The New Concept of Ecotourism - Assignment Example

EVALUATION OF TOURISM ECO-LABELLING SCHEMES Introduction: From the 1990s, transforming the world’s largest industry of travel and tourism, is the revolutionary new concept of ecotourism. This may well be the most profound intellectual innovation to ever have occurred within tourism. Ecotourism is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people” by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), 1991. (Honey, 2002, p.1). Ecotourism is a multi-faceted concept that involves travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas. It is low-impact tourism, usually small scale, that helps to educate the traveller. Ecotourism fosters respect for different cultures and human rights, directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of the local communities and provides funds for conservation. (p.2). I. What is a tourism eco-labelling scheme? What does a tourism eco-labelling scheme try to achieve? An ecolabel: is a certification for meeting certain standards and criteria regarding quality and performance of an ecotourism operation. It is primarily a tool in consumer choice. Buckley; Font, 2001, (pp.19-20) are of the opinion that, in order to be meaningful to a consumer, an ecolabel must be part of an ecolabel scheme, administered by a reputable organization. Like any form of quality label, an ecolabel must have defined and transparent criteria for use, and effective means to prevent abuse. This can be achieved through national and international standards organizations, with the potential to prosecute for misuse under fair-trading legislation. Or it can be achieved through certification or accreditation schemes, either public or private, with expulsion and negative publicity as a deterrent for misuse. Thus, a tourism ecolabelling scheme is a certification or accreditation scheme for ecotourism. It is used to promote implementation of standards and objectives, and to enable customers to identify those ecotourism operations that comply with applicable standards of quality and sustainability. There are two main categories of ecolabels, according to Buckley and Font, 2001 (p.20): 1.Environmental quality labels for tourism destinations and 2.Environmental performance labels for tourism providers. Only one or two labels cover both categories.The Blue Flag label in Europe for clean beaches, and more recently for marinas is perhaps the best known example of a destination quality ecolabel. The Australian National Ecotourism Accreditation Programme (NEAP), is a well-known example of an operator performance ecolabel. The scheme operated by the German company Turistik Union International (TUI) covers both destinations and operators, as does Green Globe 21, revised from the Green Globe scheme originated by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The purpose of ecolabelling and/or certification schemes in tourism is to highlight the best practices for products and services. Diamantis; Westlake, (eds.Buckley; Font), 2001, p.27 are of the opinion that such schemes aim to ensure that both the demand and supply components of the tourism industry are conducting their practices with fewer negative impacts on the environment, on society and on the economy. Ecolabelling and certification schemes have been operationalized to ensure more sustainable management or more sustainable consumption in tourism practices. II What is typically involved in a tourism ecolabelling scheme? The four main components of an ecolabelling scheme are: 1 Global brand recognition and audit procedures, and customized local implementation. 2 Different detailed criteria for various types and scales of tourism accommodation, transport, tours and activities. 3 At least two levels of labelling: an easily available for above-average sustainability or environmental management performance, and a much more detailed, hard-to-get specialist label restricted to top performers on a range of stringent environmental criteria. 4 Transparent criteria and procedures with detailed information readily available to the public.(Buckley, Ralf 2002, p.186). The factors that are involved in a tourism ecolabelling scheme are as follows: 1) Sustainable tourism: that which respects and preferably enhances the environmental and sociocultural carrying capacity of a destination, must take into account the physical and cultural characteristics of the destinations that are being considered. E.g. insularity can significantly influence the attainment of sustainable tourism outcomes. (Griffin, et al, 2002, p.8). In a very strong scenario of ecolabelling, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology can provide the foundation of the scheme. (Buckley; Font 2001, p. 29). Griffin, et al, 2002, (p.1997) state that to make tourism more sustainable, the government can establish minimum standards of performance with regard to the generation of certain environmental impacts. Strategic environmental planning of tourism supported by laws relating to land use and environmental impact assessment are required. A range of potential problems can thus be anticipated, and protective measures established to prevent them from arising, or mitigate them to some extent. Tourism is one of the largest industries in Europe and has the potential to become a key contributor to the preservation of rural European landscapes and social structures, through the regeneration of economically depleted areas. (p.2004). 2) Technical content and consumer reactions: Buckley; Font (2001) state that geographic scope and technical detail vary greatly among different ecolabel schemes. Green Globe 21 aims to cover all forms of tourism worldwide, but the level of technical detail is currently very low. So the brand is recognizable to consumers but the information it conveys is rather minimal. Some of the smaller European ecolabels cover only a single style of accommodation in a single municipality, and though the information may be detailed, very few tourists can use it. Ecolabels with detailed and transparent criteria and an effective audit procedure will probably be preferred by environmentally knowledgable tourists. A well-known brand name irrespective of technical back-up may be the choice of tourists with a broad environmental concern but little technical knowledge. (p.21). 3) Recognition and reliability: Both consumers and consumer protection organizations want ecolabels with substantive technical criteria and transparent and effective audit and enforcement. Consumers need to feel confident that they will get value for the premium price that they pay for an ecolabelled product. On the other hand, the providers will adopt the ecolabelling scheme only if they are satisfied that it yields a market advantage that outweighs its cost. (p.22). 4) Maturity and penetration: In purchasing decisions, if consumers should take into consideration tourism ecolabels, the label needs to differentiate clearly and reliably between products with high and low environmental performance or quality. To do this a tourism ecolabelling scheme needs to not only be strong in its structure and operation viability, but it also needs maturity and penetration. That is, consumers should feel confident that every product in the sector has been considered for ecolabelling, and has been either accepted or rejected. If unlabelled products are often as good as labelled ones, consumers are unlikely to rely on the label. In fact, to give full credence to an ecolabel, consumers need to see that there are routine reevaluations of all potential products, with some being granted the label, and others losing it at each iteration. (Buckley; Font 2001, p.22). 5) Thresholds and tiers: If the label has only a single tier, this implies that the cut-off threshold for the ecolabel should neither be so high that very few products earn the label, nor so low that all products can earn it. The technical criteria for an ecolabel need to change over time, if the overall level of environmental performance in the sector evolves. Alternatively, a multi-tier ecolabel can incorporate a basic entry level, a mid-level which is the main one used by consumers, and a top level to recognize the highest performers, as in the 2000 version of the Australian National Ecotourism Accreditation Programme (NEAP II). (p.22). III What makes some tourism eco-labelling schemes more successful than others? Recognition and reliabilty are very important for successful tourism ecolabelling schemes. Thorough marketing of the tourism ecolabelling schemes also play a part. Success in the ecotourism industry is based on consumer satisfaction, and viability for the operators. Customer satisfaction depends on three facets of tourism: quality; sustainability; and health, hygiene and safety. Customer satisfaction directly correlates with repeat visits, longer stays and referrals, having direct impact on revenues and profits. (Honey, 2002, pp.73-74). All the three focus areas: 1)facilities, 2)services and 3)locations are addressed by four ecolabel schemes: Green Globe, Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System, Audubon Cooperative Signatory Programme, and PATA’s Green Leaf. Besides focusing on facilities, in particular on accommodation, followed by catering and camping, The Green Suitcase (Germany) and the National Ecotourism Accreditation Program of Australia, also certify tour operators and overall destinations, and Ecotur certifies destinations as well. Only the Green Suitcase and the NEAP consider services addressing tour operators. Nine certification schemes certify tourist activities related to location. The Seaside Award and the Blue Flag certify beaches and also marinas, and those that certify golf courses are: Committed to Green, The Scottish Golf Course Wildlife Initiative and Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System. Overall destinations like a whole village are also addressed by: Ecotur at the sub-national level, and NASC, The Green Suitcase and the NEAP at national level.(U.N. Environment Programme, 1998, pp11-12). A single, global ecolabel scheme would have significant advantages in recognizability by tourism companies, customers and host communities alike. To be effective, however, it would need to be highly customized to different countries, ecosystems and tourism activities. The global Green Globe 21, recognizes joint responsibilities to companies, consumers, host communities and to conservation. It has established three broad geographic regions, and has formed partnerships with local organizations concerned with sustainable tourism and development. Green Globe 21 has joined with Green Seal Program in the U.S.A. (Green Seal 2000), which provides information and assistance in green purchasing programmes. (Buckley, 2002, p.192). The Green Dragon scheme1 is associated with commitment to ecotourism and environmental principles. It sets quality standards for energy conservation and recycling, and promotes awareness of the intrinsic values of our environment. The Seaside Award in the United Kingdom (Tidy Britain Group 2000) has accredited 260 beaches, and also operates the U.K. component of the European Blue Flag with 41 British beaches and 26 marinas accredited in 1997. ( Journal:Buckley, 2002 p.195). British Holidays and Home Parks Association is also fully operational, with three levels of accreditation. The Austrian label for ecotourism: Bundesumweltzeichen, has been operated by a variety of different organizations, currently it is under Austrian Consumer Association, and has been awarded to around 100 companies. (p.196). IV What are your recommendations based on the above, for designing and implementing effective tourism eco-labelling schemes? For designing and implementing effective tourism eco-labelling schemes, some recommendations would be: (1) Enhancing sustainable ecotourism. Selecting an economically backward community, where maximum benefit can be offered, by means of generating employment, improving the infrastructure and enhancing the environment. (2) Technical content of the tourism ecolabelling scheme should be high, giving detailed information about all the facilities, services and locations. (3) Recognition and reliability: The scheme should be marketed widely and thoroughly, so that recognition of the product is ascertained. Reliability should be built up by providing consistent and quality performance. (4) Tiers: The ecolabelling scheme should have more than one level, so that the product can qualify from a lower level, and also strive to fulfill the standards and objectives at a higher level of accreditation. Geographical coverage of the tourism ecolabelling scheme would depend on the type of ecotourism being provided. The three main focus areas are: 1) Facilities: accommodation, catering, shops and marinas. 2) Services: tour operators, tourist agencies and transport companies. 3) Locations: include areas of recreational interest such as beaches, nature parks and golf courses. (U.N. Environment Programme, 1998, pp.11-12). Maintaining quality at reasonable charges, and implementing effective audit and enforcement would be the aim. REFERENCES Buckley, Ralf. (2002). “Tourism Ecolabels”, Journal: Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 29, No.1, pp.183-208. Buckley, Ralf; Font, Xavier. (2001), Tourism Ecolabelling: certification and promotion of sustainable management, CABI Publishing. Griffin, Tony; Williams, Peter; Harris, Rob. (2002), Sustainable Tourism: A Global Perspective, Elsevier. Hall, Colin Michael; Higham, James E.S. Tourism, Recreation and Climate Change, Channel View Publications. Hall, Derek R; Mitchell, Morag; Kirkpatrick, Irene. (2004), Rural Tourism and Sustainable Business, Channel View Publications. Honey, Martha. (2002), Ecotourism and Certification: Setting Standards in Practice, Island Press. United Nations Environment Programme Industry and Environment, (1998), Ecolabels in the Tourism Industry, UNEP/ Earthprint. Read More