GREEN TOURISM TRENDS, SENSE OF
PLACE AND COMMUNITY
SUSTAINABILITY: GUIDELINES FOR
SUCCESS
A PRESENTATION AT THE GREEN TOURISM SUMMIT AND
MAZINGIRA AWARDS
11 TH AND 12 TH JUNE 2015
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL
BY PROF. R. O. B. MAKOPONDO PhD
DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM STUDIES
THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OFKENYA

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 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
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 GREEN TOURISM
 SENSE OF PLACE
GUIDELINES FOR TOURISM PROVIDERS

 Definition: “Tourism that takes full account of its current & future economic, social & environmental impacts, addressing needs of visitors, Industry, environment and host communities”. (UN)
Sustainable Tourism should:
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Make optimal use of environmental resources
Respect socio-cultural authenticity of host communities

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 Ensure viable, long-term economic operation
Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders & strong political will to ensure wide participation and consensus building
Should maintain high level of tourist satisfaction

 Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary.

Environment
Balancing the use of Balancing the use of environmental resources & environmental resources & the economic benefits changes to the social/ community values of those environmental resources
Sustainable
Tourism
Economic Social
Balancing economic growth and development and the Impacts of development on community/social values

i) Economic Facet
 Tourism is considered an export industry
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It directly and indirectly impacts global economy
Tourism contributes more than 9% of global GDP and almost same % of jobs globally
Tourism has a value of 1trilion a year

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Many services linked to tourism are classified under sectors such as business, financial and recreational services
Regulatory commitment under General
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) play significant role in promoting tourism
International travel has become one of the fastest growing economic activity worldwide

ii) Environmental Facet
 Balances the use of environmental resources and economic benefits of tourism
 The local natural environment is a major attraction for many destinations.
 The local as well as tourism industry must ensure that any tourism development minimizes harm to the ecology

iii) Social Facet of sustainable development
Involves balancing economic growth and development and the impacts of development on community/social values

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Increasing use of renewable energy
Consuming less water
Minimizing waste
Using biodegradable products for guests
Conserving bio-diversity, cultural heritage and traditional values

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 Supporting intercultural understanding and tolerance
Generating local income
Integrating local communities
Enabling tourism business to make long term investment

(i) ECO-TOURISM: This is tourism with
 All nature based forms of tourism
 Contains educations and interpretation
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Is generally but not exclusively organized
Minimizes negative impacts upon the natural and socio-cultural Environment

 Supports the maintenance of natural areas through:
▪ Generating economic benefits for ho st communities, org
▪ Provide alternative employment and income opportunities for local community and increase awareness to conservation of natural and cultural assets.
(ii)Marine & Coastal Tourism
▪ M&C areas can be used for sustainable tourism and recreation

 Marine Protected Areas: these regions can develop sustainable industry i.e catering for activities like recreation fishing etc.
 (iii) Agro-Tourism
Primary appeal is towards cultural and traditionally managed landscapes. Involves growing, harvesting and processing locally grown food.

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WHAT IS GREEN TOURISM?
Green tourism is tourism that respects the environment and the local community as well as making good business sense.
 A green tourism business is as interested in a healthy profit margin as any good business, but it does this in a way that helps - or at the very least doesn’t harm – local people and the local environment.
 It is responsible .

Changing consumer patterns
 Tourists have become more conscious of the environment hence look for responsible alternative to traditional travel options
Sustainability Certifications
 Various standards of the ISO have been used in the tourism sector to improve overall quality of service e.g ISO 9000 quality mgt,
ISO 14000 environmental mgt, blue flag label etc.

 Certification informs tourists of environmental and social impact of tourism related activities
Carbon offsets
 This is a reduction in emissions of carbon
 dioxide or green house gases made in order to compensate for/or to offset an emission made elsewhere
Tourism businesses and destinations can
"offset" travelers' carbon emissions by :

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▪ calculating their travel-related emissions i.e
air travel, local transportation, accommodation, etc.
Making financial contributions to projects that address climate impact mitigation e.g. tree planting, reforestation, subsidizing renewable energy, or increasing energy efficiency).

What is the sense of place?
www.artofgeography.com/info/the-sense-of-place
 It is a combination of characteristics that makes a place special and unique.
 Sense of place involves the human experience in a landscape, the local knowledge and folklore.
 Sense of place also grows from identifying oneself in relation to a particular piece of land on the surface of planet earth .

 Anthropology
 Place attachment is the symbolic relationship formed by people giving culturally shared emotional/affective meanings to a particular space of piece of land that provides the basis for the individual’s and group’s understanding of and relation to the environment.
 Environmental psychology
 Sense of place: particular experience of a person in a particular setting (feeling stimulated, excited, joyous, expansive, and so forth)

 Spirit of place: the combination of characteristics that gives some locations a special feel or personality (such as a spirit of mystery or identity with a person or group)
 Setting: a person’s immediate surroundings, including both physical and social elements.

 Geography
 Topophilia is the affective bond between people and place or setting. Such ties vary in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression. Responses to the environment may be aesthetic, tactile, or emotional.
 Landscape architecture / history:
 a sense of place is something that we ourselves create in the course of time. It is the result of habit or custom.
 A sense of place is reinforced by what might be called a sense of recurring events.

 Tourism planners and developers, business enterprises must recognize that sense of place is about how people relate with and interpret their environment and circumstances
 Sense of place is a combination of the values and meanings communities make of their environment and its resources as well as the values, meanings, and experiences sought by visitors
 As opposed to sustainable tourism development, visitors and residents play a greater role in green tourism

 SAYING IT, WRITING IT AND DOING IT.
 TWO SIMPLE STEPS
▪ WRITE AN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY TO CLEARLY
STATE WHAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE
▪ INVOLVE YOUR STAFF AND VISITORS

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IT HELPS YOU TO STAY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU
ARE DOING AND HOW YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT.
EG. ….XYZ HOTEL IS COMMITED TO PROTECTING
THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUPPORTING THE LOCAL
COMMMUNITY.
IDENTIFY SPECIFIC WAYS TO ACHIEVE THE ABOVE
MINIMISING ENERGY USE
SENDING LESS WASTE TO LANDFILL
MINIMISING WATER USE
PURCHASING SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
SUPPORTING LOCAL COMMUNITY
ENCOURATING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

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Insulate by about 10 inches!
 Up to 35% heat is lost through the roof and windows.
Invest in low energy light bulbs.
 The upfront cost is greater, but these last up to 10 times longer and use a third of the energy.
Install a water efficient showerhead.
 This could save you substantially on water heating.
Switch devices off at the wall instead of leaving them on standby.

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MINIMISE WASTAGE
 Conduct waste audit to better understand where your waste is coming from and how to reduce it.
Rethink your portion size.
 If 40% of wasted food is carbohydrates, are you serving too much?
Offer “doggy bags” to customers.
Keep your fridge at 5 degrees or cooler to maximize food lifetimes.
Compost your kitchen waste and create clearly labelled recycling stations at prominent locations.

 PURCHASE AND/OR UTILISE LOCAL RESOURCES
 Purchasing from external sources causes leakage of money out of the local community
 Local food stuffs and materials support local families and build strong vibrant communities
 Serve up local, seasonal produce
 Use local farmers markets and farm shops
 Actively support other local businesses and initiatives
 Provide guests opportunities to sample local stuff with information on where they can buy more
 Use local art and crafts

 Use of bicycles.
 Encourage your customers to leave the car at home by offering pickups, discounts for those who arrive without the car and providing up to date public transport information.
 Encourage walking and hiking.

 Know your local area.
 Take time out to enjoy your own area so that you can give your customers first hand knowledge.
 Support wildlife by installing nesting boxes, bird baths.
 Get involved in (or organise) a cleanup effort in your local area.
 Sponsor a local environmental charity or make
 a visitor payback scheme available.
Display the ‘Leave No Trace’ principles to encourage your customers to respect local wildlife.

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Install a cistern displacement device - such as a
HIPPO bag.
Reduce water usage by up to 70% by fitting aerators on taps and showerheads.
Check regularly for leaks from pipes (especially in cold weather) and monitor meter readings and bills regularly to identify unusual patterns.
Communicate the importance of water efficiency to your employees and customers.
Where possible, use water butts to harvest rain water.

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The way you spend your money demonstrates your commitment to the environment
Evaluate the ethical and environmental credentials of suppliers and service providers
 Wherever possible, source local services and products.
 Cut down on packaging – avoid small plastic packages and containers.
Choose environmentally friendly paper
Choose ethical and organic products.
Choose natural cleaning products that are free from toxic chemicals.

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Plan your building to maximise on solar insolation/ harvesting.
During the design phase, prioritize good insulation and ventilation.
Make use of rain water by installing a rainwater catchment system.
Include solar water heaters, photovoltaic panels and geothermal features or design in a way that allows for future installation of renewable energy features.
Install windmills where appropriate
Consider incorporating solar-tube lighting to allow natural light into interior rooms.

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Membership of a sustainable tourism certification programme such as ‘Green Tourism’ makes it easy for your customers to know that you are committed to the environment.
It also provides a supported approach to going green from the beginning.
‘Green Tourism’ is one of the world’s most highly rated green certification schemes.
A green award can also help you to tap into of a growing market of consumers who are seeking out businesses which are environmentally and socially aware.

 Green Economy and Trade, UN., 2013
 UNWTO(2013a), International tourism to continue robust growth in 2013, PR No.; 13006. world Tourism
Organization
 UNCTAD. (2010).The contribution of tourism to trade and development. Trade and Development Board, second session, Geneva.
 Cross, J. E. (2001)L: What is Sense of Place? 12 th
Headwaters Conference, Western State College, USA