Resilience and Innovation Summit: Strategies for investment, sustainability, di Continued from page 48 Biljana Braithwaite,


chief executive of UK-based sustainability consultancy Sustineri Partners, argued investment in tourism would increasingly depend on the sector’s performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. She said: “Financing may be


more expensive and increasingly may not be available if you’re not engaging with the ESG agenda. We’re at a point where it’s a must if you want to attract investment. In the long term, you will be exposing yourself to a lot of risks otherwise. “Increasingly, investors


will refuse to engage with you, insurance companies will be concerned, and guests are becoming increasingly aware.” As an example, Braithwaite


cited Montenegro, saying: “Montenegro branded itself an ecological state 30 years ago. [Yet] so many visitors to Montenegro say, ‘It’s a wonderful destination, it’s such a shame you don’t do more to protect it.’ That is a challenge if you want to attract high-value tourism.” Braithwaite also stressed the


need to involve local communities in decisions on tourism development, saying: “Where we see projects fail is where we don’t see early engagement with all stakeholders.” Dubravko Miholic, advisor


to the head of the Croatian National Tourism Board, argued: “We have to stop just counting numbers and focus on resilience. If you have high demand, you must regulate.” He said Croatia wished to


switch from a focus on mass tourism “to quality and people prepared to pay more”.


‘Destinations need to manage tourism flows’


Ian Taylor


Concerns about overtourism have returned in some destinations, with protests recently demanding controls on tourism in Palma, Majorca and Tenerife. Sandra Carvao, UN Tourism


director for market intelligence, policies and competitiveness, told the summit: “Tourism is challenged if tourism flows are not managed. “We need to share the benefits from


tourism, making sure the revenues are used in a proper way, recognising we are part of a bigger chain.” That requires “cross-government


involvement and regulation”, she said, arguing that in smaller, popular destinations, “there has to be territorial management and dispersal”. Carvao noted: “There is no


one solution. There may be places you need to regulate so you don’t have group tours. You might have to close an area to visitation.”


Balkan countries ‘should cooperate to win investment’


The destinations of the Balkans region need more cross-border collaboration and public-private partnerships to attract increased investment in travel and tourism. Majlind Lazimi, managing


partner of consultancy Horwath, suggested: “Albania may be one of the biggest winners [in the region] where the worry now is ‘do we have the supply to support demand?’”


46 13 JUNE 2024


Venice is trialling a fee for day-trippers


said: “We recognise some tourism hubs have more tourists than they can handle at peak times. “We have a ‘hub and spoke’


model and work to communicate to travellers so they understand they can do different activities [at these times] and help alleviate the pressure.” She suggested: “The industry


She also suggested work to


“create demand at different times”. But she insisted: “It’s important that you have governance. You need an entity to manage the system.” Carvao also warned against


over-reliance on tourism, telling the summit: “You don’t want any economy to be 100% dependent on one industry, and tourism is no exception.” Nina Kovac, tourism product


development team leader for US international development agency USAID in Bosnia and Herzegovina,


But he argued: “We need to do


more to promote investment and market destinations. We have to integrate regionally. We shouldn’t compete, we should cooperate.” Biljana Braithwaite, chief


executive of UK-based sustainability consultancy Sustineri Partners, agreed, telling the summit: “You need to team up as a region for more long-term investment.” She insisted: “Investment


requires partnerships. We see municipalities thrive where there are public-private partnerships. These are even more valuable where you can’t rely on government.” Faruk Caluk, senior advisor


itself sees the need to be more respectful of nature and sees demand from travellers wanting more sustainability [and] activities that don’t cause problems in destinations.” Saso Krumpak, founder of


destination reservations system Halki in Slovenia, argued destinations need access to booking data. He said: “Destinations are pretty blind at the moment [on tourism flows] because online travel agencies are not sharing their [booking] data.” He insisted “It’s important [for


destinations] to understand the booking process. We need data in the hands of decision-makers.”


Sarajevo


on the development of tourism at the Sarajevo Tourism Association, suggested: “We need to make [the Balkans] a region like the Caribbean.” Sanja Miovic, executive director


of the Foreign Investment Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, agreed: “We need large-scale public-private financing.”


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURES: Jasmin Agovic; Shutterstock/Aleksandr Medvedkov, Kirk Fisher


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