tourism infocus - tourism concern · tourism infocus summer 2010 success in zambia one campaign...

tourism

infocusSummer 2010

Success in Zambia One campaign saves a game park

Local voices Fighting for Jamaica’s coastline

Water inequalityThe situation in India and UN climate change talks

Dilemma: Palestine

www.tourismconcern.org.uk

exhibition

Cover photos (clockwise from top right): Chongwe River Camp, Lower Zambezi © Chris McIntyre/Expert Africa; ‘Scenic view’ blocked by Fiesta Hotel construction, Hanover © Christine O’Sullivan; Turn on the Water © John G Soos; Towards the Light or Descend into Darkness © John G Soos

Our exhibition of the aftermath of the 2008 tsunami is going on tour. ❏ Oxford: 5-18 July, Oxfam [address?], [Rachel - is Peter giving a talk here?] ❏ Lladudno: 7-31 August, Venue Cymru, [address?] ❏ Southend on Sea: 27 September-10 October, South Essex College, [address?]Visit our website for more details.

Destination Tsunami

Powerful images,direct words, starkblack and white photosprovide a direct andimpactful path to theso often unheard andunseen stories

Jacqui Lichtenstern, 25 March 2010

Excellent exhibition and very thought provoking. Iwould think again about travelling to these parts

Jo Charles, Aldeburgh Music, 26 March 2010

Powerful exhibition. Makes youconsider the impact of yourtourist footprint in a whole newlight, especially when you areoften told tourism helps in therecovery of an area. Clearly notwhat you are lead to believe

David Over, Royal GeographicalSociety, 26 March 2010

…the aftermath of the tsunami isscantily reported and this is animportant way of seeing theresilience and the challenges both

BG Kiser, International Institute forEnvironment and Development,

30 March 2010

People should not be treated like this. We can changethis. Everyone needs to see this because we are a partof this… we must make others aware of the work byTourism Concern

Sarah Sanders, 28 March 2010

This reinforces my growingrealisation that the Indiangovernment has one of the worstsocial responsibility records inthe world. A country of great andexpanding wealth showing littleto no care towards some of thepoorest people on the planet

Julian Dearlove, 28 March 2010

All images © Sohrab Hura

Contents4 lead campaigns

Zambia: ETOG pulls the plug onProtea’s plans

6 campaigns Tourism Concern highlights water scarcity at climate talks;Grenada’s Government urged to act

7 Making waves

8 local voicesJamaica: Paradise lost

10 travel dilemmasPalestine

11 supporters’ areasAn education in ethical tourism; The power of market-ingfilm reviewJamaica for Sale

editorialTHESE ARE INTERSTING TIMES IN THE

In Focus

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Tourism In FocusEditor: Cecilia ThomManaging Editors: Tricia Barnett, Rachel NobleDesigner: Andrew Carton-KellyPicture Researcher: Virginia GarramoneProofreader: Paul SmithPrint management: Lithosphere

Tourism Concern staffDirector: Tricia BarnettFinance Officer: Alan NguyenInformation: Siobhan AdeusiFundraiser: Gillian CooperCampaigns: Rachel Noble

The articles published in Tourism In Focusrepresent the individuals’ opinions and do notnecessarily represent the views of Tourism Concern.

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© Chris McIntyre/Expert Africa

4 tourism in focus Summer 2010

Zambia

ETOG pulls the plug onProtea’s plansZambia’s tourism is on the up, but with mostaccommodation taking theform of bush camps to keep the impact on theenvironment and wildlife to aminimum, it’s no wonder thata proposal to build a hotelcomplex for over 100 peoplesparked furious controversy.Chris McIntyre outlines thecampaign that aimed to put astop to the hotel threateningthis pristine landscape

LEAD CAMPAIGNS

Spotting bushbuck is just one of the many ways to enjoy the natural beauty of the Lower Zambezi


www.tourismconcern.org.uk 5

LEAD CAMPAIGNS

ETOG members have also beenfundamental to the success ofother campaigns to protecttourism development within,and the subsequent destructionof, African game parks:

❏ The proposed LegacyHotels Development, inZambia's Mosi-oa-TunyaNational Park, was halted afew years ago by publicpressure. Amanda Marks,managing director of TribesTravel, was instrumental inthis campaign.

❏ Earlier this year, Somak'svery close involvement with anew lodge in a particularlysensitive area of Kenya’sMasai Mara was halted, largelyby public pressure from theUK. Key to this was Roger

Diski, founder of RainbowTours, ETOG member, andchair of AITO’s SustainableTourism Committee.

More recently, ETOG haswritten to all UK companiescurrently running trips toKilimanjaro asking them tosign up to the Guidelines forProper Porter Treatment, whichwere first established byTourism Concern and arepromoted by the InternationalMountain Explorers Connection(IMEC). The aim is to raiseawareness of the guidelinesand encourage companies toabide by them.

For more information onETOG and how to join, visit:http://tinyurl.com/ethical-tour-operators

Old Mondoro ‘bush camp’ in the Lower Zambezi is an example of touristaccommodation that fits in with, rather than blights, the surrounding landscape


Chris McIntyre is Managing Director of Expert Africa. Hehas also written for various publications and authoredtravel guides on Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Zanzibar.

Tourism Concern and ETOG in action

IN JUNE, I TRAVELLED TO BONN, GERMANY, TO DELIVER A

presentation highlighting the pressing issue ofwater scarcity in tourism at the latest round of theUnited Nations Framework on Climate Change(UNFCC) talks.

Global warming means that water scarcity ispredicted to increase in many tourism destinations.Tourism is a highly water-intensive industry, somuch so that, often while tourists are consuming itin vast quantities, nearby communities are forcedto go without. Tourism also adds significantly toclimate change through the emissions that itgenerates. Tourism Concern is calling for greaterwater equity in tourism and is currently developinga new project to support this aim.

The side event [which one?] was organised byTourism Watch, a German group that is, along with

other NGOs, calling for a critical debate aroundtourism's contribution to climate change.

Bonn was also the location for this year'sTourism European Network (TEN) meeting.TEN, now in its 28th year, is a coalition ofNGOs working to promote sustainable tourism.It includes organisations from Germany,Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Italyand the UK. Sumesh Mangalassery of Kabani,India, and Caesar D'Mello of the EcumenicalCoalition on Tourism (ECOT), Thailand, were alsopresent and provided an important southernperspective to the discussions.

At the meeting Tourism Concern gained importantsupport from TEN partners around our humanrights work. Our recent report, Putting Tourism toRights, has also proved to be a valuable resource

for TEN partners. Tourism Watch plans to translatepart of the report into German later this year touse in campaigning.

To purchase a copy of Putting Tourism to Rights,visit our online shop.Rachel Noble, Campaigns


FOCUS ON…

campaigns

IN THE LAST ISSUE OF TOURISM IN FOCUS, DENYSE OGILVIE OF LOCAL GROUP

Tourism Concern highlights water scarcity at climate talks

Grenada’s Government urged to act

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© Credit here

TAKE ACTION!Please write to the Grenadian Government urging them to developtourism sustainably. A sample letter can be downloaded from ourwebsite. Thank you to everyone who has already taken part.

please insert caption - Rachel is this from the TENmeeting? Assume there isn’t anything from theUNFCC talks? need a caption to link headline and pic

ONCE A LAIDBACK AND BEAUTIFUL FISHING BEACH,Kovalam in Kerala, southern India has enduredmore than 30 years of uncontrolled tourismdevelopment through an avalanche of money,corruption and short-term thinking. I visited inearly May, on a trip as Project Manager ofTourism Concern’s DFID-funded project which,with Indian partners Kabani, aims to empowercoastal communities for more effectiveengagement with tourism policy. There wasstark evidence of the issues that this projecthopes to address: local fishermen no longerable to fish freely; environmental degradationand waste; social problems, including alcoholand drug abuse and reports of child sextourism and trafficking. And a problem morehidden to visitors – that of water inequality.

The cheek-by-jowl tourism developments thatcrowd the hillside in Kovalam with their hot andcold running water and sluiced clean terracesare in stark contrast to nearby fishing villages towhich Kabani introduced me. Just 2km south,for example, next to the busy fishing harbour atVizhinjam, we visited a village where clean waterhas become a scarce luxury. The overcrowding

– in part due to the displacement of fishingfamilies from Kovalam – has led to increasedpressure on water supplies and an excess of pitlatrines that contaminate the groundwater.

As we walked towards the quay we passed adrain emitting a filthy, grey ooze that seepedback into the ground immediately next to a nowclearly contaminated well. Wells such as this,which supplied the village with potable water asrecently as 10 years ago, are largely unusabledue to a significant reduction in the water table,which is attributed to the profligate use of waterby tourist developments. Standpipes provided bythe panchayat (local government body) are onlysporadically functional, and the few householdsable to afford piped water and tanks find it toois unreliable and contaminated. The lack of anywaste management plan means garbage canonly be collected and dumped nearby – ofteninto the sea – and the stream that flowed downthe hillside next to the village is now a waste-filled gully that nevertheless continues to be theonly available area for communal washing.Several of the children who entertained ourprogress through the village had serious skin

conditions contracted from this water.

Drinking water for the village comes largelyfrom privately run tankers that sell water onmost evenings – hence the plastic and tinwater containers outside each of the tinyhouses we passed. Often there is insufficient tomeet demand and arguments break out, evenbetween members of the same family.

The coasts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are underincreasing and severe pressure as theGovernment aggressively promotes India as atourist destination. Such situations highlight thepowerlessness of communities to withstand sucha powerful industry and the extent of corruptionthat its potential profits can elicit – not least inflouting the laws designed to constrain it.

Peter Bishop is India Project Manager

WHAT CAN BE DONE? As tourists we can control our own water use while abroad and choose accommodation and tour operators that helplocal communities. In India, Kabani works with dozens of local organisations to campaign on specific issues, lobby government regardinglegislation, and work on networking and developing tools to increase the capacity of local groups so they can campaign more effectivelythemselves. Tourism Concern is developing a Water Equity in Tourism project to address the issues raised. For more information, see xxx

Making waves


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why we campaign

Tourism Concern fights exploitation. This isbecause we recognise that our holidays areother people’s homes. Our holidays should be asgood for the people in the destinations we arevisiting as they are for ourselves.

Tourists frequently get harassed by locals withoutrealising that it’s often because they don’t get anyreal benefits from our holidays. On the contrary,those living in popular tourist destinations oftensuffer when precious resources, such as water,are diverted from agriculture into hotel swimmingpools. People even get thrown out of their homesfor new developments.

Tourism generates huge wealth and can be aforce for good for millions living in destinations,but they receive little, with most of our moneynever reaching them.

Please join us to fight exploitation in tourism.

Your actions make changes happen!


Back in April, Tourism

Concern hosted the premier

UK screening of Jamaica

for Sale, a hard-hitting

documentary examining the

impacts of rampant tourism

development in Jamaica.

Filmmaker Esther Figueroa

gives us her take on the

situation and describes how

the film has been received

CONSIDERED TO BE A PARADISE ON EARTH, JAMAICA IS RAPIDLY BECOMING MORE OF A LIVING HELL FOR MANY

of its own people. Locals are forced to eek out a living with the scraps left behind afterdevelopers have ravaged the land so tourists alone can bask in its beauty. I was moved torecord the destruction as well as the growing movement of people seeking to challenge thesituation in my home country. As such, Jamaica for Sale was borne – an attempt to documentthe environmental, economic and social impacts of tourism development, and to inspire thepublic and policy makers to press for an honest, fresh discussion about the unsustainabledevelopment model to which we are devoted.

Jamaica is in a perfect storm of a profoundly indebted, weak, corrupt government; an economynarrowly dependent on tourism, remittances and extractive industries; and a policy of allocatingvirtually the entire Jamaican coastline to tourism. With the added pressure of the latestInternational Monetary Fund agreement, the government has embarked without transparency orpublic consultation on a widespread and rapid programme of divestment of enterprises andland, including areas that contain important natural resources. One example is Font Hill on thesouth coast, earmarked for large-scale resort development. The development will require newinfrastructure including an airport – all in a fragile area with some of the last intact mangrovesystems and clean seawater, and home to endangered crocodiles, turtles, native and migratorybirds. In addition, the south coast was supposed to have only small-scale community tourism –but having already flouted its tourism plan with the construction of Sandals WhitehouseEuropean Village and Spa Resort, the assault on it is already underway.

Jamaica for Sale has screened on television, in film festivals. community settings and ateducational institutions around the world. I have had the privilege to interact with audiences inJamaica, the Caribbean, Africa, the Pacific, the US, UK and the Netherlands and the reactions arealways very powerful – emotional, thoughtful, articulate. Watching the film makes people

LOCAL VOICES

Paradise lost

Esther Figueroa, PhD, (VagabondMedia, Juniroa Productions Inc) is anindependent filmmaker, writer andlinguist from Jamaica. She has 25years' experience in media productionincluding documentaries, educationalvideos, television programming, musicvideos, multimedia, web content andfeature film.

An activist filmmaker, her workfocuses on local knowledge,indigenous cultures, social injustice,community empowerment and theenvironment and gives voice to thoseoutside of mainstream media, with theaim of countering the dominantvalues, information and world viewsportrayed in commercial media.

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local voices


Working conditions are brought sharply into the spotlight afterthe collapse of the Bahia Principe Hotel, during construction at Pear Tree Bottom, St Ann, Jamaica

uncomfortable and stimulates the desire to know more,to become a change agent, to find ways to act. This isespecially true when Jamaicans in the diaspora view thefilm. When I showed the film in New York to a standing-room only audience of primarily diasporic Jamaicans, wehad a post-film discussion that went on for two hours.And again, when I showed the film in Brixton, southLondon, (two consecutive showings couldn’taccommodate the number of people wanting to see it)the reaction was the same – an outpouring of distress,analysis and a desire to do something.

We made the film to get people aroused but we provide no answers. Our next step is to work withothers to help support processes, projects, andorganisations with meaningful solutions. If you wouldlike to be part of this timely movement please join ourFacebook group, Jamaica For Sale. We are in theprocess of updating the group for sharing good ideas,resources and ways of taking action. Also visit ourwebsite www.jamaicaforsale.net and that of co-producer Jamaica Environment Trust, www.jamentrust.org.Jamaica for Sale is reviewed on page 11

Jamaica Environment Trust

© Wendy Lee


Countless religiousartifacts andarcheological treasuresdraw visitors to thePalestinian Territories.But with trips to theregion often marred byviolence and politicalinstability, and Israelexerting so much controlover the industry, cantourism have a positiveeffect on the Palestinianpeople? Cecilia Thomfinds out…

Sleeping with the enemy?

The Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism has developed guidelines regarding visits to theregion. To download the full version of A Code of Conduct for Tourism in the Holy Land, visitwww.pirt.ps/resources/file/code_of_conduct.pdf

“Palestine itself was simply wiped off the map… Tourismbecame a political tool… [but] tourism in Palestine providesvisitors with a particularly rewarding and enriching experience.Not only may the tourist discover the beauty, spirituality andhospitality of the country, but also come to encounter some ofthe political, economic and social facts on the ground thatshape the daily lives of Palestinians.

This is as it should be for much can be gained – both bytourists and their Palestinian hosts – from a proper relationshipbetween the two… visits are an opportunity for cultural, socialand human exchange.”

Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism

© Pascal Ducourant

IN MAY, ISRAEL WAS CONDEMNED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR KILLING NINE PEOPLE IN AN ATTACK ON A TURKISH

passenger ship that formed part of an aid convoy bound for Gaza. The whole flotilla was highjacked. Withevents such as these commanding headlines around the world, it's no surprise that people are beset withdilemmas regarding travel to, and within, the region.

Israel and the Palestinian Territories are steeped in history and its holy relics draw secular tourists andreligious pilgrims from all over the world. But Palestinians are hampered in their efforts to develop theirown tourist industry to its full potential: Israel controls every border crossing and, as such, also themovement of people and all goods; in addition, tight restrictions are placed on those Palestinians workingin the tourism sector, such as hoteliers, tour guides and tour operators. As the Palestinian Initiative forResponsible Tourism (PIRT) explains, “these facts have significant impacts on the development of tourismin the Palestinian territories and the dissemination of information to tourists”.

Tensions, understandably, run high; with over 4.7 million Palestinians qualifying for refugee status,countless others who are simply ‘displaced’,and the illegal annexation of Jerusalem, should you really goto this region or is it better to boycott the system by staying away? Despite fraught Arab–Israeli relations,organisations are increasingly promoting the need for understanding. PIRT believes integration is the wayforward. Its Code of Conduct for Tourism and the Holy Land urges people to visit, but asks them not tochoose one country over the other: “…holy places found in Israel and the Palestinian Territories areunited. They cannot be separated from each other. In this regard…we are asking tourists…to visit bothIsrael and Palestine, rather than choose to visit just one or the other. This is the route towards morefairness and justice.”

Alternative Tourism Group is another organisation that focuses on promoting understanding. It believesthis can be achieved through interaction with local people or ‘justice tourism’. As executive director, RamiKassis explains: “Justice tourism concentrates on political realities. Only by living what Palestiniansexperience all the time can a visitor recognise the injustices that are their daily bread. With thisunderstanding comes a desire to help to end the accumulated injustices in Palestine.”

The crux of the matter is: go to the region but get off the bus that will ferry you directly from site to siteand get out into the community. ATG offers tours, such as the Nativity Trail, that make this possible. Theremay not be a way to visit the region without abiding by the restrictions imposed – but there is a way toshow support for the local people and increase your knowledge and understanding of local issues, whichmay in turn help pave the long road to peace and justice.

TRAVEL DILEMMAS

film reviewsupporters’ area

Jamaica for SaleDirected by Esther Figuero

Vagabond Media/Jamaica EnvironmentTrust, 2009, 84 mins


All of us here at Tourism Concern would like tosay a huge thank you to the students at theUniversity of Birmingham for their fundraisingsupport. A team of Events Management studentshosted an event called Bar-hamas that used aningenious approach of games and entertainmentto engage with their fellow students and get ourmessage across.

Prior to the event, the students held street collectionsand two café days to spread Tourism Concern’smessage, raise extra funds and tell everyone about the party. The event was supported by awhole host of local businesses and a photographer, who donated raffle prizes, props andservices for the event. The theme on the night was a beach party and, due to everybody'shard work, the event was a huge success, with much fun had by all. In total the studentsmanaged to raise a whopping £850, for which we are so grateful. Without help like this wewould not have the vital funds we need.

Thank you all!

Rosalind Chik, Events Co-ordinator

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An education in ethical tourism

On the beautiful sunny Sunday of 6 June,Tourism Concern set up a stall at theCamden Green Fair. Our aim: to sell ourEthical Travel Guide and to alert as manypeople as we could about who we are andwhat we do.

The event was fantastic. It was colourful,vibrant, entertaining for the whole family and the crowd were hungry forknowledge. We managed to get ourmessage out to many new potentialmembers and we were also able to advisemany avid travellers on simple steps toavoiding guilt trips in the future.

We would like to say a big thank you to allof our volunteers who helped make ourstand shine; without you this event just

wouldn’t have been possible. All of ushere at Tourism Concern are truly gratefulfor your effort and continuing support.

The power of market-ing

Rosalind Chik, represents Tourism Concern at itsstand at the Camden Green Fair in London

Event organisers gear up for Bar-hamas

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Tourism Teaching ToolkitTourism Concern’s latest resource for teachers and lecturers is now on sale. The Tourism Teaching Toolkit is aset of unique print and digital materials providing all you need to enrich and extend students’ knowledge andunderstanding of tourism’s moral and ethical dimensions. Complementing our teaching pack Tourism Impacts andIssues, published in 2007, this collection of resources provides you with original and up-to-date material presentingan alternative perspective on the diverse topics covered in A-Level and Diploma courses.

The Tourism Teaching Toolkit pack includes:● DVD: Tourism Teaching Toolkit ● Human rights report: Putting Tourism to Rights● Ethical Travel Guide, 1st edition

It is a great resource for teaching the following courses:● GCE Geography AS and A2 ● GCE Travel & Tourism AS and A2

● BTEC and OCR Nationals ● New Diploma in Travel & Tourism

It contains materials to support teaching the following topics:● Responsible/sustainable tourism ● Tourism development

● Global travel, destinations and cultures ● Environmental influences and impacts

● Political and socio-economic impacts ● Managing changes and challenges

● Promotion, image and perception ● Conflicts over land use

● Coastal environments ● Stakeholders and planning issues

To buy your copy of the Tourism Teaching Toolkit, go to Tourism Concern’s online shopat www.tourismconcern.org.uk or fill in and return the order form below

www.tourismconcern.org.ukReg charity no. 1064020

Payment optionsI enclose a cheque payable to Tourism Concern(in sterling drawn on a UK bank) !

Please credit my credit/debit card !

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Email: __________________________________Please post all orders to: Tourism Concern, Stapleton House, 277-281 Holloway Road, London N7 8HN

tourism infocus - tourism concern · tourism infocus summer 2010 success in zambia one campaign...

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