Tourism Chapter 3.2 - Effectiveness of Stakeholders in Influencing Sustainable Tourism Development
How do stakeholders influence sustainable tourism development?
To ensure sustainable tourism development, stakeholders such as governments, international organisations, businesses, local communities and tourists need to work together
All parties must have a common understanding of what sustainable tourism is and how it can be measured
All stakeholders should have a say and a consensus should be reached on how tourism should be developed
Effectiveness of _ in influencing sustainable tourism development - Part 1
Governments
What they should do:
Limitations
Establishment of policies and creation of plans
Governments can set up policies or plans that stakeholders must adhere to
These policies can ensure minimal damage to the environment while also maximising benefits to locals, such as channeling tourism revenue to set up and expand national parks and provide social services to locals
Example: In Sentosa, Singapore, the authorities bring together different stakeholders to develop a series of plans that enable the island to become more sustainable. These plans include:
Conserving Singapore's heritage
Protecting the island's diversity
Achieving carbon-neutral status by 2030
Enforcing regulations
Governments play a key role in enforcing regulations to ensure sustainable tourism development
These include enforcing regulations on the types of tourism activity and the number of tourists who can enter
Enforcing regulations is critical to ensuring that the policies and plans are adhered to
Example: In Bhutan, tourists can only enter the country by organising their trip with licensed tour operators. They are tasked with ensuring tourists adhere to regulations to minimise the negative impacts of tourism, such as ensuring tourists only trek on designated trails
Poor enforcements
In order for regulations to be effective, active enforcement is required
Governments which lack resources or have political instability, or face corruption, may not be able to ensure that the regulations are adhered to
This can lead to sustainable tourism development being hindered
The decision to prioritise economic development
Some governments prioritise economic development, neglecting the environmental and social dimensions of sustainability, hindering sustainable tourism development
Example: Every year, Mount Everest receives hundreds of tourists who wish to scale up the mountain, but poor enforcement of waste disposal leads tot he mountain becoming increasingly polluted. This is due to tighter regulations not being enforced by the Nepali authorities. If the Nepali authorities had enforced tighter regulations, the flow of tourists may be reduced, affecting the revenue generated
International Organisations
International organisations consist of governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations
They often have the knowledge, financial and technical expertise to provide assistance, and can influence sustainable tourism development by:
Offering consultancy to countries on how sustainable tourism development can be achieved
Providing financial assistance to different stakeholders
Raising public awareness on how they can contribute to sustainable tourism development
Limitations
Example: UNESCO has introduced the People Protecting Places programme, which provides information for travellers on how to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites as tourists. Wadi Al-Hitan, Egypt, saw large tourist arrivals which threatened the safety of highly delicate fossil remains. With the help of UNESCO, visitors were informed to stay on footpaths while walking to key sites. This helped to preserve the integrity and natural beauty of Wadi Al-Hitan
Lack of understanding of local contexts
International organisations may comprise of members from various countries and backgrounds
They may have different perspectives regarding an issue and may not understand the local contexts of the places they work with
Locals may not support their decisions and actions, which can hinder sustainable tourism development
Lack of funding
Many international organisations tend to be non-profit. It may be challenging when it comes to choosing projects to provide financial assistance for
Without funding, some plans may not be able to be implemented, hindering sustainable tourism development
Effectiveness of _ in influencing sustainable tourism development - Part 2
Businesses
They have an incentive to support sustainable tourism development as it can be profitable for them
They often have financial resources to influence sustainable tourism development
Businesses can influence sustainable tourism development by:
Seeking advice from other stakeholders regarding sustainable tourism development
Participating in decision-making for sustainable tourism development
Example: QuickSilver in America specialises in tours around the Great Barrier Reef, and works with the planning authorities to promote ecotourism and a research team of marine biologists to observe and monitor the ecosystem, helping the authorities manage the Great Barrier Reef
Limitations
Ultimately, business will prioritise profitability over sustainability, hindering sustainable tourism development by exploiting resources or polluting the environment
Different businesses may have a different understanding of sustainability and how to measure it, leading to them greenwashing where they market themselves as sustainable but they do not practice it
Locals
Seeking advice from other stakeholders regarding sustainable tourism
Locals may not have the knowledge and experience, which other stakeholders such as governments, businesses and international organisations have to pursue sustainable tourism