Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | Positioningpaperneeds to be redefined from an industry promoter to a people and development-orientedregulator. The primary responsibility of governments, including tourism ministries, is goodgovernance, protecting the well-being of the people, rather than acting merely as a tourismpromotion agency.Government actions at the behest of industry lobbies have led to unsustainable tourismdevelopment in many destinations. The main victims of this biased development are thecommunities who are marginalised. Their concerns are ignored, thus violating theirfundamental human rights in the process.In India, the relaxation and deregulation of certain legislations for tourism developmentcaused unregulated tourism and land speculation. Traditional communities like fisherfolkwere displaced from the coast in a process of market-induced displacement. Fragileenvironments and natural resources of the coast were adversely affected. None of these seriousconcerns has been adequately addressed in the tourism and other related policies, mainlybecause of the increased influence of the industry. The tourism industry is lobbying for morerelaxations and their interests are reflected in many recent policy reforms. Tourism is gettingexemptions from many of the environmental and other legislations (for example theEnvironment Assessment Notification 2006 and the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification).The Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India, which is supposed to protect theinterests of the Indian people and must ensure proper governance in tourism merely acts as atourism promotion agency for big industry players, using Indian tax payers' money. In 2012,the Indian government's budget allocation for overseas tourism promotion and publicityincluding market development assistance is 2.75 billion Indian rupees. 33On the one hand, the industry is lobbyingfor "minimal state" intervention inregulation which allows them to developtourism in a much-liberalised manner. Onthe other hand, industry interest groups seekto have government policy developed intheir favour, including government fundingfor promotion, subsidies, incentives, andinfrastructure development. In addition,these interest groups often lobby to avoidcertain regulations which are against theirbusiness interests. These industry pressuregroups make their voices heard in policyformulation processes. These influencesoften lead to outcomes that adversely affect the environment and interests of communities,and undermine sustainability.33Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Government of India: Outcome Budget (2011-12).http://tourism.gov.in/writereaddata/Uploaded/Finance/051620110344234.pdf, retrieved on 29/5/201258
Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism 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 Tourism 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 Tourism 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 Tourism 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 & Tourism 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 & Tourism 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 Tourism & Culture, Government of India: Kerala’s Approach to Tourism Development: A Case Study.http://tourism.gov.in/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/studyreports/07%20KeralaCaseStudy.pdf, retrieved on 29/5/201235UNWTO Algarve Forum Tourism and Science: Bridging Theory and Practice Governance for Sustainable Tourism Development59
Page 1 and 2:
Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tou
Page 3 and 4:
Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tou
Page 5 and 6:
Environmental Stewardship: Governan
Page 7 and 8: Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tou
Page 57: Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tou
show all

Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?