ECOT Statement - World Tourism Day 27 September

[TourismScan]

For the 2009 World Tourism Day (27 September), the Ecumenical
Coalition On Tourism has released a Statement, endorsed by some
partner organisations, reflecting on and questioning the theme chosen
by the UNWTO this year, namely 'Tourism -celebrating diversity'.

You will find our statement below and in PDF file in our TourismScan
'Files' section.

World Tourism Day also marks its 30th anniversary this year, providing
us with another opportunity to consider the evolution of the tourism
industry...

You will also find more articles and contributions on this theme in
our latest issue of Contours, available on PDF file on TourismScan or
at: off...@ecotonline.org

Your comments are welcome,
Thank you,
ECOT team


A Statement for World Tourism Day 27 September 2009

By the Ecumenical Coalition On Tourism.
Endorsed by Equations, Acció per un Turisme Responsable – ATR,
Echoway, CVESMP, Kabani, Peace for Life, Mouvement Chrétien pour la
Paix (Christian Movement for Peace)

‘Tourism - celebrating diversity’ is the theme chosen by the UN World
Tourism Organisation for the 2009 World Tourism Day. It raises many
questions despite its superficial truth. Obviously, to thrive tourism
needs diversity but the short and long term costs arising from its
commercial exploitation have to be faced seriously and honestly.

The world is indeed a diverse place when one considers its peoples,
cultures and food, flora and fauna, and the vast variety in natural
settings. Tourism is a vehicle that enables visitors to be exposed to
these riches, and on the surface, this can be seen as ‘celebrating
diversity’.

However, ECOT believes that the 2009 World Tourism Day, which this
year marks its 30th anniversary, draws attention to the more positive
(and utopian?) side of tourism, while choosing to ignore some
troubling dimensions of modern tourism. Economically, the tourism
industry has benefitted from diversity having marketed it to promote
travel and tourism products. Do host communities in tourism
destinations have reason to celebrate as well after 30 years of World
Tourism Day’s?

Globalisation or Homogenisation

Some researchers have documented how dying traditions have been staged
to entertain tourists and attract their dollars, or how sacred or
religious ceremonies are being performed, like wedding ceremonies for
instance, to please the curious in seeking 'authenticity'. Some
indigenous peoples have acknowledged that some of their
'representations' have been fake. In such situations one can wonder if
tourism is actually celebrating diversity or simply being an agent for
the commodification and folklorisation of cultures.

Tourism is supposed to widen our understanding and appreciation of
other cultures and ways of life. But nowadays the tourism experience
can be very similar whether one is travelling to India, Thailand or
Latin America. Differences in language, in people’s appearance and in
local architecture provide the illusion of a change of scene, but many
aspects have become universal: the cell phones, the branded clothing,
fast-food restaurants, the shopping malls, the ‘muzak’, and so on. The
hotels have become standardized, and some tourists demand this: to be
surrounded by known systems of reference in the comfort zone of a
hotel cocoon in a foreign place, which presumably is being visited for
a widening of one’s education!

The ‘demonstration effect’ of tourism – the yearning of host
communities, especially younger generations, for the gadgetry,
clothing and other items displayed by tourists so as to look like
them, and the efforts made to afford these items – which impacts on
the community is another factor to consider. Is such ‘diversity’ to be
celebrated?

Therefore tourism, as one of the manifestations of globalisation,
offers an interesting paradox. While globalised tourism can be seen as
contributing to the homogenisation of cultures, it offers tourists
experiences of ‘authenticity’ witnessed in tourism destinations. Some
indigenous traditions now forgotten are sometimes revived and
performed for the sake of tourists in the quest for a good
photograph.

Tourism and biodiversity

Consider again the fragile nature of sites like Machu Pichu or the
Great Barrier Reef which are now threatened through high volume
tourist traffic. It seems legitimate to wonder whether tourism really
contributes to preserving biodiversity. While climate change is
already taking its toll on the most touristic destinations on the
planet, the industry sells 'last visits before disappearance' packages
to those doomed places. We are advised that it is now high time to
climb on glaciers, to observe polar bears or enjoy the paradise
beaches threatened with rises in sea water levels in the next few
years. This 'before it is too late' tourism would actually appear to
precipitate such a catastrophic situation. There must certainly be a
better solution in view of climate change than sending hordes of
tourists to witness its effects.

In this regard we refer to a very recent joint press release
(04/09/09) between the UNWTO and the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), broadly described in its guidelines as 'an
international treaty to sustain the diversity of life on Earth'. The
press release announced the signing of a memorandum of cooperation by
which 'both parties will work towards maximising tourism’s positive
contribution to conserving biodiversity and enhancing the quality of
life of local people.' The press release states that 'because tourism
and biodiversity are natural allies, the sustainable planning and
management of tourism can play a critical role in the conservation of
biodiversity.' Such views seem to belong to an utopian world of
tourism, as it can also be asserted that tourism can play a critical
role in threatening ecologically fragile sites - a plethora of
examples are available to illustrate this point. Furthermore, how well
are the affected communities such as indigenous peoples represented at
high level conversations designed to find solutions and protection for
them?

Eco-tourism

So-called 'ecotourism' has also become extremely fashionable within
the tourism industry for promoting certain types of tourism. As more
and more people become aware of the need to take care of and protect
our planet, the tourism industry has seen the potential of the
'ecotourism' trend to earn more income. But the paradox once again
lies in that many 'eco' tourism spots encroach upon indigenous
peoples' territories and impinge on their rights.

These projects appear to be 'eco' on paper and on their Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) reports, but examples of abuse have been
documented: how can a resort boast its respect for the environment and
provide 'ecotourism' activities when its very construction has often
implied displacement of local communities who have owned the land for
generations and used its resources in a much less harmful way than the
tourism industry?

Community-based tourism (CBT)

The counter to mass tourism is provided by community-based tourism,
where local communities manage the projects, keep them on a small
scale and share the profits on an equitable basis. While we should be
wary of CBT too being subsumed in the jargon of tourism industry
advertising, let us keep in mind that its ethos is best suited to
developing a tourism respecting and celebrating diversity.

While ‘diversity’ may provide a basis for a catchy slogan, tourism
would be best ensured as a long term, sustainable activity if all
stakeholders looked at its issues rigorously.

Caesar D’Mello
Director, Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism
on behalf of ECOT and endorsing agencies

Equations (India)
Kabani (India)
Mouvement Chrétien pour la Paix (Belgium) Peace for Life
(Philippines) Echoway
(France) CVESMP
(France)
Acció per un Turisme Responsible-ATR (Spain)