Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Grade 12 – Tourism Grade 12 Study Guide

• Triple bottom line refers to the three (triple) measures of business performance: economic (profit), environmental (planet) and social (people).
  
• The traditional way to measure a business’s performance is to look at its profitability. The profit appears at the end of its financial statement, which is why a profit is often referred to as the bottom line.
• The triple bottom line concept came into use when world leaders realised that economic development, which had negative environmental and social effects, was not sustainable and that we needed to measure all the effects of development. Therefore, a company’s performance not only depends on how much money it is making (the profit) and other economic considerations such as job creation, but also on what effects it has on the social and natural environment.
• King 3, the code that regulates corporative governance in South Africa, requires companies to report on their performance in terms of three aspects namely economic, environmental and social.

Environment (planet)

• Good environmental practices are vital for a successful tourism business to protect the natural environment
• Resource management (energy):
  
• Resource management (water):
  
• Waste management:
  
• Litter control:
  

• Pollution control:
  
• Environmentally friendly building:
  • The way buildings are positioned, materials that are used, space design, and technologies used to run the buildings (like solar panels) can all help reduce environmental impacts
    
• Promotion of indigenous flora and control of alien invasive plants in grounds and gardens:
  • Tourism businesses should conserve and plant indigenous species as they use less water
  • Alien invasive species should be removed if they threaten indigenous species
  • Alien invasive species use more water than indigenous species
  • Certain alien species can intensify wildfires
    

• The role of business
  • Tourism businesses are organisations which profit directly from tourism
  • They provide services and products which tourists need when visiting a destination
  • Through their economic activity, jobs are created and money is brought into a destination by tourists
  • Tourism businesses also spend money on the products and services they need from other businesses
  • Tourism must create economic opportunities and benefits, not only for tourism companies and their shareholders but also for the local or host communities
• The responsible attitude of a tourism business towards the people and environment it affects
  • If both a tourist company and the local community profit from a business and those who are affected by the business are involved and respect is given to them, this will lead to a business sustainable environment.
• Ways to manage economic impacts:
  • Ownership:
    • Community shareholding in the business
    • Promotion of local tourism ownership will increase the positive impact of tourism in an area
  • Employment:
    • A fair recruitment process regarding gender, disability and race
    • The creation of decent work and living wages
    • Protecting staff and communities from exploitation e.g. sexual, child labour
    • Training and skills development – businesses should support staff so that they can attend e.g. training courses, and receive formal certificates for skills they gain; on the job training should also be provided.
  • Local procurement – buying locally manufactured products
    • Local suppliers should be used as far as possible
    • This can result in a positive multiplier effect where money is spent and re-spent in the same area. This prevents the leakage of money that is generated from tourism businesses out of the tourist destination
  • Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE):
    • This government policy seeks to redress the economic exclusion and marginalisation of black South Africans under apartheid
    • It concerns aspects such as ownership, management, staffing, training and skills development, enterprise development and corporate social responsibility

• The positive and negative effects of tourism on local communities, culture and heritage

• Corporate social investment (CSI) in tourism:
  

• Research the cultural, ethnic, religious, and heritage practices before your visit
• Learn a few words in the local language to make meaningful contact with the local community
• Ask for guidance on appropriate dress, behaviour, local foods and drink
• Respect the human rights of the local community e.g. ask permission before taking a photo
• Be vigilant about the exploitation of children

ECONOMIC

• Buy souvenirs and products that are made locally
• Ask for guidance on tipping and bargaining practices
• Give preference to tourism services that are operated by inhabitants of the destination

ENVIRONMENTAL

• Be informed about where and how to recycle at the destination
• Reduce your consumption of water and electricity during your trip
• Do not buy products that are made from plants or animals that are in danger of extinction
• Select routes that cause the least impact on the landscape
• Use public transport where possible
• Do not remove natural resources e.g. stones, fossils, plants, shells, flowers from their natural environment

• Implement strategies to ensure businesses are sustainable and that they act responsibly towards people, the planet and the economic environment
• Ensure that natural assets are well protected and marketed
• Implement sustainable tourism certification among destination businesses
• Ensure that public sites and facilities set good examples of environmental, social and economic practices
• Encourage joint socio-economic and environmental programmes at destination level to which tourists can contribute
• Market the destination according to its sustainability ethos and choose targeted channels to do so e.g. online travel information and booking websites supporting ethical travel, such as responsibletravel.com

• Fair Trade in Tourism (FTT) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that promotes sustainable tourism development and responsible tourism management in South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
• FTTSA initiatives:
  • A certification scheme that provides a trademark (or label) to tourism businesses that can show that they meet FTT principles – assures tourists that the business is responsible
  • Research, support and skills building for FTT businesses
  • To encourage tour operators who send tourists to Africa to promote packages to FTT-certified businesses
• Principles of Fair Trade in Tourism:
  
• Tourists are able to identify tourism organisations that meet the FFT criteria as the logo will be included on the certified business’s marketing material
• By using the services of FTT certified organisations, tourists can be assured of making a contribution to responsible and sustainable tourism