With this simple question we can significantly contribute to the sustainability of the tourism sector. And so Ronald Sanabria says, with whom we talk about the trends and challenges of this sector. Ronald has worked in the tourism industry in certification programmes, productivity, quality control and sustainability since 1992. Currently he is vice-director of sustainable tourism at the international NGO Rainforest Alliance (RA), dealing particularly with the Latin-American region from his native country, Costa Rica. By Pedro Fernández, EUCC Mediterranean Centre.
Q: How would you define “sustainable tourism”?
A: To love your homeland. To be interested and take care of the places you visit as much as you do in your own home. This perspective allows preserving the resources that enable the tourism industry and can be adopted by anyone, no matter if you are a tourist, a hotel manager or a government. On my opinion, this is the most important idea. However there are many other technical definitions, for example, that of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) which says that sustainable tourism is the one that allows enjoying tourist attractions and benefices today, without compromising future generations’ possibilities. It doesn’t refer only to nature or community tourism but it’s more a business philosophy which applies regardless of the type of tourist industry.
Q: Which are the main working areas of your organization?
A: There are three. First, to support the tourism industry to improve the socio-environmental performance, in a way that every year there are more companies engaged towards sustainability. The second one would be to increase the demand for sustainable tourism products. And finally, to develop a common language that allows communicating to the market the efforts deployed at the local level, which is called the shared sustainability standards.
Q: Which are the main challenges faced by the tourism industry to reach a harmonious development?
A: There are five important challenges, starting by reducing the gap between theory and practice. Other key aspect is to bring practical tools to the industry, especially to SMEs (80% at global scale). Even more important is to facilitate access to funding, which is hampered by tourism seasonality and small companies’ size. On the other hand, there has been a great progress on demystifying sustainable tourism as that of backpackers or high-class nature facilities. Sustainability is being progressively applied to more fields. Another challenge is the development of planning frameworks that foster implementation of concrete actions. A last challenge would be that consumers understand that their decisions have a direct impact on the region, society and environment they visit. It is not about letting them feel guilty, but more about communicating that nowadays they have options.
Q: How does Latin-America perceive European tourists?
A: InWestern Europe countries, especially Germans but also French and British, one notes that they are very aware of this kind of messages, they understand their holidays’ impacts. Moreover, European tourists have already affinity for culture and nature and that’s the main reason of their travel, and so they don’t shut themselves up at a hotel.
Q: What can we do as tourist to generate a positive impact on the places we visit?
A: In short, tourists could ask when choosing the tour or upon arrival: What does your company do to support the conservation of the beauties I’m going to visit? Just the fact of asking is extremely important because it means that tourists are concerned. If we always do so, we will be able to assess the evolution and have an opinion on the tourism industry.
Q: According to your experience, which are the best practices in countries or regions, and which are the worst?
A: In Latin-America, I think the efforts being done in Ecuador are very interesting, which go from policy making on sustainable tourism to bringing support to micro-companies. Costa Rica is also a good example. In specific locations, there are very good examples on sustainable tourism progress in the Peruvian-Equatorial Amazonia. In the city of Granada, Nicaragua, there is an excellent work with hotels. As bad practices where the negative impact is already palpable, I can mention certain mass tourism locations in Cancun and Dominican Republic.
Q: How do you see the tourism evolution in ten years?
A: According to the WTO forecast, and despite the crisis, the estimation of 1,6 million tourist by 2020 will be achieved. Indeed tourism has become a right and a need, and not anymore a high-class privilege. The current situation is also an opportunity to promote more sustainable businesses.
Q: Would you like to add anything else?
A: Yes, I would like to highlight the key role of media to get the message through population, and so we must work together. Besides they are receptive to sustainable tourism issues. Travel magazines go beyond and they make sure that the destinations they write about are responsible since their credibility is at stake.
Interesting links:
Advices to tourists: www.rainforest-alliance.org/green-living/travel
