Transcript Slide 1

Integrating Business Skills
into
Ecotourism Operations
by
Shane K Beary
CEO – Track of the Tiger T.R.D.
Tourism Resources Development
Founder & Consultant – VWB
Volunteers Without Borders
Business perspective on
sustainability issues and concepts
SUSTAINABILITY - is the end goal.
Tourism is simply one of a number of revenue generating
options that can be used to achieve sustainability in
conservation or development efforts. However, ecotourism
is viable in very few cases, and then more often only as a
2nd revenue stream. The multiplier effect is important.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC sustainability –
which is more important?
In my own experience in S.E. Asia, where my efforts have
focused on using responsible tourism to protect forests,
watersheds and farmland – ensuring that the local people
enjoy significant economic benefits from supporting the
projects is the single most important factor in ensuring
sustainability.
SOCIAL sustainability – at the local level the next most
important. Where local people are able to feed clothe and
educate their families, they become socially responsible, are
proud of themselves, regain their dignity and take new pride
in their customs and culture.
ENVIRONMENTAL sustainability - the international
ecotourism client helps fund efforts towards sustainability at
a local level, but the domestic ecotourist has a far more
powerful role to play in raising awareness. You must attract
both if you can.
Prof. Harold Goodwin of the ICRC states that some 97% of
Government or NGO driven ecotourism initiatives established
in the past 25 years have failed.
The key to achieving sustainability
From a business point of view, investors (and more
frequently donors) want to be assured of a viable
return on their investment.
• You cannot count saving the forest as a benefit – if your
business plan cannot explain or defend how (realistically)
you can achieve that goal.
• In every NGO proposal I have ever read for the
development of individual ecotourism based attractions
the set up cost was far too high, and the revenue
projections unrealistic.
• There are too many ecotourism attractions that see
tourism revenue as a potential solution – and not
enough tourists to provide that revenue.
The key to success lies in:
• Looking at different models – consider PPPs (PrivatePublic-Partnerships) sharing skills, costs and benefits.
• Centralising cost & revenue centres– consider which of the
PPP functions could be centralized to the ‘groups’
advantage in terms of cost saving AND revenue generation.
• Collaborating – Too many NGOs do not share their
knowledge and resources – to the detriment of the
environmental assets they are established to protect. In this
age of austerity collaboration is key. Money saved can be
used to do more, and do better in achieving sustainability.
As things stand - we are losing the battle.
Examples of PPS at work in
Conservation/Tourism
VWB Model
Pang Soong Nature Trails
Photo-gallery
VWB Model
Images.
• Volunteering – outdoor education – environmental education –
abseiling – trekking and more……
Bamboo Curing Centre
Products from Bamboo
The Sanpatong (Farm) Homestay
Proposed solution for Conservation
Based NGO’s
& Private Sector Tourism Partners
Sustainability Centre Model
What are the key elements required for designing
sustainable tourism products?
• Good products with strong and ideally broad
market appeal. (international & domestic
clients/different interest groups.)
• Competitively and transparently priced – not high
or low but good perceived value for money.
• When using volunteers and their funding to
develop projects – make sure you differentiate
between their costs for meals, transport,
accommodation etc.
What are the key elements required for designing
sustainable tourism products? (contd./-)
• Both Ecotourists and volunteers role must add
genuine value to the project – and must learn
from the experience.
• Good 2nd revenue stream (tourism is far too
susceptible to outside influences)
• Good marketing is essential – but put product
before promotion.
• Make best use of social media.
Implementing sustainability
• How sustainability is implemented in our business?
Our business model is developed around our sustainability
plan and both are performance based.
• What are your standards?
Guided by several different published standards – GSTC
amongst them – we comply with those we find relevant to
our situation.
• What concrete actions do you take to implement
sustainability?
We subscribe to the flexible (step by step) self funding ,
selectively introduced ‘best practices compliance system’
proposed by the RTA – The Responsible Tourism Alliance.
(Contd./-)
• Minimise on use of electricity by (a) policy (b) design.
• Grow local - eat local – build local.
• No disposable water bottles allowed - drinking water
filtered on site is provided free of charge.
• Use natural materials in picnic boxes (limit plastics)
• Reduce, reuse, recycle, redesign, rethink.
• Make the sustainable option the more attractive one.
Thoughts on engaging staff in our sustainability efforts.
• The key to ensuring you have good staff lies in
your designing a good tourism product and
employing staff who are passionate about it.
• Have a formal sustainability plan with defined
aims and objectives.
• Introduce a reward (bonus system) for reaching
goals.
• Reward staff for introducing new ideas that
improve sustainability .
Thoughts on engaging suppliers in our sustainability
efforts.
• Instead of just promoting your own use of
sustainable products and services in you
literature, add the name and contact detail of
your providers where possible. Promoting them
costs you nothing – and gets them greater
exposure for free.
• Provide them with references they may use freely
in the promotion of their products and services.
This should include stats on what using their
products or services have probably saved you.
• Collaborate on joint promotions with them where
possible.
Introduction to sustainable tourism certification
• I personally believe that diversity of the tourism
product, the different priorities from one business to
another, and between different regions and countries,
makes standardized certification too complicated to
have real value.
• All the paid for certification systems that I have
reviewed appear well beyond the budgets of most
tourism SMEs – who in fact make up some 90% of the
industry membership. (contd./-)
Introduction to sustainable tourism certification
• Given the benefits (economic, social, environmental)
that responsible (sustaimnable) tourism has the
potential to deliver for ANY economy, it is hard to
understand why effective best practice compliance and
monitoring systems are not offered free or heavily
susidised by governments.
• I subscribe to the simple logic that because ‘going
green’ actually SAVES the tour industry provider
business operator money – it should in fact cost the
customer LESS and not MORE.
Key things to take away
• Multiplier effect – All efforts must have a multiplier effect.
• Collaboration – Share costs and benefits to achieve more
with less.
• Ecotourism – Domestic & international markets.
• Diversify – Within the ‘ecotourism market segment’
• Importance of 2nd Revenue Streams –
bamboo/charcoal/carbon sequestration/value added at
source.
• Benefit sharing – Equitable share for the stakeholders.
• Competitiveness – The coming drive for it in the west will
erode donor funding.
Thank you.
Shane K Beary
[email protected]