RESPONSIBLE’S NEXT FIVE YEARS
intentions are not enough,” because however hard one tried to supply volunteers to orphanages as responsibly as possible, the end result was simply to fuel demand. She explained that as a result her company only works with programmes that are designed to keep children in their families. “We have to spread the word about how bad orphanage tourism is,” emphasised WTM Responsible Tourism Advisor Professor Harold Goodwin. “We have to stop it.”
For companies seeking to learn
more about this rapidly developing issue and to avoid the risks that it poses, Emanuelle Werner from Friends International outlined a series of resources that her organisation has produced, some for travellers others for organisations, designed to raise awareness about the issue and provide guidelines as to how to avoid making
the problems worse. In a session on Human RIghts:
Trafficking and Modern Slavery, Alexandros Paraskevas from the University of West London said his research has shown that by a conservative estimate, there are 115,000 slaves working in the European hospitality industry. “Trafficking is much more than just people brought over on overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean,” he explained. “It’s more than sexual abuse in rooms, or construction workers being exploited.”
While the scale of the problem is only
recently being acknowledged by the industry, solutions are being developed, with Nishma Jethwa from the Shiva Foundation telling the audience of the work her organisation is doing to develop an industry first set of resources for the hotel sector.
In a session looking at what the priorities for Responsible Tourism should be for the next five years, the panel was asked what were the top three issues needing addressing. Their answers were: Climate Change, Local Economic Benefits, Waste, Destination Management, Resource Efficiency, Tourism Safety and Inclusive Tourism. Director at Classic Collection Holidays, Martin Brackenbury, said that in a year where certain islands in the Caribbean – in particular Dominica – have been devastated by extreme weather events, the industry had to ensure it does whatever possible to support such countries rebuild and develop resilience in the years to come. Focussing on the acknowledge biggest issue, tourism’s impact on climate change, sustainable tourism specialist Libby Owen Edmunds referenced a recent ITP report into hotel carbon emissions, which states that the accommodation sector needs reduce its absolute emissions by 90% by 2050. However, added Edmunds: “The elephant in the room remains the aviation sector,” which she said is responsible for 80% of emissions related to tourism.
WTM London Review 2017
55
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137
