the Grand Prix CIFFT” and these will also be announced at the two Grand Prix CIFFT events: the “World´s Best Tourism Commercial” and the “World´s Best Tourism Film” of the year.

“The Millennial – Travel Trends of the Largest Generation,” Travel Professional News, July 2017.

As we can see, the awards play a very important role, either in increasing new audiences an clients, or in encouraging creative evolution towards the development of new content. This makes life more beautiful and fun because we will have daily access to more creative content, with better quality. When the stories are good, smiling will be an easy task.

//screenafrica.com/2018/04/18/marketing/ marketing-business/the-rise-of-videocontent/

References: //fredericgonzalo.com/2012/09/11/ how-travelers-use-online-sources-fortravel-decision-making/ The-2018-DigitalTransformation-Report, Skift “Digital Transformation Initiative: Aviation, Travel and Tourism Industry,” World Economic Forum and Accenture, January 2017.

“Video: Adobe and MGM Resorts On The Future of Personalization and Digital Transformation,” Skift, October 2017.

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//milunesco.unaoc.org/mil-organizations/ european-audiovisual-observatory/ //tourismmarketing.agency/blog/why-videoso-important-tourism-marketing-and-howmake-itsuccessful, Chris Torres, April 2016 Cinema: An International History of Film, 2002-2017 Matthew Hunt

// statista.com/statistics/259985/globalfilmed-entertainment-revenue/ JAGO, L.; DEERY, M.; HARRIS, R.; HEDE, ANNE-MARIE; ALLEN, J. - The Role of Events in Helping to Brand a Destination.

In EVENTS AND PLACE MAKING PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL EVENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE, University of Technology, Australian Centre for Event Management, Sydney, P.111-143, 2002.

JAGO, L.; DEERY, M.; HARRIS, R.; HEDE, ANNE-MARIE; ALLEN, J. - The Role Of Events In Helping To Brand A Destination.

In Events And Place Making Proceedings Of International Event Research Conference, Australian Centre For Event Management, Sydney, P.111-143, 2002.

ART IN THE WINELANDS A world-class museum in the heart of Cape Town’s Constantia Valley

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The importance of international conferences in the South African economy

By Rudi van der Vyver

In order to really put the value of the international conferencing (or rather business events industry) into perspective let’s first get some context on what the value and the size of this market is on an international scale.

Business events generated more than $1.07 trillion of direct spending that involved more than 1.5 billion participants. These events supported 10.3 million direct jobs globally and generated $621.4 billion of direct GDP. After accounting for indirect and induced impacts, business events supported a total global economic impact in 2017 of: • • •

$2.5 trillion of output (business sales); 26 million jobs; $1.5 trillion of GDP (representing

contribution to global gross domestic product);

The business events sector directly generated more output (business sales) than many large global sectors, including consumer electronics and computers and office equipment.

The $1.5 trillion of total GDP supported by global business events would rank the sector as the 14th largest economy globally, larger than the economies of countries such as Australia, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Based on its $621.4 billion direct GDP impact, the business events sector would rank as the 22nd largest economy globally.

(Statistics issued by the Event Industry Council).

Now that we have a slightly better understanding of the international market size and the potential value locked up within this market, let’s look at the African perspective and using South Africa as an example (as South Africa is the leading business events destination within Africa).

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CHAPTER 13 A study was conducted by the South African National Convention Bureau spanning 2014 – 2016. The study drew some very interesting insights into the value and economic contribution of business events in South Africa, especially with the insight that the tourism sector is the second largest employer (as an industry), only superseded by the agricultural sector in South Africa. Business events contributed to 252 000 direct and indirect job equivalents (see Figure 1). We also saw that the main source markets for business events closely mirrored South Africa’s core leisure tourism markets. This is a significant finding, bearing in mind South African Tourism’s strategy to convert more international business travellers into leisure tourists, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Source markets for business events Economic impact is a crucial measure when looking at the sustainability of an industry and the effects it has on other industries to contribute to the economic sustainability of a country. Now that we have some understanding of the make-up of the industry especially as it pertains to the main source markets to South Africa (which has a very similar reflection for Africa as a continent), let’s dig deeper into understanding what the economic impact is on the South African market as generated by the business events industry. Figure 3 shows that the economic contribution via direct income is in the region of R6 293 867 per international event with a total GDP contribution of approximately R115 billion on an annual basis (direct and indirect contribution) – these statistics are illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3

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When we look at the average spend per delegate we can now start to understand the vital role business events (and business tourism) play within the larger tourism industry as well as the national economy as there are a plethora of industries where business events contribute indirectly, but very effectively in driving the GDP created by that industry and which all lead up into the total GDP for the country.

Figure 4 shows a very interesting insight, which directly links to the event delegates’ spend while visiting South Africa. We can extrapolate the individual delegate’s value in terms of economic contribution to areas of direct contact. For example, retail spend is a very large portion of this total spend and an astonishing R50 310 average expenditure per business event delegate. The findings show that delegates spend an average of approximately 6 nights in South Africa, this means just under R9 000 per day in terms of economic contribution (excluding the international Figure 4 flight, which will add additional value if traveling on our National Carrier). We can also see from the Figure 5 what the effect from a growth and sustainability point of view is, based on the behaviour analysis of business event delegates. An interesting element to point out is the pre - and post activities, with 30% of business event delegates travelling around South Africa further as leisure tourists for an average of 3.5 days and with 60% of these travels being directly linked to leisure as their purpose.

Figure 5: Delegate behaviours Lastly, based on the research, if we now identify the industries where business events currently have the largest direct and indirect contribution, we find that medical science and natural science are areas to explore for the meetings and convention sectors. The fact is, through this industry, sharing and distribution of knowledge, as well as collaborations, South Africans attending these events gain new knowledge which generates new ideas that lead to innovation

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CHAPTER 13 and further growth in our economy. From a sustainability perspective it is vital to note that business events never only contribute to one industry, but in fact drives economic sustainability and job creation in most of the other industries within a country. The reason for this is the effect a conference or trade show (or any other business event of the like) has on furthering both investment in and growth of - that specific industry as a general outcome from the event. This is even more prevalent across the African continent as we are currently in the investment opportunity spotlight thanks to the immense growth potential locked up within Africa.

Briefly translated, this means that when we, for example, have an Energy Indaba (trade show and congress), we will not only see the direct effect of the event on the region and country but also the indirect effect in terms of further investment in the energy sector due to the outcomes of the event.

These impacts can be in terms of policy and/or infrastructure decisions, but further reaching than this even, we will also see deals made by companies providing the nuts and bolts to this sector, and even further, we will see the economic impact on the associated or linked industries like logistics.

In addition to this, there will be job creation that goes with growth within each of these respective industries.

This chapter provided a very concise and simplified example to indicate the tremendous value locked up and ready to be effectively utilised within the business events industry from a future sustainability and job creation perspective.

The chapter provides us with a much better understanding of the value of business events from a sustainability perspective. Events have a direct economic impact (on a large and broad scale within Africa), including job creation, regional growth (in various industries on an economic level, infrastructure and education), and lifting more people out of impoverished environments across the continent.

As a final closing thought, it should be clear now that the business events industry as a part or sub sector of the larger tourism industry plays not only a vital role in driving sustainability within the leisure tourism space but actually has a pivotal role in being a catalyst for business, investment, job creation and economic growth and sustainability with a final role of marketing not only the continent but country as a destination (or platform) where all of the above becomes possible in a collaborative and growing environment.

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The Impact of Event Greening on Tourism

By Lisa Jade Kirkham (Merven)

An Introduction to Event Greening and It’s Link to Tourism: Tourism, and related events, leave a significant footprint on society and the environment. There is a growing trend by professionals within the industry to incorporate and implement within their events actions and strategies that demonstrate responsible and sustainable resource use, management and behaviour.

Given this, there is emerging evidence to minimizing the negative consequences on the world we operate in, whilst still hosting events which connect, inspire people and drive the economy to one that is more sustainable in nature through in this case, tourism; thus having long lasting, beneficial impacts on South Africa via this avenue.

Inspiring tourists through events that are more sustainable in nature, can also serve as a differentiator and draw card for tourists that are making more discernible choices as awareness about the impact of travel and individual behaviour upon the planet and the opportunities for socio-economic development grows.

Event greening, also referred to sustainable event management, is the process used to produce an event of any sort while incorporating the three pillars of sustainability, i.e. environmental-, social- and economic best practice. An additional area is also now being considered i.e. cultural best practice, which addresses the growing need for inclusion and diversity, in a manner which is respectful and appropriate. Event greening essentially takes into consideration the direct impact that an event is having on the environment, as well as the communities hosting the event throughout the event management process. It therefore makes use of responsible and integrated decision making in these areas from conception to implementation, to post the event. The

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CHAPTER 14 decision to host a sustainable event involves all key players and stakeholders, such as the client, venue, sub-contractors, suppliers, etc. Furthermore, event greening takes into consideration all aspects of an event, and needs to be carried out in an integrative manner, and can be employed wholly or in parts.

changes to certain aspects of an event, eventually leading up to certification of their events. Communication of this intention and the commitment to the process with ongoing communication as the journey unfolds is a powerful mechanism to build further trust with key stakeholders.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also been broadly explored in relation to sustainable events, with the outcome demonstrating that we can indeed reach these goals through “green-events”.

With the above in mind, this also allows for long-term case studies, as well as ongoing marketing surrounding such events to further facilitate the growth of tourism within South Africa. Audiences include not only the immediate event attendees – whether international and local - but also long-term stakeholders invested in the country through events. Why one should invest in sustainability and apply this into Event Management and the enhancement of the Tourism experience:

Having said this, monitoring and measurement is an essential element to event greening, and should be undertaken from event conception through to pre, during and post event. Monitoring and measurement should be carried through the project with an adequate plan and systems being in place.. This allows for improvement, as well as a holistic view on the impact of the event/s in order to make the necessary adjustments in future.

After all, we cannot monitor what we don’t measure. Some examples of such measurement could be the overall event water used or waste generated and responsibly disposed of.

Events can only ever be certified as a green or sustainable event AFTER the event has taken place, with auditing conducted by an outsourced third party. This means that in leading up to an event, it cannot be marketed as sustainable, but rather the intention of the event communicated as such. Events are certified according to the international standard, ISO 20121.

Not all clients choose certification for a first, second or third event, and often start the process slowly by making small

•

•

•

Cost Savings: Sustainability is about improving the bottom line, cutting down on unnecessary expenditure and working with what we have.

Risk Mitigation: Minimizing the risk of demand on resources such as energy and water, thus ensuring that business will maintain business continuity. Furthermore, when achieving certification as a business or event, there are certain standards which need to be upheld in order to achieve an authentic result which in turns governs to ensure best practice is implemented.

Consumer Demand: Consumers and in this case, tourists, are also becoming more aware of the impact which events and businesses have on the environment around them. A study conducted by Conde Naste in 2015

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found that as many as 58% of travelers were influenced by the sustainability credentials of the products and destinations selected. For professionals within the industry, it would be important to therefore keep up to date with the emerging trends and consumer demands surrounding sustainability and to evolve on an ongoing basis, thereby proactively enhancing the experience of the tourist.

• Employee Retention: People are by and large driven to work for a purpose. They want to be part of a bigger and purposeful picture. According to a study conducted by PI Slice in 2016, 83% of Millenials indicated that they wanted to work for sustainable companies. A focus on this aspect will retain capacity within the industry that is applying responsible behavior and sustainability in action for its impact to grow and in turn sustain the industry.

• Brand Awareness: Going green also builds the event or company brand by demonstrating that you, the client, does care; thus creating brand value and awareness. For example, a hotel chain that adopts these principles, becomes a venue of choice for tourists that want to ‘spend their dollars’ at a venue that is demonstrating that it cares for the environment and its overall footprint and impact.

• Innovation/Leadership: It allows

adopters of this approach to effectively position themselves as leaders and innovators within their industries.

• Management of Limited Natural

Resources: The efficient and effective management of natural resources which

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are limited, such as water. The benefits of this for the Industry and Tourism are clear.

According to a report released by the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB), in 2016 approximately 297 833 business events were held nationally, sustaining 252 000 jobs and generating almost R115 billion towards SA’s annual GDP. The country hosts an estimated 1 million guests each year whose primary reason for travel is business events, while an additional 2 million business visitors arrive for events and further travel in the country (mixed purpose), spending on average around fifty thousand Rands during their average stay of 7 nights.

What is often not calculated however, is the cost to the economy of the business event industry. Based on studies conducted

by SBS International over the past fifteen years, the average visitor to South Africa consumes around 75 KwH of electricity; creates 2 Kg of waste; uses 275 Litres of water and adds a further 75 Kg of CO2 into our atmosphere each day that they are in-country. If the business events sector were to implement sustainable practices in the planning and management phases of events, it is possible to reduce the impacts and costs to the country and to the current average cost of 7 million Rands per event.

In the 2017 Greenview report on the state of the convention and exhibition centre sustainability – a survey of 66 venues in 14 countries (www.greenviewportal.com), millions of Dollars are being saved by venues through the implementation of sustainability upgrades and improvements.

94% of venues surveyed currently hold sustainability certification from a range of

CHAPTER 14 labels, demonstrating growing support for third-party recognition and management systems. Efforts to improve and minimise water and energy consumption remain some of the key touch-points in this sector, with waste minimisation and recovery now becoming a ‘must have’ because of the rising costs of waste management in general. The Sustainable Corporation Index 2015 found that investing in sustainability produced the following direct benefits to companies: • • • • • •

30% reduction in energy consumption 40% reduction in water consumption 60% reduction in solid waste costs 2% increase in productivity 25% reduction in staff turnover 70% reduction in compliance violations

Clearly, the events sector plays an important role in the general tourism sector, and the impacts that it has are often the ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to discussions on the benefits of the sector to tourism. We need to consider that the growth in tourism – and its contribution to GDP and job creation, also has a downside in terms of the environmental, social and welfare components of any country, and that without real, effective, sustainable and considerate management of these impacts, tourism can become the destinations’ own worst enemy.

In conclusion, one just has to turn on the news or browse through various social media platforms to know that the way that we fundamentally operate as human beings, has to change. Both industries addressed in this chapter have the innate ability to reach a mass amount of people within relatively short lapses of time.

Within the tourism context, hosting events that do not take into consideration the impacts on the communities hosting them or the environment around them; as well as businesses operating in a manner which does not recognise the long-term effects of their practices, I believe will soon be a thing of the past. This will most likely happen through, for example, governments enforcing bylaws which govern these areas.

Rather, we as professionals proactively bring the opportunity and support to clients and international guests – ahead of any enforcements, demonstrating leadership and a responsible role in society.

Finally, people are at the centre of tourism, and people have to take the lead to change behaviour so that the planet survives; so surely promoting sustainability through tourist focused events just makes sense on an environmental, social and economic level?

It most certainly does to me.

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The role and importance of water quality management at wildlife lodge across Southern Africa

Introduction Mismanagement and water pollution are two of the main challenges that developing countries face due to lack of infrastructure, expertise and funding. In the developing world, tourism is a major source of income and many local communities depend on tourism for their livelihoods. The tourism industry across the world requires water for basic human consumption, irrigation of gardens and golf courses, preparation of food and drinks, making snow for winter sports and general water activities such as swimming or motorised water sports (Gรถssling et al., 2012).

By Hannes Grobler and Kevin Mearns

Many tourism lodges in Southern Africa are in remote areas where little to no infrastructure exists. These lodges are dependent on natural water sources such as rivers, dams and boreholes to supply their water demands.

Another significant aspect of the lodges is that staff has to reside on the property due to the lack of nearby housing, roads and public transport. One of the challenges for the lodges is that residing staff has to use the water for domestic purposes and therefor managers have to ensure that the water quality is of such standard that it does not pose health risks for staff or guests. Water quality management in the wildlife lodge industry is a very important aspect of the industry that needs careful management.

Water quality management in the wildlife lodge industry involves all the processes and procedures from the abstraction point to discharging back into the environment. This includes purification systems, water recycling, sewage treatment and finally discharge back into the environment. A challenge that the lodges face is access to laboratories to conduct frequent water quality analysis.

This, together with other logistical challenges in relation to water quality analysis, raises the

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CHAPTER 15 cost of water testing and also consumes human resources to do so (W. Ozorio, Personal communication, February 12, 2017). Since the lodges source their water from natural sources, water has to be treated before it can be utilised by staff or guests. Due to the logistical challenges, a major concern is that water is discharged into the environment without knowing the quality and the effect the water might have on the environment.

Literature study The tourism industry depends on good quality drinking water to meet tourist expectations and especially where staff live on the premises. Tourism can impact negatively on water quality if discharge is not managed properly. Wastewater and sewage discharge may contain nutrients and other pollutants such as chlorinated pool water or chemicals used to dissolve fats and oils during cleaning in kitchens and elsewhere (Kuss et al., 1990). Water quality testing and analysis are usually done by external experts or laboratories, since the equipment is rather expensive and the lack of scientific knowledge of staff. Grobler and Mearns (2017) stated that water quality results can be used as management tool if used properly. The authors stated that water quality analysis should be done at the following locations for the following reasons: •

•

The source: It is important to know the quality of the source as this will determine the processes required to purify the water to drinking quality.

After treatment: The water quality

results will indicate whether the treatment was sufficient and if the water is fit for human consumption.

Over time these results can indicate

maintenance requirements such as changing of membranes, filters or other issues should water quality decrease.

• Wastewater after treatment before discharge: This will indicate whether the wastewater and sewage treatment processes were successful and indicate the impact the discharge can have on eco-systems or water quality should it be discharged into a watercourse.

• Water quality is mostly measured against standards or statutory regulations. In South Africa the SANS 241: 2015 Drinking Water Quality Standard (SABS, 2015) is used as a benchmark to determine the quality of drinking water. In Botswana water quality is measured against the Botswana Bureau of Standards BOS 93:2004 (Walmsley & Patel, 2011) and wastewater against the BOS 32:2009 Guidelines and Standards.

These standards exist to guide employers to ensure water quality is managed to a drinkable and safe dischargeable standard.

Discussion Grobler and Mearns (2019) stated that 88% of the lodges in South Africa do engage in water quality analysis of their tap water, however, only 25% of those lodges tested more than 26% of the relevant standard of their drinking water. There is thus no certainty that water at these lodges is safe for human consumption. The same applies for Namibia and Botswana. In Namibia there were no microbiological testing taking place and in Botswana only 28% of the required parameters were tested. Although many lodges supply their guests with bottled

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water, there is concern about water supplied to the staff. In South Africa, staff residing on the premises trigger section 8 of the National Occupation Health and Safety Act, which states: “Every employer shall provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of his employees”. It is therefore highly recommended that the lodges in all three countries engage in more conclusive and more frequent water quality testing to ensure the safety of their staff as well as guests.

In Namibia and Botswana no testing of effluent that is discharged back into the environment was done. Wastewater with a high nutrient content can cause eutrophication (Gössling et al., 2015). This can result in algae blooms, including blue-green algae which is toxic to animals and can result in death. Wastewater with a high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) will reduce the dissolved oxygen in water courses, reducing precious oxygen available for aquatic animals to survive. A rapid decrease in oxygen levels in freshwater eco-systems could lead to a massive loss in biodiversity. Polluting watercourses could affect the health and well-being of local communities downstream and could lead to conflict, increased diseases, fatalities and even law suits against lodges.

Conclusion Grobler and Mearns (2019) identified that the current water quality analyses done at lodges across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana are insufficient to ensure the safe use of staff and guests as well the high probability of watercourse pollution due to the absence of testing wastewater discharge. The consequences could be disastrous to human health, both

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on and off the property, environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity as well as business operations due to a negative reputation. Organisations are also opening themselves up to legal action from employees or local communities should health issues occur that are waterrelated due to the fact that legislation places the onus of the staff’s health onto the employer. Proper water quality reports could assist employers in the event of civil action. Managing water quality is not only guided by legislation but employers have a moral obligation to ensure the health and safety of their guests as well as their staff.

References Botswana Bureau of Standards. (2004). BOS 93:2004 Waste Water Limits. BBOS. Gabarone.

Botswana Bureau of Standards. (2009). BOS 32:2009 Drinking Water Standard. BBOS. Gabarone.

Gössling, S., Peeters, P., Hall, C.M., Ceron, J.P., Dubois, G.,/ Lehmann, L.V. and Scot, D. (2012).

Tourism and Water use: Supply, Demand and Security. An International Review. Tourism Management. 33, 1 – 15.

Gössling, S., Hall, C.M. and Scott, D. (2015). Tourism and Water. Channel View Publications. Ontario.

Grobler, J.J. & Mearns, K.F (2017).Applying water quality as a management tool for the wildlife lodge industry in South Africa and Botswana. In R. Hay (ed.) Conference Proceedings of BEST EN Think Tank XVII: Innovation and Progress in Sustainable Tourism. Townsville, Australia: James Cook University, 18-29.

Grobler, J.J. & Mearns, K.F (2019). Water quality management in the wildlife lodge industry in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Athens Journal for Tourism. 6(1); 57-76.

Kuss, F.R., Graefe, A.R. and Vaske, J.J. (1990).

Visitor Impact Management. A review of research, (Vol 1). National Parks and Conservation Association. Washington, DC. South African Bureau of Standards. (2015). South African National Standard (241) for drinking water. SABS. Pretoria.

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Travel extraordinary

A better model for measuring welfare in wild animal sanctuaries

By Greg Vogt and Martin Hatchuel

Introduction Animal care in tourism in South Africa is in a mess, and the industry is trying to do what it can to counteract the effects of the Mavericks and the pseudo-experts, and even the animal rights agendas that often compromise the very wildlife they’re designed to protect. But is the tourism industry’s current, country-wide campaign to create an ‘ethical framework for animal interactions’ going to untie the Gordian knot? In this article, we argue that the results would be impossible to enforce and we offer a solution that would have the legal muscle to ensure compliance and, most importantly, that would put the animals’ needs, rather than the tourism industry’s, first. And in the process., greatly improve the industry’s ability to deliver on South Africa’s brand promise.

We have all seen the horrifying headlines the animals that are cowed into submission to render them tame enough to interact with tourists, the cuddly cubs that are destined for the canned hunting industry - and we have decided to do something about it.

In November 2018, the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) announced1 that, ‘“The development of a definition, ethical framework and selfregulation ‘by the tourism industry, for the tourism industry’ around the contentious issue of Animal Interaction has finally been given the green light...”

But is it really going to achieve anything? Is it the right way to go? We think not. It is like asking the authorities who treat addiction to write road laws to prevent deaths from drunk driving.

1 “Now the real work starts” - SATSA animal interaction initiative kicks off: http://www.satsa.com/now-the-real-work-startssatsaanimal-interaction-initiative-kicks-off/

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CHAPTER 16 No matter how much ‘stakeholder engagement’ takes place (why can’t we just be honest and call it ‘discussion’?) the most obvious weakness inherent in any ‘best practice guidelines’ written by organisations like SATSA or their consultants - or, indeed, by supply-side organisations like the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) or the Dutch Association of Travel Agents (ANVR) - is that they cannot be regulated. At best, they are wish lists. At worst - greenwashing.

Too, the danger in the current process comes from the fact that guidelines for best practice written by the tourism industry will always uphold the tourism agenda: they are going to be written to make people happy, regardless of whether they fail the animals. From the tourism point of view, the practical manifestation of this is that visitors who believe they are choosing ethically and have no idea of the consequences of what they are doing. For the animals, it is a lot worse. Remember those lion cubs?

Legal Framework The legal framework that should govern the debate is complicated. Generally, animal care falls within the purview of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), while wildlife management, TOPS regulations (Threatened or Protected Species regulations) and NEMBA - the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act - fall under the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). Both of these organisations are empowered to create and publish legally binding regulations, norms and standards.

Given this framework, the correct - best

practice, most effective - route would be to to develop a professional body that would in turn develop legally enforceable accreditation criteria that would govern the treatment of animals in care. This would overcome the challenges around the questions of who regulates, how they regulate, and who has the skills to regulate.

According to SAQA2, “The recognition of professional bodies [as they’re defined in the National Qualifications Framework Act] will contribute to strengthening social responsiveness and accountability within professions and promoting pride in association for all professions.” Such a body must seek to develop competency by defining modules of study and assessment processes for the different levels of accreditation - and assess and upgrade these standards every two years. The professional body must also become the vehicle for engagement with all stakeholders - which is important for inclusivity, and, amongst other things, because government departments are required by law to recognise such bodies when they are created and maintained in terms of the Act. They have no such obligation when it comes to the tourism industry’s self-defined codes of practice.

Given the widely different requirements of the various species under care (elephants, big cats, birds, reptiles), and the various forms of care (game reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, rehabilitation facilities, exhibition centres, etc.), this professional body would need to establish sections or departments representing the different areas of specialty. This means that each

2 Policy and Criteria for Recognising a Professional Body and Registering a Professional Designation for the Purposes of the National Qualifications Framework Act, Act 67 of 2008 (as amended, March 2018) http://www.saqa.org.za/docs/pol/2018/28Mar18_AMENDED%20professional%20bodies%20policy.pdf

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area of specialty would develop its own, enforceable norms and standards, and its own training modules.

Standards The problem that underlies the question of what’s best for wildlife in captivity is that we often don’t know what we don’t know - and we need to have the humility to understand that we don’t know it. We need to guard against arrogance regarding our knowledge because, as Quassim Cassam, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick points out in his book, Vices of The Mind3, intellectual arrogance is an epistemic vice that obstructs knowledge. This can have far-reaching, even deadly implications: Prof.

Cassam makes the case that the reason for the ongoing crisis in Iraq is the fact that senior members of President George Bush’s administration refused to acknowledge the gaps in their knowledge before they ordered the invasion. They could not contain the problem that would arise, because they refused to see the problem - and as a result, more than 460,000 people have died.

However, using the processes inherent in ethical reasoning - which are designed to ensure objectivity, and to deliver scientifically sound outcomes not influenced by individuals or groups with specific agendas - it is possible to establish the correct norms and standards for animal welfare and care. This kind of work has already begun in South Africa: collaboration agreements have been signed between the National Research

Foundation4 and the Department Bio-ethics at Italy’s University of Padova (the only bio-ethics department in the European Union), and between Padova and the faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. Additionally, DAFF commissioned a scientific assessment of elephant welfare in 2013, which was to have served as a first step to the study of other wild and domesticated animals.

(Full disclosure: through Conservation Guardians, which he founded, Greg Vogt, a co-author of this article, has worked with Padova’s head of department, Professor Barbara de Mori5, since 2013.)

The process involves: • Defining the purpose for keeping

animals in captivity; • Designing a simple model for assessing places that keep wild animals in captivity; • Defining each place’s conservation integrity; • Scientifically assessing the level of animal care in each place; • Sharing the outcomes with owners and managers, with suggestions for improvements where necessary; and • Training the people who work directly with animals.

Coherent Conservation Message Besides settling the practical and ethical questions around assessing animal care facilities, the norms and standards developed by a professional body would serve to help the DEA to clearly define the

3https://iai.tv/articles/vices-of-the-mind-auid-1220 4 https://www.nrf.ac.za/ 5 Prof Barbara de Mori, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova. PHD in Ethics . Adjunct Professor in the scientific field of Bioethics. Teaches Veterinary Ethics, Wildlife and Conservation Ethics, and Animal Welfare Ethics. https://en.didattica.unipd.it/off/docente/5F2678379CED400546FC5A815E007A0D

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country’s conservation purpose - which would feed into its brand promise.

Since enormous numbers of people visit interactive wildlife places, a key purpose should be to share the country’s conservation strategies and positions: our position on the ivory and rhino horn trades, on sustainability, on biodiversity, and so on - all of which should be defined by the DEA, and taught in modules for guides working in these facilities.

And those facilities should be measured on the standard of their conservation messages, too, of course.

Scoring for Conservation, Scoring for Tourism The establishment of a professional body for the animal welfare sector of the tourism industry would fulfill SATSA’s laudable quest to do the right thing by the creatures

in our care. It would also provide an avenue for engaging with government, and establish scientific methods for assessing welfare standards - and thereby for accrediting welfare facilities based on each facility’s conservation score.

This would also help SA Tourism - which has always grappled with how to connect with conservation - in its work of communicating the country’s conservation messages. And, of course, any reduction of the disconnect between conservation and our marketing campaigns will always have a positive outcome.

In short: scientific assessment of animal facilities undertaken by a registered professional body would deliver a measureable, governable, enforceable level of objectivity that “self-regulation ‘by the tourism industry, for the tourism industry’” can never achieve.

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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

COMPANY

PAGE

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

IFC

Lion & Safari Park

2-3

Mega Coach

4-5

Divava Okavango Lodge and Spa Hermanus Whale Cruises Bagatelle Diamond Works Moholoholo

7; 15 13 16-17 19 24-25

Malachite Manor

29

Tau Game Lodge

35

Inverdoorn Game Reserve

39

Aquila Private Game Reserve

41

Intercape Ferreira Main Liners

43

Tree Tags

47

Tsitsikamma Falls Adventure

57

Vive la Vie Franschoek

65

Hostexx

73

Norval Foundation

79

SA Airlink Stpp (Sustainabe Tourism Partnership Programme 96

91; IBC OBC

Travel extraordinary Nosy Be Pemba

Ndola Lusaka Victoria Falls Kasane St Helena

Walvis Bay

Windhoek

Maun

Livingstone

Harare

Tete

Bulawayo

Gaborone

Antananarivo

Beira

Phalaborwa

Polokwane

Skukuza Nelspruit

JNB Sishen Kimberley Upington Bloemfontein

Nampula

Vilanculos Hoedspruit

Sikhupe Maseru

Richards Bay Pietermaritzburg Durban

Mthatha

Cape Town George Port Elizabeth

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Fly Airlink

46490

East London

Tourism Sustainability Tourism Sustainability through through

simplification | facilitation | collaboration | partnership simplification | facilitation | collaboration | partnership

Programmes include: Programmes include

Tourism Sustainability through

» General awareness workshops » General awareness worksh

simplification | facilitation | collaboration | partnership

» Resource efficiency programme » Resource efficiency progra

Programmes include:

» Staff» green training Staff green training

» General awareness workshops

» Basic» compliance Basic compliance

» Resource efficiency programme

» Community engagement

» training Community engagement » Staff green » Basic compliance » Project mobilisation » Project mobilisation » Community engagement

» Stakeholder involvement » Stakeholder involvement

» Project mobilisation

Data collection & research » Data» collection & research

» Stakeholder involvement

» Fit-for purpose solutions

» Fit-for purpose solutions » Data collection & research » Fit-for purpose solutions

Contact: Contact:

Contact:Niki Glen Niki Glen

niki@stpp.co.za Niki Glen niki@stpp.co.za niki@stpp.co.za

Caroline Ungersbock

Caroline Ungersbock Caroline Ungersbock caroline@stpp.co.za caroline@stpp.co.za caroline@stpp.co.za www.stpp.co.za www.stpp.co.za

www.stpp.co.za

ACT RESPONSIBLY, GROW SUSTAINABLY RESPONSIBLY, GROW SUSTAINABLY ACTACT RESPONSIBLY, GROW SUSTAINABLY