heidi keyser

Heidi van der WattInternational Centre for Responsible Tourism – South Africa

No easy road: South Africa's Responsible Tourism Journey

6 th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations

Sao Paulo, Brazil, 18 – 20 June 2012

South Africa is known for breathtaking scenic beauty and globally important biodiversity hot-spots,

world-class- tourism infrastructure and successful events....

a melding of cultures, successful political transition and maturing democracy.

But we are still challenged by high levels of poverty and deprivation, economic inequalities, and ..

backlogs in services such as water, electricity and transport.

To be a great place to visit, South Africa must first be a great place to live

Our journey began in 1996, and took a leap forward in 2002.

FEDHASA launched the Imvelo Awards,

In 2002, SA hosted the 1st International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, leading to the “Cape Town Declaration”

and the 1st certification programmes started up.

BEFORE AFTER

Tourism is bringing positive change to people’s lives...

and protecting our natural environment.

Responsible Tourism is seen as a priority by all spheres of government, by politicians and officials.

Major players in the sector are promoting their green and social responsibility,

and some have received global recognition for their social, economic and environmental actions.

We developed a National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (NMSRT) to harmonise certification criteria, and associated accreditation system for certification bodies

The NMSRT is aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, but reflects South Africa’s context and priorities in four categories.

Sustainable management & operations

Environmental responsibility

Economic responsibility

Socio-cultural responsibility

Accreditation of certification

agencies commenced

May 2012

Draft Tourism Bill (2011)

National Tourism Sector Strategy (2011)

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1. To grow the tourism sector’s absolute contribution to the economy2. To provide excellent people development and decent work within the tourism

sector3. To contribute to the regional tourism economy4. To deliver a world-class visitor experience5. To entrench a tourism culture amongst South Africans6. To position South Africa as a globally recognised tourism destination brand7. To achieve transformation within the tourism sector8. To address the issue of geographic, seasonal and rural spread9. To promote ‘responsible tourism’ practices within the sector10. To unlock tourism economic development at a local government level

We’ve drafted a national Responsible Tourism Strategy, to help drive wide-spread implementation.

Insert front page of NTSS

RT becomes the norm in the destination

Adoption and implementation of Responsible Tourism

However, our journey is just beginning as for many it is still “business as usual”.

Responsible Tourism should be central to how we do business.

Our challenge

The journey to date

2009 RT Policy & Action Plan

2 years in the making7 priority areas for action & reporting3 indicators selected by each business

Signing of Responsible Tourism Charter October 2009

2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards: Best Destination – Cape Town

Responsible Tourism Action

TeamLaunch Concept

www.responsiblecapetown.co.za

Destination RT image library

60+ images

Cape Town Taking Responsibility for Tourism - DVD

Responsible Tourism Action

TeamLaunch Concept

RT Booklet

Cape Town’s RT How-to Guide• A practical, How-To

Guide for the local tourism industry

• Focused on local issues and solutions

• Segment specific

• In-depth case studies with sound data

• Implementation of responsible tourism management

• Marketing a responsible product or experience

ResponsibleCapeTown.co.za/How-to-

Guide

Sharing Cape Town’s experience

RT in Cities Conference:

The RT Pilot

Launch Sept 2011

Gathering performance data against priority indicators

Identifying barriers

Developing solutions

Constructing destination RT barometer for aggregated reporting

What have we learnt along

the way?

LESSONS

[various frame designs tested before final

selection ]

[different skills of various

artists]

[different material qualities of beads and wire]

Harnessing collective

energy creates amazing results

Recognise and work with

stakeholder capacity

Results are not immediately

obvious

Some stakeholders

may need ‘nudging’ along

Vision has to be backed by unwavering commitment

[individual beading designs]Different

stakeholders will have different

solutions

[continuous design innovation]Responsible Tourism is

a process of continuous improvement[collective caring]

RT in Cities201?

OBRIGADOTHANK YOU

DANKIEENKOSI

PHOTOS: Heidi van der Watt, Bruce Sutherland, Coco van Oppens, Grootbos, World Travel Market, Club Travel, Tourism Community Development Trust

Heidi van der Watt

heidi.keyser@mweb.co.za

+2783 2632269

Destination Cape Town