Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch
Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch
Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch
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<strong>Beyond</strong> <strong>Greening</strong>: Reflections on <strong>Tourism</strong> in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperThe South Indian state of Kerala adopted tourism as a main sector for its economicdevelopment, declaring that the state is following a private sector led tourism development. Itfurther stated that in the first tourism policy in 1995 and thereafter, the government hasclosely embraced the private sector in all its planning and decision making efforts. Theinvolvement of the private sector is ensured through its presence in all committees anddecision-making bodies. A closer look at the tourism and related policies of the state revealsthe influence of the private sector in designing tourism policies and legislation in their favour.A proposed <strong>Tourism</strong> Trade Act, which was a comprehensive Act outlining several controlmeasures on the trade, was amended by the Government of Kerala after due consultation withthe private sector, which advised against too much control as it was considered adverse fortourism development. 34At the same time, civil society groups in the state strongly protested against another act calledKerala <strong>Tourism</strong> Conservation and Preservation Act, which curtails the powers of PanchayatiRaj institutions (local self governments) and is against the spirit of decentralisation ofgovernance. This act also proposes a top to bottom approach. But the government passed thisact without any consultation with civil society organisations, whose voices are not adequatelyheard in policy formulation processes.UNWTO: Global governance for whom?The industry interests and biases also influence international governance and decision-makingat the level of the World <strong>Tourism</strong> Organization (UNWTO). Policy formulation processes atUNWTO happen in a very non-participatory manner, in stark contradiction to UNWTO'sstatements on sustainable tourism and governance. According to UNWTO, "Governance is asystem and process to define strategies and implement them to achieve competitiveness andsustainable development of the tourism destination." They added that a good governancesystem should involve public and private sectors but also the civil society, who need to worktogether within a set of values and principles: openness, participation, consultation, dialogue,innovation, coordination, strong leadership, coherence, effectiveness, accountability, etc. 35But in practice this UN agency is taking industry into confidence rather than civil society andtheir concerns. UNWTO's activities at the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009 weretestimony to this. UNWTO organised an event with the World Travel & <strong>Tourism</strong> Council(WTTC) without any civil society participation. However, UNWTO and WTTC are part ofthe game of adopting jargon such as eco-tourism, sustainable tourism and responsible tourismwithout changing much on the ground. These concepts have been co-opted and distorted byofficial agencies and corporations for profit making. It is high time to restructure the UNWTOas a UN agency to make it more accountable and transparent. As a UN agency, itsresponsibility is much more than echoing industry interests.WTTC: Rolling out the red carpetApart from governments and supranational institutions, industry organisations like the WorldTravel & <strong>Tourism</strong> Council (WTTC) are influencing governance and policies at various levels.WTTC was established in 1990. It is a coalition of 70 chief executives from all sectors of thetravel and tourism industry. They work and lobby very closely with UNWTO and34Ministry of <strong>Tourism</strong> & Culture, Government of India: Kerala’s Approach to <strong>Tourism</strong> Development: A Case Study.http://tourism.gov.in/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/studyreports/07%20KeralaCaseStudy.pdf, retrieved on 29/5/201235UNWTO Algarve Forum <strong>Tourism</strong> and Science: Bridging Theory and Practice Governance for Sustainable <strong>Tourism</strong> Development59