Towards a green economy

Strategic area

Sustainability drivers

■ Tourist preference for experiences that involve contact with authentic cultural landscapes

Cultural heritage

■ Expectations from guests that their tourism operators respect and protect traditional culture

■ Increased awareness of World Heritage Sites ■ Recognition and appreciation for cultural diversity

■ Demand for more contact with local communities ■ Greater number and variety of excursions in a given destination

Linkages with Local Economy

■ “Buy local” movement in food and beverages sector ■ CSR uptake ■ Public and private initiatives of local workers training ■ Growth of specialised niches (ecotourism, rural tourism, adventure tourism, sports fishing, agrotourism and community-based tourism)

■ Development of infrastructure and supporting industries Likely implications

■ Respect and recognition of traditional culture, particularly in context of assimila- tion into a dominant culture. Help to community members to validate their culture, especially when external influences of modern life cause the young to become disas- sociated from traditional life and practices

■ Conservation of traditional lands and natural resources on which the culture has traditionally relied

■ Help to reduce poverty within a community or cultural group. Increased opportunities for young to remain in community instead of seeking alternative opportunities in cit- ies and towns. Meet the needs of cultural groups, such as health care, access to clean water, education, employment and income

■ Reduced risk of losing unique cultural attributes

■ Concerted efforts by tourism authorities, local officials and civil society organisations to increase local content

■ Responses by tourism operators and increasing use of indicators to track local contri- bution (which feed into tourism satellite accounts)

■ Deepened supply chain in local economy, generating increased indirect employment ■ Increased spending in local economy from income effects in direct and indirect employee consumption and purchases

■ Improved income distribution among industry stakeholders ■ Decreased leakage (imports of intermediate goods and foreign workers)

Table A2-1: Drivers and likely implications of investment in sustainable tourism strategic areas Source: Author’s compilation

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