Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme workshop, Knysna, March 2013

1. Heidi van der Watt
International Centre for Responsible Tourism – South Africa
“Better places to live in, and better places to visit”
Working together towards
RT in a local area
Cape Town’s Responsible Tourism Journey
Sustainable Tourism Partnership Programme Workshop
Knysna, 26 March 2013

8. 2007
2004
Sustainable tourism embedded in
City’s Tourism Development
Framework, created in partnership
with industry, citizens and
government
Multi-stakeholder process to create
Responsible Tourism policy starts
EDU

9. Business
Government
Education
Civil society
Labour

10. 2009 Responsible Tourism Policy & Action
Plan adopted by City Council

11. 2009

12. Energy
consumption
Solid Waste
Water
consumption
Enterprise
development Preferential
procurement
Skills
development
Seven agreed-to destination priorities......

13. and making a contribution to those in need …
Social
development
Priority issues are founded in critical issues for local government and
aligned to the Tourism Sector Codes

15. PROCESS
[International frame
design]
[components –frame &
beading – different
artists]
[multi coloured beads]
[Colour combination – SA
Flag – unique to the place]
Diverse
stakeholder
priorities
Reflects locality’s
specific priorities
Alignment with
international, nati
onal, regional
and local policies
[Team supervisor]
City of Cape Town
(Tourism
Department) co-
ordination and
leadership
[Quality assurance]
Approval at
highest
political level
Multitude of
stakeholders with
different capacities
[Packaging & marketing]
Industry &
consumer
awareness and
information

16. Awareness & training
Data-collection
Supporting collateral
Monitoring & evaluation
Communication campaign
Reporting at
destination
level on
performance
against
priorities

17. 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards: Best Destination
Cape Town

18. Responsible
Tourism Action
Team
Launch Concept

20. DVD

21. Sharing Cape Town’s experience

24. RT in Cities Conference:

26. 2011 Association policy statements &
Action Plans developed
Gridlock on data collection
Mostly business “as usual”
 not a priority
 know-how
 resources
 incentives
Responsible Tourism Action Team
problem-solving

27. Crossing the Chasm
RT becomes
the norm in
the
destination
Adoption and implementation of
Responsible Tourism

28. ……………....... ……………....... …………….......…………….......
SIGNED
We, tourismoperators, tourismorganisations, researchersand educators, governmental and non-governmental
organizations, and citizens, declareour support, motivation, action and defensefor theconstruction of
CapeTown asaresponsibledestination, committed to continual improvement in responsibletourismpracticesthat
protect and enhancethenatural, cultural, social and economicenvironment.
DATEORGANISATION CITYOFCAPETOWN
TOURISM CHARTER
Assignatories, wesupport theprinciplesof sustainabledevelopment and management of tourism. In particular, we:
Recognisetheimportanceof theUnited Nations WorldTourismOrganization’sGlobal Codeof Ethics, which aimsto promoteresponsible, sustainable
and universallyaccessibletourismand sharing itscommitment to equitable, responsibleand sustainableworld tourism
Areconsciousof theWhitePaper onTourismand sharing itscommitment to ResponsibleTourismasthemost appropriateapproach to tourismin South Africa
Endorsetherecognition of theWhitePaper onTourismthat all stakeholdersshould takeresponsibilityfor realising theprinciplesof Responsible Tourism
Recognisetheprinciplesand responsibilitiesset out in theCape Town and KeralaDeclarationsendorsing South Africa’sNational ResponsibleTourismGuidelines
Arecognisant of SouthAfrica’sNational MinimumStandardsfor ResponsibleTourism
Areawareof theCityof CapeTown’sResponsibleTourismPolicy, itsintention to develop CapeTown asaresponsibledestination, and theCity’s
commitment to ResponsibleTourismasan approach to destination management
Commit to maketourismmoresustainable, and accept that it istheresponsibilityof all stakeholdersin tourismto achievemoresustainableformsof tourism
Assignatories, wecommit to:
Work towardsdeveloping, operating and marketing tourismin amanner that upholdstheguiding principlesfor Responsible Tourism, being tourismthat:
- makespositivecontributionsto theconservation of natural and cultural heritage, to themaintenanceof theworld’sdiversity;
- minimisesnegativeeconomic, environmental, and social impacts;
- providesmoreenjoyableexperiencesfor touriststhrough moremeaningful connectionswith local peopl e, and agreater understanding of
local cultural, social and environmental issues;
- isculturallysensitive, engendersrespect between touristsand hosts, and buildslocal prideand confidence
- providesaccurateinformation about accessibilityof facilitiesand infrastructurefor peoplewith disabilities(visual , communication, mobility) to customers;
- generatesgreater economicbenefitsfor local peopleand enhancesthewell-being of host communities, improvesworking conditionsand accessto theindustry; and
- involveslocal peoplein decisionsthat affect their livesand lifechances.
Continuallyimproveour performancein thecontext of sustainabledevelopment and management of tourism
Encourageour partners, suppliersand sub-contractorsto improvetheir contribution to sustainabledevelopment and management of tourism,
and will work with themand shareinformation to assist in this
Endeavour in our communication with touriststo promotebehaviour and activitiescompatiblewith theprinciplesof Responsible Tourism
Develop theseprinciplesinto acorporateResponsible TourismPolicywithin 6 calendar monthsof signing thischarter
Develop acorporateResponsibleTourismImprovement Plan within 12 calendar monthsof signing thischarter.Aspart of thiswewill definemeasurablegoals,
and will monitor and report publiclyon our progress

29. 2012/
2013
Working with “community of
Responsible Tourism practitioners”
23 operators recruited by
associations
Cross-section – type & size
“Leading lights”

31. Gathering performance data against priority
indicators
Identifying barriers
Developing solutions
Documenting experience
Destination RT barometer for aggregated
reporting at destination level

32. What have we
learnt along the
way?

33. LESSON
S
[various frame designs
tested before final
[different skills
of various
artists]
[different material
qualities of beads and
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]

34. Next steps?

35. THANK YOU
DANKIE
ENKOSI
PHOTOS: Heidi van der Watt, Bruce Sutherland
Heidi van der Watt
heidi.vdwatt@mweb.co.za
+2783 2632269