stakeholder dialogues in tourism - how to achieve … · strenghts of stakeholder dialogues in...
TRANSCRIPT
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-
Nicole Häusler
Tourism Consultant &
Organizational Consultant
www.icrt-germany.org
www.mascontour.info
Stakeholder Dialogues in Tourism
- How to achieve
Fair Pro-Poor Tourism Partnerships -
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Content
1. The Need for Fair PPT Partnerships
2. Challenges of Stakeholder Dialogues
3a.Who are the Stakeholders?
b.Role of each Stakeholder
c. Overview of types of partnerships
4. Case Study in Sri Lanka
5. Recommendations
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Pro-Poor Tourism
� It has long been argued that there is a potential for tourism
to contribute more to reducing poverty, but there is still the
discussion going on:
� Who is actually a poor person?
� What are net benefits of the poor?
� How to measure the impacts of PPT?
� Should we focus in this context on the economic aspects
only?
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Pro-Poor Tourism
� Additionally little in-depth discussion and research have
been done on:
What can stakeholders themselves effectively do in order
to achieve poverty reduction through tourism?
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The Need for Fair PPT Partnerships
� The pro-poor tourism approach is complex, multi-faced,
and embraces a wide variety of stakeholders from the
public to private sector.
� To get these different stakeholders working towards
common goals and to achieve the best results in pro-poor
tourism, which means to minimize povery, collaboration is
needed.
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Who are the stakeholders?
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Who are the stakeholders?
= Communities
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Why talk?
� Collaboration between various stakeholders does allow for more
sucessfull tourism planning, management, marketing, product
development, training and eduction (search for win-wins).
� BUT: We need a greater understanding of what is happening
between tourism stakeholders.
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Challenges of Stakeholder Involvement
� The achievement of community involvement with private-
sector development has not come about easily.
� Until recently, the travel and tourism industry has been
hesitant to establish public or private partnerships,
because of the very competitive market within it operates.
Stakeholders may not be willing to work together with
previous opponents (or with unfamiliar partners); some
may be uninterested or inactive in working with others.
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Critical Aspects of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues (due to
former experiences)
� Collaboration can be found at different levels (national,
provincial or district, and village levels) > Linkage levels:
between national and lower levels still weak
� Experience in (pro-poor sustainable) tourism low:
especially in implementation and management
� Language: Limited language skills (either local or English) can
make communication difficult between stakeholders –
Southeast Asia
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Critical Aspects of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues
� Power relations dominate
� Lack of motivation, resources, and trust
� Too many different actors involved or only a limited number of
stakeholders
� Costly and time consuming
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Underestimated Aspect of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues
� Internal organisational culture of Stakeholder: lack of
organisational structure, operational procedures >
Traditionally, participatory approaches have focused
primarily on the communication process between
stakeholders and less on the institutional or organisational
culture (organisational culture encompasses the shared rituals,
routines, organizational structure, symbols, languages, stories
and myths, role of leadership, power, and control mechanisms of
a group).
> Do these different ‘organisational cultures’ fit together?
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Strenghts of Stakeholder Dialogues in Tourism
� Achievements: profile raised, implementation of activities,
reputation
� Contact/Involvement with private sector/government
� New Partnerships: creation of linkages, new relations
� Access: to resources and influential persons
� Linkages levels: working at or involving different levels (micro,
meso, macro)Source: Kruk et al, 2007:78, adapted by Nicole Häusler
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Talking to Whom?
� The first step in effective stakeholder dialogue is to identify
the important stakeholders.
� Failing to identify the key stakeholders is central to the
process > the project/enterprise agrees to continue an
important dialogue with the wrong people.
� Definition of Stakeholder: „Any group or individual who
have a ‚stake‘, or vested interest, in the
firm/organization/project.“ (Bendell, 2000:2)
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Role of private sector
� In general: In order to have more pro-poor impact, the
increased involvement of private sector in pro-poor
tourism activities are needed at all levels
… in order to develop commercially feasible, responsible
tourism products and to ensure promotion and marketing.
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Stakeholder Participation – Role of private sector
Differenty types of local linkages:
� Local staffing and wages (Mostly, the greatest cash flow
into a local community from a tourism business is in the
form of wages – pay a fair salary!)
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Types of local linkages
� Procurement from local
enterprises/suppliers
� Local culture and heritage
products: cultural and
heritage products make a
trip unique and memorable
for tourists. They are also
a key way for companies
to diversify their product
and stimilate the local
economy
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Role of private sector
� As consequence private sector investor interested in
community planning and involvement must invest time and
money in supporting capacity building within these
communities.
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Summary: Role of Private Sector
� Companies that develop local products, procurement, and
partnerships can benefit in many ways. They win local
recognition, community support for tourism development,
enhanced staff morale, greater customer satisfaction,
stronger branding, and even economic cost savings.
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Role of Government at different levels
� Political support of national ministries, as well as the
support of local, district, and provincial authorities, is
essential to make collaboration work within pro-poor-
tourism.
� Looking at innovative ways for local communities to come
in as concessionaires, (lodge owners), and equity holders
in tourism.
� Supporting communities with technical advice to build
partnerships.
� Overall: Concept of pro-poor tourism policy should be
integrated into national action plans for tourism.
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Role of Communities
� Local involvement is considered to be a necessary variable for the success of tourism development.
�No community needs a business partnershipthat flops!
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Stakeholder Participation – Benefits for communities
� PPT-Partnerships are a way for
communities to make productive use
of their land, skills and resources.
� Partnerships can also bring training
and expertise.
� The inclusion of professionals from
the community, who are familiar with
local culture, can be maybe essential
for an effective tourism marketing
campaign!
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Community Involvement -
Partnerships at different levels
� Joint Venture with private company (Lodge)
� Community-based tourismprojects (high ownership)
� Supply chain (Souvenirs, Handicraft, Food and beveragesetc.)
� Directly employment in tourismindustry under fair conditions
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Types of Stakeholder-Partnerships for Communities
_(Often) not a balanced
power relationship
_No business skills
_Good experiences as
community workes
_Can be good mediators
Community - NGOs
_(Not an equal
partnership)
_No skills as community
workers
_Business skills
_Connection to national
and international
tourism market
_Power Relationship is
clearly defined
Community –
Private Enterprise
_(Often) not a balanced
power relationship
_Bureaucratic
_Strong political
support
Community -
Government
Critical aspectsPositive aspectsPartnerships
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Types of Stakeholder-Partnerships for Communities
_Impacts of donations:
Be careful: „People can
easily become beggars“
_Intercultural exchange
_Donations
Community - Tourists
_Analysis of livelihood,
organisational culture
and monitoring are not
part of the programme
_Financial support: 1-2
years only
_Financial Support
_Expertise
Community – Donor
Agencies
Critical AspectsPositive AspectsPartnerships
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Role of national and international NGOs
Mediator / Facilitator:
� Providing linkages
� Organizing all the chain players
� Integrating/Link business and community goals
(Organisational culture)
� Providing alternative viewpoints
� Help to negotiate benefits and roles
� Supporting of a transparent process
� Offer Training to communities and other stakeholders in
this context
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Case Study - Luxury Ecoresort „Vil Uyana“ in Sri Lanka
� Creation of direct jobs, supply chain (Construction work,
food supply)
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Jetwing Youth Development Project, Vil Uyana
� Two major objectives:
� To face and provide solutions for the manpower shortage in
Jetwing Hotels and the Sri Lanka Hotel Industry, in general.
� To help resolve the problem of youth frustration by being
unemployed with the providing of gainful employment.
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Jetwing Youth Development Project, Vil Uyana
� The Jetwing Youth Development Project provided in 2006 training absoluty free to School leavers from
disadventaged farming families in the Sigiriya area.
� Duration: Six months
� Location of the Training: Buddhist Temples –
Strong cooperation with Chief Monks
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Jetwing Youth Development Project, Vil Uyana
� Focus of Training: English classes and Hotel
Operation Training but as well topics like Cultural
History of the region and Biodiversity.
� After six months, Jetwing held a passing-outceremony for sixty trainess; afterwards they moved
to the hotel for the final four months of preparation. 40 were employed.
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Hotel Vil Uyana, Sri Lanka
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Benefits for staff and communities
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Recommendations
STEP BY STEP
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Principles for meaningful exchange among
stakeholders include:
� Formulating together a „Memorandum of
Understanding“, especially in the case of Joint
Ventures, elaborating consensual terms of
reference, e.g. roles and responsibilities,
provision for funding and capacity building,
terms for information sharing – what is the
concept of this partnership.
� Commitment to joint reviews of the process‘
effectiveness at regular intervals.
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Principles for meaningful exchange among
stakeholders include:
� Cross-cultural education and exchanges for
involved NGOs, government, industry and
community representatives
� Allow stakeholders to assist in the identification
of other stakeholders
� Be a dialogue, not a one-way information feed
� Development of trust between business,
community (and other stakeholders) is the
foundation for co-operation > Open sharing of
information
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Tailor-made solutions
� More attention should be paid to solutions that are tailor-
made for the operating context of each collaborating
process.
� Contextual factors (like organizational cultures) should be
taken into account when setting up, supporting or
facilitating collaboration.
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Recommendations for a sucessfull partnerships
� Having appropriate time frames – a lack of adequate time
for dialogue before an agreement or decision is reached
can mean that an adequate level of trust will not be
established.
� Building realistic expectations – Adequate time and
resources must be invested in managing those
expectations and coming to mutual agreement with
stakeholders as to what is realistic and what is not, in the
short, medium and long term.
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Recommendations for sucessfull partnerships
� Essential Aspect: Having an understanding
between all partners that tourism development
must be sustainable economically, socially, and
environmentally.
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Effective stakeholder dialogue is a critical element of good
Pro-poor tourism policy.
Done well, with progressive intentions, it can underpin a
powerful change process that give benefits for all.
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Fair PPT Partnerships…
is a continuous and permanent process of communication and creativity!
Effective stakeholder dialogue is a critical element of good
pro-poor tourism policy.
Done well, with progressive intentions, it can underpin a
powerful change process that benefits all.
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Thank you for your kind attention!
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Sources
� Ashley, Caroline: Facilitating pro-ppor tourism with the private sector. Lessons learned from ‚Pro-Poor Tourism Pilots in Southern Africa‘. Pro-Poor Tourism report No.2, February 2006, www.odi.org.uk
� Bendell, Jem: Talking for Change? Reflections on Effective Stakeholder Dialogues. New Academy of Business Innovation Network. 20 October2000
� Ester Kruk, John Hummel, and Kamal Banskota: Facilitating SustainableMountain Tourism. Vol. 1: Resource Book. International Centre forIntegrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu/Nepal, October 2007, pp. 71-82
� Lothar Gündling, Horst Korn & Rudolf Specht (Eds.): International Workshop: Case Studies on Sustainable Tourism and Biological Diversity. BfN – Skripten 16, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn/Germany, 2000
� Overseas Development Institute – Business Linkages in Tourism (Eds.):How to…? Tips and tools for South African tourism companies on localprocurement, products and partnerships. Executive summary, September 2005