TIES Innovation Leadership in Sustainable Tourism Award recognizes individuals and organizations who have demonstrated leadership in innovative actions that effectively promote sustainable tourism and bring tangible benefits to communities and conservation. We are thrilled to announce the winners of the first TIES Innovation Leadership in Sustainable Tourism Award!

Winner, Individual Category: Ron Mader, Planeta.com

Described by many of his colleagues, friends and supporters as an inspiration, Ron has demonstrated the power of collaboration to positively impact the efforts to bring sustainability to the forefront of the tourism industry worldwide. Working together with Oliver Hillel, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and many other partners, Ron has created an innovative initiative, the Indigenous Tourism Biodiversity Website (ITBW) Award, which showcases best practice examples by Indigenous tourism businesses effectively utilizing various communication tools to share their pride in their heritage and to help educate visitors about biodiversity conservation and sustainable community development.

Ron’s leadership in the areas of Indigenous tourism, online communication and awareness building initiatives, and grassroots capacity building approaches has inspired many to actively participate in conversations about sustainability in tourism, and has helped highlight important issues facing Indigenous communities around the world.

Winner, Organization Category: Rainforest Alliance

Launched in 2009, the Rainforest Alliance Verified Program addresses key sustainability issues in travel and tourism by providing local tourism entrepreneurs and community-based businesses in Latin America with the tools and training they need to become more environmentally and socially responsible, to compete in the marketplace, and to contribute to the conservation of the local cultures and nature.

For many participating tourism businesses, the No. 1 concern when it comes to the implementation of sustainability practices is the costs associated with the changes, adjustments and improvements they make in their operations. To address this important question, the study “Best Management Practices in Tourism Businesses: Their Benefits and Implications” by Rainforest Alliance examined 14 participating hotels of various sizes, types of locations and market niches in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua and provided data supporting the tangible benefits of sustainable tourism practices both in terms of cost-saving and marketing advantages.

Runner-Up, Individual Category: Wayne Sentman, Director of Field Education Programs, Oceanic Society

In 2009, Wayne Sentman initiated a novel CO2 offset program for the San Francisco based non-profit marine conservation organization, Oceanic Society. Wayne worked to form a partnership between Oceanic Society, Warren Prescott School, and a Harvard University, graduate student founded education non-profit, Quen.ch. The basic premise of this 2009 pilot project was to have students voluntarily pledge to not eat red meat for various time periods helping offset the carbon footprint of a selected Oceanic Society expeditions.

“This CO2 offset program has engaged our membership, conservation partners, and ecotourist volunteers on many levels. Moreover it allowed us, a non-profit marine conservation organization, to bring our field programs directly into the classroom inspiring a student connection to real world conservation efforts. Through the efforts of Wayne and the dedicated collaboration of outside partners he worked with, this simple offset program has grown in ways that we could not have anticipated. Oceanic Society is excited to continue to work with Wayne, Quen.ch, and educators from the Harvard Extension School and School of Public Health, to expand this project, incorporating more students to ideally offset all our programs air travel associated CO2 by 2011.” – Birgit Winning, Oceanic Society

Runner-Up, Organization Category: Rios Tropicales

Bajo del Tigre, also called El Tigre, is a small rural community of 100 members (25 families) located in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica, two miles from Rios Tropicales’ eco-lodge on the Pacuare River. The El Tigre South-South Project is an international collaboration between the Republic of Costa Rica and the Kingdom of the Bhutan. The immediate project players are the small rural community of El Tigre, and the newly created Association of Bhutanese Outfitters in Bhutan. The official Programme for South-South Cooperation (PSC) project title was: Rural Adventure Tourism Enhancement and Sustainable Community Development in Bhutan and Costa Rica.

“It has been an immense pleasure for my team and me from Bhutan to partner with Rios Tropicales in this project, which has been successfully implemented. We are also grateful to Rafa and team from Rios Tropicales for sharing their experiences and expertise with fellow Bhutanese. Not only does Rafa dreams of big plans and talks about it but he also implements it. El Tigre Sustainable Community Based tourism initiative is one such selfless dreams of Rafa, which is been fulfilled for all to experience and enjoy, most of all the community themselves who will be the ultimate beneficiaries. I had the pleasure to visit the place myself and what Rafa and team has done for EL Tigre is an exemplary for people in the sustainable tourism development, eco-tourism, pro-poor tourism or geo-tourism to learn, experience and share. What he has done is initiated a unique enterprise model community tourism, which in my observation is new approach to sustainability.” – Sonam Dorji, Secretary General, Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO)

Runner-Up, Organization Category: The Travel Foundation

Since Alex Haley’s book ‘Roots’ was published in 1976, tourists have been flocking to the villages of Juffureh and Albreda in the Gambia where the story began. Tours to the villages involve international visitors arriving by boat and spending a few hours in the community learning about the slave trade and life in the village. Although Juffureh and Albreda are situated in one of the poorest areas of the Gambia, local people earned very little from the tours. The Travel Foundation began working with the communities and tour operators to redevelop the tour with the aim of creating greater benefit for local people, to help ensure that their voice was heard in decisions made about tourism to their communities and to create a more sustainable future for the tours.

“Thomas Cook felt really privileged to work with the Travel Foundation on this project in the Gambia. Many of our guests come on holiday and really want to help and support local communities but were uncomfortable when hassled to buy crafts and continually asked for money as they were not sure where the money was going to and that it was being used for the best benefit. We are delighted to hear that the Roots project has been such a success and that it has given the villagers much more control over their destiny and economy. I am so pleased to hear that the childrens centre has been created teaching them how to learn and to play. This was one of the points that the guests complained about so much on their original excursion that there were so many children begging and that they were not in school and this was sending out the wrong message for their future lifestyle.” – Mandi Watson, Thomas Cook, Former Gateway Manager, The Gambia

Thank You!

Since the announcement of the 16 Finalists, we have been receiving a great number of comments and kudos from all corners of the world. Many project supporters and stakeholders went out of their ways (in some cases, literally going out of their ways to access internet in remote locations where simply getting to a computer could take hours) to share their insights and feedback. Many travelers, volunteers and friends actively participated in congratulating the finalists by sharing their personal experiences.

Each person who participated in the first year of TIES Innovation Award has contributed to making it such a worthwhile, educational and inspiring experience for us all. There couldn’t have been a better way to commemorate the 20th anniversary of TIES – by celebrating the accomplishments of those who continue to make a difference, uniting conservation, communities and sustainable travel!

Our sincere gratitude and congratulations also go to all of the following 2010 Innovation Award finalists:

• Santiago Dunn, Executive President, Ecoventura – Galapagos Network (Individual Category)
• Jennifer Holderied, Owner, Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort (Individual Category)
• Jessica McKelson, Director, Raw Wildlife Encounters (Individual Category)
• Basecamp Explorer (Organization Category)
• Elemento Natural (Organization Category)
• Institute at the Golden Gate (Organization Category)
• Intrepid Travel (Organization Category)
• Playa Viva (Organization Category)
• Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (Organization Category)
• WHL Consulting (Organization Category)
• WildChina (Organization Category)

2010 Innovation Award Presentation Ceremony

At the upcoming Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), TIES and the conference organizers are pleased to host the 2010 Innovation Award Presentation Ceremony during the Closing Reception (Friday, September 10th, 4:15-6:00pm). Many of the Innovation Award Finalists will be represented at the conference, and we encourage their members, partners, and supporters to join the celebration at the ESTC 2010, being held in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Stay Tuned – 2011 Innovation Award

Interested in being part of the Innovation Award program next year?

Be sure to receive latest news on the awards by joining TIES or signing up for TIES e-newsletters. Nominations for the 2010 Innovation Award will open in May 2011.

Booni is a village 80 kilometers to the north of Chitral town. Just like the rest of the villages in the Hindu Kush region, Booni is a fan-shaped landmass formed by glacial deposit at the mouth of what is called ‘Booni Gol’ or the stream of Booni, which cultivates the tracts of crops, vegetables, fruit bearing apple, pear and grape trees, and so on.

On the afternoon of July 26th, 2010, a huge flash flood that originated from Booni Zom glacier smashed road networks, telephone and water supply lines, depriving the local communities of the basic life amenities. The jeep-able road that once connected Central Booni to Molgram in the south vanished in a flash and the blacktopped road cleanly swept. The proportion of the flood was so immense that the wide span of the stream course could hardly accommodate it.

Flood-related destruction

Consequently, the overflow entered the settlements destroying houses, orchards, and washing everything on its way including a Jamat Khana. The irrigation channels branching off the main stream have been badly disrupted. This has left standing crops of rice, maize, and fruit bearing trees, orchards, and kitchen garden without water for more than a week, the cost of which for the locals, who largely depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood, could be immeasurable.

The topography of the post-flood Booni Gol presents an unattractive and unacceptable look. The green patches of crops/grasslands and the leafy overhanging trees that once decorated the line of the stream could be seen uprooted. This also means the life-time dreams of the locals woven into the serene beauty of the stream have been washed away by the worst natural calamity of our time. You will find the grief-stricken villagers standing at the edge and fearfully gazing into the abyss of the flood bed pondering over the factors that provoked the disaster.

The edge of the land toppled by the flood.

Global warming-related flash floods have become a commonplace in the Hindu Kush mountains. Four years ago, the village of Sonoghor was totally destroyed, and Brep (another village in the north) partially plastered. Still in another instance, forty people in the Washeech village of Torkhow valley were killed when an unusual snow avalanche buried them in a harsh winter of early February.

The trauma of the flood for the local communities has been enormous. The entire population was panic-stricken, and most obviously those living near the epicenter of the flood; mothers ran amok with their children pressed under their arms. Young daughters hurried to collect household items and to bring livestock into safe places. Male family members started running with whatever valuables they could take. In no time, then, a large number of displaced people reached at Gahli playground, embarrassed and grief-stricken. They preferred to stay under the open sky in a torrential rain for the sake of their life. Many of them took refuge with relatives and family members in the nearby villages.

The next morning tent village for the displaced was established at Gahli stadium right across the river from the village. Some people still preferred to have night stay in these tents to avoid the risk of being washed along the flood. The community was advised to remain alert a team of experts who conducted the aerial survey of the hazard-prone glacier.

Tent village at Gahli stadium for the displaced people

In the meantime, the police and volunteers from the local community have been deployed to the upper region with a mission to detect early signs of another disastrous flood, which was perceived to have been lurking somewhere in the glacier.

Aid efforts have not been arranged by government and non-governmental organizations to support these victims. There is a concern of cholera, typhoid and malaria and other water-born diseases spreading among those living in the tent village. The road links leading to the Chitral district and Booni have been cut off, which is expected to lead to rampant price-hiking for the locals, making the month of Ramadan unreasonably difficult for many of them.

More Information & How You Can Help

350.org – Standing together in climate disasters
The Travel Word – Floods Cripple Pakistan
Al Jazeera English (YouTube) – Parts of Swat still cut off by floods

*Please leave comments below to share relevant information and links on Pakistan floods relief and rebuilding efforts, and ways for individuals and organizations to help the victims in the short- and long-term.

Nominated by: Anita Narayan, WildChina (Organization Category)

Project Description

In October 2009, WildChina’s educational travel department launched a new sustainable tourism initiative to improve local practices and standards of living in rural southwest China. This initiative involved organizing service learning projects for student groups in which they helped villages in Sichuan province, still recovering from the devastating May 2008 earthquake, build eco-friendly, waterless toilets.

Water cleanliness is a persistent problem for China’s water lifelines that carry snow melt from the Himalayas eastward to the Pacific Ocean. This problem is often the result of unsanitary conditions and practices in human settlements that border major rivers. Building eco-friendly toilets in these areas is crucial to sustainable development, as the sterilization process that occurs in these outlets affords two improvements to local life. First, it can restore a natural cleansing system of the area’s water, allowing for local community members to preserve the pristine nature of some of the area’s most important water resources. Second, it allows human waste to be used as fertilizer, which can further bolster crops and prevent contamination from waste in food and water.

Through our innovative eco-toilet initiative, WildChina has taken school groups to villages like Anglong near Chengdu and Shenxi near the Tibetan Plateau. Students helped construct toilets made from bamboo or brick, depending on the topography of the villages.

For the Anglong Village project, WildChina worked with a Sichuan-based NGO, Chengdu Urban Rivers Association (CURA), which is dedicated to transforming the village into a model of sustainable development that can be applied to similar rural areas of China. Located along the banks of the Zou Ma River (one of the Fu-Nan Rivers) near Chengdu, Anlong was once a community plagued by severe water pollution as a result of livestock, chemical fertilizer and more. Although efforts in the mid-1990s cleaned up the rivers to some degree, the Fu-Nan Rivers Comprehensive Revitalization Project was not entirely effective. As such, communities like Anlong still needed help to rid themselves of pollution and contamination.

CURA has been working with the Anlong community to develop sustainable practices for farming, sanitation and development. The NGO is trying to reduce chemical infiltration and pollution into the river systems that feed into Chengdu’s rivers and form part of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. While in Anlong, WildChina’s student group learned about Anlong community and its issues and spent time testing and reporting on the local water quality. The group then helped construct eco-friendly toilets and proudly presented new bathroom facilities to the village at the end of the project.

For the Shenxi Village project, WildChina worked with another local NGO, WildGrass (Yecao), which is dedicated to providing sanitary living conditions in earthquake-stricken areas of Sichuan. WildGrass educates rural communities in how to better manage their waste, reduce ground water pollution and process waste materials in a sanitary fashion.

Shenxi is located at the upper reaches of the Minjiang River and the edge of the Tibetan Plateau—an hour’s hike from the nearest paved road. Although it is a remote area, the activities of this village profoundly influence the rest of Sichuan and surrounding areas, as it sits atop the Sichuan water basin, which stores water runoff from the Himalayas and supplies vital water to Sichuan and regions downriver.

Separated by only a mountain from the epicenter of the May 2008 earthquake, Shenxi was devastated by the damage it inflicted. Aside from the toll on human life, many of the buildings collapsed outright and those still standing suffered heavy damage. Villagers who returned to Shenxi after the earthquake rebuilt their homes with the limited resources available, and the result was a village that lacked adequate sanitation.

This is where WildGrass comes in—the NGO incorporates new technology into their waterless toilets. The toilets are built from bamboo and locally recycled materials, and use underground fermentation with ash from local plants to sterilize the waste. The byproducts are then used as crop bio-fertilizers. These toilets save nearby rivers and the water-bed from waste pollution. Moreover, the toilets provide a resource to the local farmers, who can economize on locally purchased fertilizer.

WildChina’s student group hiked into Shenxi Village, where the winding mountain road is still in disrepair from the earthquake and certain stretches have disappeared altogether. Working with WildGrass, WildChina and local villagers, students built six waterless latrines with self-sterilizing technology for the village. After the project, one of the villagers for whom the students had built a toilet cooked a meal for the students as a show of gratitude.

As WildChina’s expertise with building eco-toilets grows, we plan to continue to work with local NGOs and our educational travel clients on this sustainable tourism project and thereby help improve local practices in rural areas of southwest China.

WildChina Eco Toilet Project

Waterless Toilet Platform

Bamboo Frame and Walls

>> Learn how the waterless toilets are built

Related Articles

Improving Local Practices in Southwest China, Part I: Developing a Model Village for Sustainable Peri-Urban Development in Anlong, Sichuan
Improving Local Practices in Southwest China, Part II: Bio-toilets in Sichuan Province

Learn More about WildChina

Mei Zhang, Founder of WildChina, will be presenting on the panel “Creating opportunities through environmental education and outdoor learning” at this year’s Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), being held in Portland, Oregon, USA from September 8-10. The ESTC brings together innovative minds from across the industry to discuss practical ideas and solutions that inspire positive changes. Learn more & register online at: www.ecotourismconference.org.

Nominated by: Paula Vlamings, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (Organization Category)

Project Description:

The Institute at the Golden Gate’s mission is to advance environmental preservation and global sustainability by facilitating cross-sector dialogue and collaboration, encouraging new partnerships, and promoting action.

We bring together environmentalists, business executives, philanthropists, inventors, venture capitalists, scientists, social entrepreneurs, youth activists, and engaged leaders from across all sectors committed to advancing global sustainability. We create opportunities for nonprofit and government entities to join this network by providing affordable green meeting space, and connecting emerging leaders and organizations through their shared vision.

To help accomplish this mission, the concept of 21st century “guilds” were formed at the Institute, which are communities of accomplished, visionary individuals who share a commitment to solving Earth’s most pressing environment and social challenges. The guilds are a means to connect, inspire, and facilitate ongoing partnerships and action. Face-to-face collaboration occurs at the Institute, as well as through correspondence, virtual meetings, joint project ventures, and other activities.

In 2008, a Sustainable Communities guild was formed around the concept of fostering next-generation tools for sustainable tourism development. Over the next two years, a series of meetings with leading practitioners from the tourism industry, NGOs and government were held at the Institute, and their work was highlighted this year through the Institute’s annual environmental forum, Turning the Tide.

The Project:

The travel and tourism sector is the key economic sector for small island states with tourism accounting for a significant share of their foreign exchange earnings. Warming seas threaten the livelihood of small island developing economies worldwide, in part because of their dependence on healthy coral reefs. A lack of basic sanitation and the continued rise in sea levels due to climate changes are significant environmental stress factors impacting fragile coral reef systems throughout the world.

Estimates by the United Nations Environmental Programme (2008) indicate that less than 10 percent of wastewater is treated in the developing world, and over 70% of coral reefs in the world are impacted by the discharge of untreated sewage. Although coral reefs play an important role for ecotourism, they also act as essential barriers from storm surge and provide critical habitat for fisheries vital to the local island economy and welfare.

Addressing water pollution by adopting innovative wastewater technologies is fundamental to the protection of coral reef systems. For these reasons, innovative waste water technology will have a key role to play in the mitigation and adaptation of islands worldwide to climate change.

The hotel and resort industry is well positioned to assist with maintaining pristine island and coastal environments and social well being and has a fundamental role to play in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Presently water treatment systems producing re-usable water are expensive to buy, install and operate. The plan is to provide systems which are low cost, low maintenance, have a small carbon footprint and produce high quality water that can be reused in many ways. It is understood that resort owners will see the financial return on their investment and have total customer satisfaction from the system, which must be reliable and reduce present risk from rising seas and storm surges.

Mike Freed, guild member and co-owner of Passports Resorts, installed similar energy-efficient, low-cost waste water management systems in two of his resorts. One is at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort and the other is at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California. Both are award-winning properties. In Fiji, this system has improved water quality while protecting the adjacent coral reef, and also provides irrigation to the property. This technology served as the basis for the project.

The Result:

The Institute is now incubating the development of a social business to deliver low-cost, waste water reclamation systems for small and medium resorts worldwide. A group of experts in sustainable tourism, marketing, social business, waste water engineering, hotel and resort management, and coastal and ocean ecology gathered in Institute guild meetings to create a new technology that can serve as a tool to reduce the impacts of tourism worldwide.

The waste water engineers have collaborated to create what they believe will be the most cost and space effective waste water treatment system available in the world, and there is growing excitement regarding the innovation that has resulted from the collaborative process that took place.

Megan Epler Wood, Senior Fellow at the Institute and TIES founder provided the spark to bring this program to life. She had the vision to use the Institute and its array of extraordinary experts in green solutions to focus on a very specific tool to lessen the impacts of sustainable on global environments, and avoid vague deliberative sessions with only academic results.

The extraordinary individuals involved are part of the extensive network of the Institute, which extends from our partnership with the National Park Service to the Bay Area’s leading entrepreneurs and educational institutions. They have collectively developed these creative solutions which have the potential to greatly improve water treatment at the resort level. This project also has the potential to bring new funding and incentives to improve water treatment for a reasonable cost, with new green approaches beyond the resort. This effort has great potential to improve local well-being and the environment in entire regions in the future.

Through this working group guild process, the Institute at the Golden Gate has demonstrated its leadership in developing innovative planning and collaborative thinking in the field of sustainable tourism.

Golden Gate Institute Fiji Water Project

Fiji Island

Local Workers

Testimonials

“The Institute’s Sustainable Communities guild has taken on a very important project. The water reclamation/waste water system we installed in our Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort, has significantly improved the quality of the coral reef in front of the resort, benefiting both our local community and our guests. It is a model that is easily duplicated – we even incorporated reusing plastic Fiji Water bottles into the system. With the support of the Institute’s Sustainable Communities guild, we believe that more island resorts, and coastal developments in general, will have the opportunity to install this next generation of this sustainable technology throughout the Pacific and beyond. We are developing a plan with the Institute with the potential to have a huge impact to improve the coral reefs, and I’m thrilled to be involved.” – Mike Freed, Co-Owner, Passport Resorts

“The Institute’s Sustainable Communities guild has provided a set of new collaborators that opened up my world and inspired new innovative ideas. Our group includes industry leaders, new technology specialists, cutting edge business planners, leading community development thinkers, and environmental gurus. The creative experience and the progress we have made together is breathtaking.” – Megan Epler Wood

Learn More about the Institute at the Golden Gate

The ESTC 2010 participants and visitors will have the opportunity to get to know the Institute and to learn about their projects during the conference exhibition program this year in Portland, Oregon, USA. All conference participants are encouraged to visit the Exhibition Hall during the conference days. The Exhibition hall will also be open to the public on Thursday September 9th, 2010 between 2:00pm and 5:30pm.

>> View all exhibitors

Nominated by: Georgina Davies, The Travel Foundation (Organization Category)

Project Description

‘Roots’ Tour Project – The Gambia

Since Alex Haley’s book ‘Roots’ was published in 1976, tourists have been flocking to the villages of Juffureh and Albreda in the Gambia where the story began. The book and subsequent film tell the story of Kunte Kinteh, a man captured as an adolescent from Juffureh and sold into slavery in the United States. Today, around 2000 people live in Juffereh and Albreda, including decedents of Kunte Kinteh’s family. Tours to the villages involve international visitors arriving by boat and spending a few hours in the community learning about the slave trade and life in the village.

Although Juffureh and Albreda are situated in one of the poorest areas of the Gambia, local people earned very little from the tours. Until recently, the villages received no fee from visitors and the only way that the community was able to gain from the tours was through donations and by hassling tourists to buy crafts, sweets and other items. As a result, hassle to tourists was rife, complaints were common and tour operators were thinking of dropping the excursion from their itineraries. In addition, local people had very little, if any, say in the tourism to their villages.

In response, The Travel Foundation, a UK charity, began working with the communities and tour operators to redevelop the tour. The aim was to create greater benefit for local people, to help ensure that their voice was heard in decisions made about tourism to their communities and to create a more sustainable future for the tours. The project was initiated and piloted in the 2008/2009 season and has since been developed in 2009/2010. It is implemented by a local team based in the Gambia.

The first step was to gain agreement from tour operators for part of the price of the tours to be paid into a village fund to support development projects. Now, 50 Gambian Delasi (around US$1.84) per tourist is paid into this fund, increasing local earnings from tourism significantly and raising over US$27,500 to date. The fund belongs to and is managed by the communities themselves and we have helped to set up a village steering committee to ensure an accountable and transparent process for the use of the money. The Kinteh family also receive an allowance from this fund and they have reported that this has enabled them to increase their income from the tours by 50%.

So far, 16 local people have been trained to become professional tour guides, who now earn a monthly salary paid for by the fund. The guides enable visitors to gain more from their visit and help to limit hassle from street vendors.

We are also helping local people to increase income from the sale of crafts to visitors without hassling tourists. Many of the vendors in Juffureh sell on goods made elsewhere. We are training these vendors to make their own distinctive crafts using traditional methods, enabling them to increase the margin made from each sale and to create attractive products for tourists which are unique to the region. To date, 24 women have been trained in traditional tie dye methods using natural dyes found in their local environment, and 11 men have been trained in wood carving skills that are unique to the villages of Juffureh and Albreda. Our aim is to set up an official market at the pier where the tourist boats arrive.

In addition, we have created a children’s centre in the village, which gives local children facilities to learn and play outside of school hours. 70 children are now using the centre and an art teacher is helping them to learn traditional techniques and explore their artistic talents. As well as giving children an additional opportunity to learn and develop outside of school, the centre also helps to reduce the number of children begging from tourists.

It is early days for this project, but already local people are seeing greater benefits from the tours through increased income, new employment opportunities and a chance to learn new skills. Tourism is vital to the Gambia’s economy, representing its biggest foreign exchange earner and around 17% of its GDP. The 10,000 visitors who took a ‘Roots’ excursion last year brought important income to the villages of Juffereh and Albreda.

The project is also helping to increase the quality of the ‘roots’ tour and improve the experience for tourists, helping to ensure a more secure future for tourism in the area. The areas visited on these tours represent an important part of the Gambia’s heritage and tourism can play a significant role in its conservation, helping to keep alive the story of these villages and to improve the well being of the communities that live there today.

Our aim is to continue to improve the benefit for local people from these tours and to ensure that visitors continue to gain an authentic experience of the region’s culture and history in the knowledge that they are also contributing to the well-being of the people they meet.

Juffureh Local Guides

Alkalo Issuing Certificate to Female Guide

Children's Center

Testimonials

Joanne Baddeley, Sustainable Destinations Manager, Thomas Cook UK & Ireland:

‘This project is already helping people who live in the communities visited by the Roots tour by bringing new opportunities for them to earn vital income. It’s also important to visitors, as it’s helping to improve the quality of the tour and the experience for tourists. Roots is one of the most popular excursions for Thomas Cook customers and helps them to really appreciate the traditions and cultures of the country. It is important to us to continue to work together with the Travel Foundation in support of the Roots project to ensure that the local people receive the income they deserve through tourism.’

Lamin Ceesay, local guide, Juffureh:

“This training provided us with an opportunity to be certificated and licensed by the Gambia Tourism Authority as local guides within our community. My father passed away when I was young and my mother remarried and went to stay with her new husband in SerreKunda. As the eldest of the family I am considered the breadwinner of the family and the income I am now receiving is making me proud that I can now perform my responsibilities of contributing towards the family. I am sponsoring the education of my two younger brothers, Essa and Omar and that of my sister Yasai.”

Nominated by: Eliza Anderson, Intrepid Travel (Organization Category)

Project Description

In 2009, Intrepid Travel became the first adventure tour operator to announce that we would carbon offset the transport, waste and accommodation emissions on all of the trips that we operate across the globe. This accounts for 80% of our entire trip portfolio (we sell some trips operated by partner tour companies)!

As a result, all of our trips operating in 2010 have the cost of carbon offsetting included in the trip cost. This move not only cemented Intrepid’s position as a leader in tackling climate change, but it marked a significant milestone in our journey to become a carbon neutral company. The decision to carbon offset all of our trips followed a trial in 2009 whereby we conducted detailed assessments of the carbon emissions of 38 of our most popular trips around the world and included the cost of carbon offsetting in the price.

In 2009, from the 38 trial carbon offset trips, Intrepid offset 4222 tCO2-e, the equivalent of offsetting the electricity produced by 512 homes for one whole year! For the first six months of 2010, we have offset 10,880 tCO2-e from offsetting all of our trips. This is the equivalent of the electricity produced by 1320 homes for one whole year! We are already in discussion with some of our partner tour operators to encourage them to carbon offset their trips. We have had some positive results that mean we will offer more carbon offset trips in 2011.

ASSESSING CARBON EMISSIONS FROM TRIPS

With so many trip components potentially emitting greenhouse gases, we defined clear boundaries of what we would assess and subsequently offset. Our group leaders, given their experience and expert knowledge of the precise activities, locations and transport modes of the trips, collected the data. We then sent this data to an independent assessor to determine the carbon emissions associated with each element.

The scope of components included in our emissions assessment was:

• Transport: all intra-trip travel including flights included as part of the trip, taxis, tuk tuks, boats, trains and elephants (well maybe not elephants!). As direct emissions from transport makes up the vast majority of the emissions when travelling, offsetting this component is vital.
• Accommodation: offset all included accommodation, hotels and camping.
• Waste: While we will attempt to reduce waste in all ways possible, recycling is not accessible in all countries we visit. We have therefore, also considered emissions generated through the average waste generated per person in that particular region.

Once we established the amount of carbon emissions of a trip per passenger, we then looked at the cost of offsetting the trip. Intrepid trips have the offset cost embedded in the cost of the trip – our passengers have no additional fee to worry about!

The average offset cost embedded in our trip price is between $0.22 and $0.66 AUD per passenger per day (dependent on the trip and region you are travelling to). Even with the offset included, our trips are still competitive ensuring the best price for a grassroots adventure with a reduced environmental impact. By choosing to travel on these trips, our passengers are travelling in a way which dramatically reduces their net carbon footprint.

Aside from offsetting, Intrepid works hard on reducing the emissions of our trips. For example we’ve reduced transport emissions by replacing some internal flights or charter vehicles with efficient trains or buses. We’ve reduced accommodation emissions by encouraging hotel managers to introduce systems such as the key tag energy systems and drinking water dispensers that encourage travellers to refill their bottles for drinking water instead of purchasing bottled water and adding to the plastic waste disposal problem.

CARBON OFFSET PROJECTS

Intrepid Travel is working with Cleaner Climate to offer carbon offset trips. Cleaner Climate is an international carbon solutions provider focused on the delivery of pioneering climate change strategies for many of the world’s leading companies and brands, including Intrepid! We work closely with Cleaner Climate to select appropriate offset projects in which to invest through our Carbon Offset Trip initiative.

The projects are:

• Bargaran Mini_Hydro project, India
• Macahoe Hydro project, China
• Rice Husk Biomass project, Thailand

We have chosen to purchase carbon credits from existing projects rather than buying carbon credits from future projects. This is because we want the impact to be immediate.

In addition, we have chosen projects that offer social and financial benefits to local communities. For example:

• The project in India installed locally sourced turbines and employs locals for ongoing operations, monitoring and maintenance.
• The project in China improves electricity accessibility and reduces the prevalence of local villagers using firewood. In turn, this strengthens the soil and improves water conservation.
• The project in Thailand provides an income to local rice farmers who are struggling in the face of economic and political uncertainty. By selling husks, they generate a valuable new source of income.

CARBON MANGEMENT PLAN

Our Carbon offset Trips are part of Intrepid’s Carbon Management Plan. Our Carbon Management Plan maps out our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our operations and work towards carbon neutrality.

Intrepid’s Carbon Management Plan is made up of the following principles:
A.Measure
B.Avoid
C.Reduce or switch to an alternative
D.Offset
E.Assess

Under this Plan, we undertake environmental management of our trips, our corporate operations and the flights of our passengers. To our knowledge, we are the only tour operator in our market that has undertaken action to this extent. We are very proud of our efforts and look forward to minimizing our environmental impact even further.

OUTCOMES OF CARBON MANAGEMENT PLAN

• Since the beginning of Intrepid’s Carbon Management Plan and up until the end of 2009, we have offset 50,000 tonnes worth of carbon emissions. This is equivalent to offsetting the electricity produced by 6068 homes for one whole year!
• Intrepid managed to reduce its corporate footprint from 1210 tCO2-e (2008 Financial Year) to 1167 tCO2-e (2009 Financial Year).
• In 2010, 80% (almost 500 trips) of Intrepid’s trip portfolio are Carbon Offset Trips.

Intrepid Travel Thailand Tour

>> Learn more about Intrepid Travel’s carbon offset trips

ESTC 2010: Business Case for Sustainability

Jelina Mitrovic, Intrepid Travel’s Global Social Responsibility & Sustainability Manager, will present on the panel “Business case for sustainability in travel and tourism” at this year’s Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), being held in Portland, Oregon, USA from September 8-10. The ESTC brings together innovative minds from across the industry to discuss practical ideas and solutions that inspire positive changes. Learn more & register online at: www.ecotourismconference.org.

Nominated by: Judy Gona (Organization Category)

Project Description:

In 2009, Basecamp Explorer, in partnership with 500 masai landowners, agreed to create a 20,000 hectares community wildlife conservancy in Masai Mara Kenya. The called it Naboisho, which means togetherness in local Maa language.

Unique to this conservancy is that each of the 500 landowners is guaranteed of monthly income paid as rent for fifteen years, for setting aside part of their land for conservation. the rent is determined by the number of acres a landowner has contributed to the conservancy and will increase each year based on inflation rates.

The conservancy will create some 200 jobs for guides, camp staff, scouts, research teams, community outreach personnel, project officers, managers among others. the conservancy, now operational will have five eco-camps operating at the highest levels of ecotourism with all required to have Ecotourism Kenya’s Silver eco-rating certification within two years of operation.

A big cat monitoring project and elephant monitoring are being implemented. through a volunteers program, Naboisho is inviting the world to share in this incredible project. within the conservancy, is the only community guiding school in Eastern Africa.

Basecamp has been appointed the main consultant in steering the school to the highest levels of academic excellence. The choice of Basecamp as a partner by the community in the conservancy project, is not by coincidence. it a result of trust built over ten years where Basecamp has proven that tourism can benefit host communities through effective involvement. Basecamp through an effective CSR program has initiated projects in health, education, culture, conservation and climate change. our education program has seen close to 100 masai girls access education and enabled 115 women earn a regular income through an enterprise dubbed Basecamp Masai brand.

Masai brand is a provisional member of Fair Trade having been awarded fair trade label by the Confederation of Fair Trade in Africa (COFTA). Basecamp has a similar initiative with women from the village of Chandelao in India, where it runs a lodge. Basecamp Explorer is indeed a showcase of responsible tourism.

Lease signing

The Masai Brand

Nominated by: Julie Thorner (Organization Category)

Project Description

The El Tigre Community Sustainable Tourism South-South Project

El Tigre was awarded a grant from Fundecooperacion for this project in August of 2008. Project construction began in February of 2009. Project construction on the last Phase 1 initiative was finished in April of 2010.

The project to help develop El Tigre into a sustainable community tourism destination met the goals of the Programme for South-South Cooperation (PSC). These goals include: Sustainable tourism, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, Access to Sustainable Energy and Efficient Energy Use, Sustainable Chains of Production and Consumption, and Gender Equity. The three guiding principles of successful PSC project candidates are Equality, Reciprocity and Participation.

What is the El Tigre South-South Project?

The El Tigre South-South Project is an international collaboration between the Republic of Costa Rica and the Kingdom of the Bhutan. The immediate project players are the small rural community of El Tigre, and the newly created Association of Bhutanese Outfitters in Bhutan. The official PSC project title was: Rural Adventure Tourism Enhancement and Sustainable Community Development in Bhutan and Costa Rica.

How The El Tigre Project Started:

Bajo del Tigre, also called El Tigre, is a small rural community of 100 members (25 families) located in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica, two miles from Rios Tropicales’ eco-lodge on the Pacuare River.

The community has been serving lunch out of the homes of various families for the past couple of years to tourists who hiked and rode horseback from the adventure company eco-lodges to the town. Once there though, there was nothing for the tourists to do but have a meal and plant a tree at the nearby Rios Tropicales rainforest reserve. El Tigre resident Javier Mora manages this reserve for Rios Tropicales.

El Tigre community members had limited job opportunities in the town or related to the revenue potential of the nearby large adventure rafting industry. Several entrepreneurial residents wanted to offer more things for tourists to do and see, to support their community in sustainable, environmentally responsible ways, and create jobs and income for their families. Rios Tropicales had been involved in the community in various ways for years.

The Connection With The Kingdom of Bhutan

To qualify for a grant through PSC, however, the El Tigre community had to have a partner in either Benin or Bhutan, in order to meet the reciprocity and international collaboration guiding principles of the PSC. As it turns out, the Kingdom of Bhutan wanted to develop sustainable adventure-based tourism, specifically white water rafting, in its country.

Costa Rica has a very successful adventure tourism industry that has been operating since the early 1980s, and the country’s leader in sustainable adventure tourism is Rios Tropicales. On the reciprocal side, Bhutan has considerable experience in sustainable community development. Bhutan is sharing its lessons learned from its own successful sustainable tourism communities for the benefit of the El Tigre community in Costa Rica.

Thanks to the leadership of Rios Tropicales, El Tigre was able to apply for a PSC grant with the nascent Bhutanese Outfitters Association. Rios Tropicales provided strategic consulting to El Tigre residents about financially viable adventure tourism attractions. Rios Tropicales Co-founder and President, Rafael Gallo, managed the overall project and implementation in El Tigre.

El Tigre Becomes A Model Sustainable Tourism Project

The Year 1 initiatives (Phase 1) of the El Tigre South-South project provide income, jobs, education, and international collaboration for the community. The project funding was the critical support for the sustainable development of existing hobbies/interests into attractions and entrepreneurial activities that can generate revenue for operator/owners.

These community members benefit economically, socially, and educationally from their efforts, including increased self-esteem, retention of jobs and decreased rural flight. As most attractions involve the women in the families as co-owners and managers, the children experience gender equity through entrepreneurism first hand. They see their parents successfully co-creating and managing rural, sustainable businesses.

El Tigre Phase 1 Attractions:

1.Butterfly Garden: A popular attraction, with commercial applications possible.
2.Serpentarium: An educational snake exhibit of local rainforest species.
3.Orchid Garden: Expansion of a small private orchid garden into a robust attraction.
4.Agua Dulce Internet Café: Offers sustainable revenue source and international collaboration opportunities.
5.Environmentally sustainable bathrooms at the Bajo del Tigre School.
6.Expansion of the Tilapia sustainable fish farming project.

The El Tigre Project Results So Far

Rios Tropicales, as manager of the overall project for Fundecooperacion, along with the El Tigre community project managers and owners are pleased to report that Phase 1 of the South-South project has been completed on time and on budget. All attractions are now open and have been receiving a growing stream of tourist visitors from the adventure outfitters operating on the Pacuare river.

El Tigre’s elementary school, Escuela Los Angeles, became eligible for, and was awarded, the Costa Rica Blue Flag for Educational Centers as a direct result of this project. El Tigre is working toward becoming eligible for the Blue Flag for Community as well. A Phase 2 additional project of a hydroponic organic garden is also nearing completion. It will provide healthy food for the community and is a future revenue source through produce sales to eco-lodges on the Pacuare River.

We expect that Bajo del Tigre will be financially sustainable within two years of opening and operating the exhibits and the internet café. The ready-made tourist market from the rafting industry on the Pacuare ensures a steady visitor population to this tiny and otherwise remote rainforest community.

The combination of sustainable community development that is near large-scale adventure recreation is a win-win for communities and outfitters, and the only way the project can be financially viable long term. All outfitters have a chance to market to their guests the opportunity to visit to a sustainable rural development project while adventure vacationing on the Pacuare River. El Tigre now has economic and social opportunities never before imaginable in such a small and remote rainforest community.

Related Links

Costa Rica TV News Feature Story: Rios Tropicales, El Tigre, and Bhutan

Green Living Project: Rios Tropicales and El Tigre video

Fundecooperacion

South South Programme

El Tigre Community Website

Testimonials

The South-South Cooperation program is about having beneficiaries, people and communities getting benefited from the activities. El Tigre project it’s a real model where really the community is benefiting from this project. So it’s not just a big organization or a private organization its really about getting the benefits to the community; so when you see the people in El Tigre having their new, butterfly farm or the internet café or the serpentarium or whatever is really about them becoming micro entrepreneurs and having new activities but its also about a new source of income for them a new opportunity also for developing the family.

It’s really a model. As part of the PSC and as part of our hopes in Fundecooperación or our goals in Fundecooperación. This project is really about thinking globally acting locally, so its really two countries far away with so many differences: culture, language… its more about what can we learn from what our similarities are El Tigre project probably will never have dreamed of having a counterpart in the other side of the world… and this project makes it possible.

Marianela Feoli: General Manager, Fundecooperacion NGO, San Jose, Costa Rica

When I got here as a young boy, the custom of all the townspeople was to deforest in order to make space for farming. Even after that we continued cutting down trees without realizing that this was a serious problem for the environment. When I began to do this work with Rafael Gallo, I realized that this was a big mistake. He was impressing upon us that tree planting was so important. That’s that way I see it now too, and I believe the reforestation project is of utmost importance for the maintenance of the environment.

Javier Mora: Sustainable Development Manager, Tilapia Farm Manager, Owner of Internet Café with family

Thanks to South-South Cooperation and to Rios Tropicales I was able to achieve one of my dreams, to receive computer lessons- I travel to Cartago every Saturday from eight in the morning to midday. Thanks to having the internet here at home, it really helps me in my computer studies, and it also helps me economically.

Helen Gonzales Mora, 19 year old daughter of Javier Mora and manager of Agua Dulce Internet Café

I’m one of the guides that work for Rios Tropicales and also I’m one of the International Rafting Federation Instructors. I went to Bhutan to teach the Bhutanese guides how do rafting. It’s part of the South-South project. To travel to Bhutan it was an incredible opportunity that Rios Tropicales give us, me and Johnny Calderón as well, to teach them, because for us …we found a place that had a very incredible potential to be one of the white water rafting [destinations] around the world as well … I find people exactly the same as the rafting community in Costa Rica: they had passion, love for water, for rivers and they probably didn’t had the same experience than we [do], but they want to. I’m very surprised because we were talking the same language… we share the same passion, the same love for the water.

Walter Monge, Rios Tropicales Senior River Guide and Guide Trainer

I have seventeen years of knowing the people from the town of Bajos del Tigre. It was always a dream and an illusion to have a little place in this beautiful town. Seven years ago I bought a piece of land and had the faith of developing a tourism project, something to show the people, and for my children to live together with nature and share a little more of nature. It was exactly one year ago we were able to fulfill a dream thanks to the South-South Fundecooperacion that thanks to Don Rafael Gallo, who gave us a hand… he knew us for a long time and knew the project that I had out there beforehand. Today we can say that we finished part of a dream; that we own Pacuare Butterflies and we are very proud of the work we have done.

Mario Achoy Vega, Owner and Manager Mariposas Del Pacuare (Pacuare Butterfly Garden)

I feel that the people have already changed their minds, they think more on sustainability, people think more in nature, and there has to be a change … I know that El Tigre will progress. Javier is one of our sustainable development managers and one of the beneficiaries from this project, he is the owner of the Internet Café and his daughter and his wife run it. His conservation values are continuing on to different people in the township.

Rafael Gallo, President Rios Tropicales and El Tigre PSC Project Manager

Opportunity to Get to Know Rios Tropicales

Rafael Gallo, President of Rios Tropicales and El Tigre PSC Project Manager, will be presenting on the panel “Tour operators roundtable on sustainable tourism business strategies” at this year’s Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), being held in Portland, Oregon, USA from September 8-10. The ESTC brings together innovative minds from across the industry to discuss practical ideas and solutions that inspire positive changes. Learn more & register online at: www.ecotourismconference.org.

Nominated by: Jessica Webb, Rainforest Alliance (Organization Category)

Project Description

The Rainforest Alliance provides tourism entrepreneurs and community-based businesses in Latin America with the tools and training they need to become more environmentally and socially responsible, to compete in the marketplace and to contribute to the conservation of the local cultures and nature. Last year, we launched the Rainforest Alliance Verified program, which includes the following services:

• Training modules – from one day seminars to multi-day workshops, we provide tourism businesses with the tools and know-how they need to manage their business sustainably through best practices
• Technical Assistance – businesses work together with our qualified sustainable tourism assessors to create a sustainability management plan tailored to the business’ needs
• Verification Visits – an assessor makes an on-site visit to evaluate the business on its application of sustainability practices, so that management can see where they are doing well and where they need to improve
• Marketing benefits – businesses that fulfill certain requirements (see below) are eligible to receive promotional benefits from the Rainforest Alliance, including use of the Rainforest Alliance Verified mark, representation in local and international trade shows, and inclusion in promotional Web sites and printed materials

All of our tools and modules are aligned with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.
Topics covered include:

• Clean technologies
• Waste management and recycling
• Carbon offsetting
• Preserving and reviving local culture and heritage
• Quality in service
• Administration and planning
• Biodiversity conservation
• Green marketing
• Gender equality as a mirror of the social commitment of the business

By working on improving their environmental, social and economic practices, tourism businesses:

• Ensure the future of their water and energy sources and natural and cultural treasures so that they can thrive for years to come
• Improve their bottom line and cut costs by learning how to save energy, use less water, and reduce staff turnover
• Give their guests a more authentic, memorable and satisfying experience, by assuring them that they can feel good about choosing their business
• Prepare for certification with one of the members of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas or, in the future, a Tourism Sustainability Council accredited program
• Improve their competitiveness by reaching international markets that are increasingly demanding sustainable services
• Receive marketing and promotional benefits from the Rainforest Alliance (see our brochure for more details)

What do tourism businesses gain from the implementation of best practices and what costs do they incur? To answer this frequently asked question, the Rainforest Alliance developed a study, entitled Best Management Practices in Tourism Businesses: Their Benefits and Implications, which examined 14 hotels of various sizes, types of locations and market niches in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua that are participating in our verification program. The analysis found that, through the application of best practices, these tourism businesses reduced their operating costs and improved both the quality of their service and their company’s image.

Here are some of the study’s specific findings:

• Seventy-one percent of the hotels decreased their water consumption, and 31 percent reduced the amount of money they spent on water.
• The hotels saved an average of $2,781 on their water bills. One hotel in Nicaragua reported an annual savings of $7,900.
• Ninety-three percent of the properties reported a decrease in energy consumption, even though 15 percent of them expanded their installations.
• The reduction in electricity consumption resulted in lower power costs for 64 percent of the hotels, with an average annual savings of $5,255. One Nicaraguan hotel saved $17,300.
• Seventy-one percent of the businesses reduced solid waste, while the remaining 29 percent maintained stable waste levels, even though their occupancy rates increased.
• The decrease in garbage production also generated savings, with 79 percent of the businesses repurposing discarded materials, such as glass food jars that were reused as vases.
• At 83 percent of the hotels, managers supported conservation efforts in protected areas, which they believe improved their competitiveness.
• All of the hotels purchased goods and services from small and medium local enterprises, and 64 percent of them saved money in transportation costs.
• All of the businesses hired local workers, and hotel administrators found that employees were more motivated after attending training sessions; 93 percent of the hotels reported a decrease in staff turnover.

Rainforest Alliance Community-Based Business Training

Costa Rica Hotel with Solar Panels

Related Links

Video: Testimonials from tourism entrepreneurs and interviews with Rainforest Alliance staff.

Report: “The Costs and Benefits of Implementing Best Management Practices for Tourism Businesses”

Project Description

Corporate Social Responsibility and Marketing Access Partnerships (CSR-MAP) for Thai Sustainable Tourism Supply Chains

Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA) lead this project with great partners to bring first and innovative of Thailand Green Routes which all major supply chain and tourist destination will conform to sustainable standards to the market. CSR-MAP project bring huge good impact to Thailand sustainable tourism industry.

Thailand benefits immensely from its position as a leading holiday destination for European tourists. However, Thai tourism actors agree that to maintain this position in the long-term, the industry must work to reduce the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and society.

During the past decade, European consumers have also become more aware of the negative impacts which their holiday choices can have on holiday destinations. Consequently, demand for more ‘sustainable’ and ‘responsible’ tourism products is increasing. To meet this demand, The Corporate Social Responsibility and Market Access Partnerships (CSR-MAP) for Thai Sustainable Tourism Supply Chains project aims to create greater sustainability in the Thai tourism industry, and to meet demand from European visitors.

By offering better quality, sustainable products to EU tour operators, Thai suppliers will be able to reap the financial benefits of tourism while safeguarding the precious resources on which their future depends.

The CSR-MAP Project targets suppliers in the Thai tourism industry, which offer ‘green’, ‘responsible’ and ‘sustainable’ tourism products, as well as local Thai communities, which have developed community-based tourism (CBT) programmes, and European tour operators with a firm commitment to supporting sustainable tourism.

The CSR-MAP project aims to give partners the opportunity to: learn about the European market’s demand for sustainable tourism products and standards; participate fully in the development and improvement of Thai Sustainable Tourism Standards; gain recognition from European tour operators; and develop and market innovative and integrated sustainable tourism products – Thai Sustainable Tourism Routes.

For a maximum buy-in by European tour operators, and the opportunity for strong Thai-EU cooperation, the new Thai sustainable tourism standards (tour operator, ecoguide, green restaurant, green hotel, CBT village, and products) will be developed in close collaboration with the EU partners.

Project purpose:

The CSR-MAP project’s goal is to: “Contribute towards sustainable EU-Thai tourism supply chains by the broad introduction of CSR policies among Thai tourism suppliers. Voluntary standards for social and environmental sustainability will be strengthened, more influential, better implemented, monitored and enforced in three core product areas: Hotel industry, Ecotourism and CBT.

Overview of proposed activities:

CSR-MAP Project goals and results will be achieved through five “Work Packages” (WP’s):

• WP 1 Tourism market studies and identification of EU operators committed to sustainability.
• WP 2 Sustainable Tourism Criteria improvement & development: will result in the development of Thai sustainable tourism standards . Use GSTC guildeline as framework.
• WP 3 Development of Package tours, capacity building at destination and initiating partnerships: This will result in a selection of innovative package tours which combine an integrated selection of Thai sustainable tourism products. Training will be given for suppliers to meet the new standards. European tour operators will survey the routes.
• WP 4 will result in the Dissemination and wider acceptance of the Sustainable Tourism Standards and products among stakeholders in the Thai-EU tourism supply chains.
• WP 5 Management, evaluation and monitoring: will ensure coordination between sectors and build a foundation for continuation of quality assurance and supply chain management.

Results :

• 5 Green routes are ready to sale – Samtsongkram,Chaing Rai,Lampang ,Koh chang and Korat
• 16 routes around Thailand is under developed and it is our next step!
• Numbers of beneficiaries who have participated directly in project activities to date: 349 Thai People (Men: 177; Women: 172)

Tourism suppliers which participated directly in 1 or more project activities:

Thai Businesses: 195 through training and networking opportunities

• Tour Operators 22
• Hotels 50 (43 SME hotels and 7 large hotels)
• Restaurants 32
• Professional Tour Guides 61
• Community based tourism (CBT) groups 30

European tour operators – 243 through information and new products

500+ EU and Thai businesses stand to benefit economically from selling sustainable tourism routes. However, realising these benefits will depend on the success of marketing, the economy and the Thai political situation:

Local communities and community members:

30 communities have participated in activities, from across Thailand. These communities have already benefited from improved market and sustainability awareness, and exposure to potential business partners during project activities. Direct economic benefits within 2-3 years for these communities, from inclusion on the sustainable tourism routes will depend on the success of marketing, the economy and political situation). E.g.:

• 1500+ local families benefiting from income and skills development
• 150 local community businesses / community / environmental groups
• 35+ communities through the restaurant local supply chain
• 50 communities through better informed tour operators and tour guides

Controlling and supporting government and non-government organisations:

• The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand through new standards development and evaluation process.
• The Tourism Authority of Thailand through new products / market leads/FAMTRIP support
• The Royal Project of Thailand
• The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) and 10 Thai universities
• 14 Tourism Associations in Thailand and Europe

Final Beneficiaries:

• Indirect benefits within 2 years: Min 5000 European and 2000 Thai businesses will benefit from awareness of potential business partners, and increased sustainability awareness through new sustainability standards and project media.
• 300+ Thai communities exposed to tourism (through CBT-I, OTD, TAT networks)
• Environment / nature exposed to tourism: 40 National Parks in 30 Thai provinces
• Consumers seeking responsible travel: min. of 5,000+ in min. of 9 countries

Partners: ECEAT(Europe), Green leaf foundation, CBT-i
Funding support: EU(75%), TAT (FAM trip and marketing), OTD (standards development)

EU-Thailand Partners

Community Based Tourism

CSR MAP