Four important points to take away from our recent webinar on making tourism fairer.
If you missed last week’s webinar, which celebrated the launch of our new report, ‘Creating Equitable Destinations’, now is the time to catch up. We brought together a range of travel experts to highlight how we can better support communities in tourist destinations of all sizes, and explored some of the report’s 25 case studies from around the world.
The webinar was hosted by David Archer from Destination Think, a lead sponsor and project partner for the report. Rodney Payne, CEO of Destination Think, said it best in his introduction: “Tourism has made the world both better and worse in very profound ways.” When we work together to distribute the benefits of tourism, we make it better.
You can watch the webinar recording on YouTube (and we’d encourage you to do so!), but if time is tight, or you need to condense the key messages for your colleagues, here are the main messages to take away.
Economic leakage has a serious impact
You might not have heard the phrase ‘economic leakage’ before, but it describes when income from tourism and tourists (such as the meals they buy, the attractions they visit and the accommodation they choose) goes straight to external businesses and services, so it doesn’t benefit local residents. Some economic leakage is a necessary part of international tourism, but when as much as 80% leaks out, that becomes a problem.
“Bringing in more jobs or attracting high spending visitors, the usual kind of tactics, won’t automatically or necessarily make it fairer,” said Ben Lynam from The Travel Foundation. He spoke about the need for stronger governance. Huw Owen from TravelLocal was clear: “Putting money in the hands of locals will make a difference,” he said. For a more in-depth look, read this feature on economic leakage in tourism, including insight from us.
Tourism uses essential public resources
We acknowledge that residents who work outside the tourism industry are using those same resources – think public transport, parks, energy, waste, and so on. Access to these resources must be fair. Ben highlighted how land can sometimes be made less accessible or even privatised, which shuts communities out.
Since the report launched, we’ve seen a similar story in the media: Fortune reported that Lisbon locals feel the city’s iconic yellow trams aren’t for them anymore, as they are ‘reserved for tourists’ who see them as a ‘toy’ – instead, locals use electric minibuses.
In the webinar, we learned how, when it’s done right, tourism can be used as a positive to regenerate neighbourhoods and revamp some public resources.
Destination stewardship matters
Part of the equitable tourism definition is that it meets the needs of current and future generations in a destination. DMOs should see themselves as destination stewards, looking after these places responsibly and thinking about the long-term impact of everything they do.
The Tribal Parks Allies programme, in Tofino, British Columbia, is a good example of this. We heard from Calum Matthews, Vice President of 4VI (Vancouver Island), about how the programme works to boost indigenous-led projects by the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and preserve the environment. Local businesses pledge to support the Tribal Parks Guardians and pay a 1% ecosystem fee; Calum added that “It helps local visitors understand how to be good guests.”.
People with caring responsibilities need travel experiences, too
Annie Ewing, from Destination Toronto, talked us through a great case study which targeted local parents and carers of children with complex needs. Respite breaks are important for their own health and wellbeing, so the ‘Relax, Recharge, Renew’ weekend package was launched in 2008 as a form of social responsibility.
Destination Toronto partnered with a range of city attractions, hotels and restaurants to tailor packages to what parents and carers loved most, whilst their children were looked after in respite programmes. Over 600 families have taken part so far. Annie told us this kind of programme can be replicated in other places around the world; we can’t wait to see other DMOs take up the opportunity.
‘Creating Equitable Destinations’ was published by the Travel Foundation with the Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality (CELTH), the European Tourism Futures Institute, Breda University of Applied Sciences, HZ University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC), and Destination Think. It was also supported by 4VI, the Catalan Tourist Board, First Rate Exchange Services, Göteborg & Co and TravelLocal.
