International Trends in Standards Jamaica Community Tourism Symposium

International Trends in Standards Jamaica Community Tourism Symposium May, 2003

Tourism Activity is 11% of Global GDP l Tourism is no longer a second cousin to other economic sectors l WTTC (2001) estimates tourism generates: – 8% of the world’s total employment – 200 million jobs – US $3. 5 trillion in expenditures

Destination 1990 1999 % Cha nge (10 -year) Martinique 240. 0 404. 0 683. 0 Turks and Caicos Islands 36. 5 238. 0 552. 1 Suriname 10. 7 53. 4 399. 0 British Virgin Islands 132. 1 299. 9 127. 0 Trinidad and Tobago 94. 7 209. 6 121. 3 Aruba 353. 4 773. 5 118. 9 Guadeloupe 197. 1 400. 2 103. 0 St. Lucia 153. 8 311. 1 102. 3 Dominica 25. 0 48. 8 95. 2 Cayman Islands 235. 7 439. 4 86. 4 Grenada 37. 5 66. 6 77. 6 Jamaica 740. 0 1, 279. 5 72. 9 Anguilla 34. 6 56. 5 63. 0 St. Maarten 315. 5 449. 4 42. 4 St. Vincent & Grenadines 56. 0 78. 9 40. 9 US Virgin Islands 697. 0 954. 9 37. 0 Barbados 493. 5 666. 2 34. 5 Belize 91. 4 111. 5 22. 2 St. Kitts and Nevis 57. 7 70. 4 22. 0 Bahamas 1, 332. 9 1, 582. 9 18. 7 Selected Caribbean Countries Ten Year Visitor Expenditure Growth Rates ($US millions) Source: CTO

Travel Account Balances (US$ millions)

North America Travel Account Balance ($US Millions)

Standards - “Traditional” Tourism Decades of experience in standards l Started with protecting people l – Public safety – building codes – Public health – food safety l Evolved to hotel and tourism acts – Permits to run accommodation facilities

Roles & Responsibilities Public Sector l l l Health Safety Operational practices through consumer laws Liquor laws Casino laws Private Sector Codes of Practice l Franchising and standards l Rating systems l Green codes l

Examples l Growth of franchises – Now more than 60% of all hotel rooms in US are “flagged” – belong to a brand l Growth of cooperatives – Largest hotel company in world is a non- profit cooperative The World's Largest Hotel Chain® Best Western International, Inc. , is the world's largest hotel brand with more than 4, 000 hotels in 80 countries.

Why This Trend in Last Several Decades? l Responds to consumer demand expectations – AAA rating system in North America (47 million members) – AA system in UK (26 million members) l Buying and booking with quality assurance

Community Tourism Doesn’t have such l Less experience with a Long History standards l The orientation seems to be to guidelines, forms of certification l World Tourism Organization in 2001 – Found about 500 current initiatives including ecolabels, awards, & codes of practice

Certification Systems Examples l Green Globe 21 l Blue Flag l Nature and Tourism Accreditation Programme (NEAP) l Certification for Sustainable Tourism – Costa Rica l Various Ecolabelling Systems

The Standards Challenge

The Draft (for Comment) International Ecotourism Standard NEAP & Green Globe 21 Presented at the May, 2002 Quebec City Ecotourism Conference

The Eight Principles 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Natural Area Focus Ecotourism Interpretation & Education Ecological Sustainability Practice Contributing to Conservation Ecotourism Benefits to Local Communities Cultural Respect & Sensitivity Customer Satisfaction Responsible Marketing

Also Includes Minimal Impact Codes l l l Walking & Trekking Vehicle Use Power Boat Use Non-Powered Boat Use Minimizing Impacts of Snorkeling & Diving Animal Riding & Animal Tours Aircraft Use Spotlighting Code Marine Mammal & Megafauna Viewing Rock Climbing & Abseiling Caving

The Importance of Standards l It is about bringing the product to market l Being “market ready” l Delivering on the experience promised

Who is Concerned About Standards?

Let’s Start With Markets l Consumers want to know what they are buying – Quality assurance very important & replacing word of mouth l Many niche markets – They have lots of choices around the world – They are going on-line (54 million of them in US researching on-line)

The Markets Already Here

One of The Questions You Overhear Most Often l What are we going to do tomorrow, dear?

The Travel Trade Type Market Tour Operators & Wholesalers Examples include: Virgin Holidays AA Vacations Kuoni Travel Signature Travel Agencies Canada – 2, 300 Us – 30, 000+ Specialty Tour Operators Examples Include: Ecotourism Bird Watchers Adventure Travel Soft Adventure Learning Tours Affinity Groups Examples Include: Smithsonian Travel Office Heritage Associations Corporate Incentive Groups

Travel Trade Has Some Questions l Why? – To protect their customers l LETA – Building a quality assurance program “I have a customer base of 25, 000 who rely on me to recommend product. I cannot afford to make a mistake. ”

And the Questions l Do you meet public health & safety standards? – Do you have the necessary licenses? l l l Are your staff trained? What is your guide training? Do you have life jackets in your boat? What food safety practices do you follow? Do you have liability insurance? Who am I signing a contract with? And so on……………. .

The Financing Sources Have Questions l It is mainly about 2 areas: – Marketing – Management l They seek comfort in a clear marketing plan – preferably clear access to booking systems or marketing partnerships l They want to know that the product is managed professionally – Meets standards accepted in marketplace

Meeting These Standards Means a Call to Action for Community Tourism How Do We Get There? The Communities Need Some Support

Tourism Investment In the old tourism l In the new tourism Investment in major l Investment in tourism infrastructure and is only made where facilities to attract improvements in the private investment was quality of life of the norm destination’s citizens can be realized

Investing in Community Tourism is a Sound Strategy for Community Development & Environmental & Social Sustainability

It is a Also a Sound Tourism Investment Strategy WTO’s Top 5 Hottest Tourism Products ü Ecotourism ü Adventure Tourism ü Cultural Tourism Cruise Tourism Thematic Tourism The Market is Changing & Positive for Community Tourism

The Thinking Has to Change In the old tourism l The main driver was selling “rooms” with sun, sea and sand packages in large resort In the new tourism We sell “experiences” with heritage, communities, nature, culture l And yes – sun, sea & sand too l

Our Approaches Have to Evolve In the old tourism We encouraged large properties and offshore investor partners l We didn’t pay a lot of attention to small enterprises l In the new tourism l We need new mechanisms and models to assist, finance and sustain indigenous investment & community tourism

Our Partnerships Have to Evolve with Our Thinking In the old tourism l The major hotels had concierge and tour desks

Our Partnerships Have to Evolve with Our Thinking In the new tourism l The major hotels have a concierge and tour desks & a community desk

Commitment Needs to be At All Levels l It is a major shift in thinking & approaches l Leadership from government & the private sector l Characterized by partnerships – Recognition that it is long term – Capacity building in essential l It is not just about tourism – An investment in quality of life for citizens

Thank You