Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators' Contribution

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10 A C o m m o n R e s p o n s e The Tour Operators’ Initiative (TOI) is a network that brings together tour operators who have recognised the urgency of incorporating sustainable development principles into their operations. Members include inbound and outbound operators of all specialties and from all regions of the world. The TOI was founded in 2000 by tour operators in response to a growing awareness that their longterm success depends on sustainable tourism, and that joint and more widespread action is needed to successfully tackle the challenges of sustainable tourism development. The TOI’s mission is to improve the sustainability of the tourism industry, and to encourage tour operators to make a voluntary yet firm corporate commitment to sustainable development. Its members have committed to integrating environmental, social and economic principles into their business operations, and to join forces in areas that would benefit from the input of all members and can be best addressed with a common voice. Through the Initiative, tour operators are involved in a wide range of activities to explore approaches and tools Good Practice in the Accommodations Sector Jointly with Conservation International, the TOI developed A Practical Guide to Good Practice: Managing Environmental and Social Issues in the Accommodations Sector. The guide provides accommodation suppliers with information on energy management, water use management, wastewater management, waste management, chemical use, purchasing, contributions to biodiversity and nature conservation, contributions to community development, social issues in the workplace, and environmental management systems. The guide also provides a list of sources of further information on these topics. More than 30,000 copies of the guide have been disseminated by the members of the TOI to their contracted hotels worldwide. The guide has been translated into French, Spanish, Turkish and Portuguese. For an electronic version of the guide, see www.toinitiative.org or www.celb.org. T h e T o u r O p e r a t o r s ’ I n i t i a t i v e Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators’ Contribution for improving the sector’s environmental, economic and social performance. Together, the members of the TOI are taking actions in three key areas: 1. Supply chain management, to develop a common framework for the integration of sustainability criteria into the selection and contracting of service suppliers. Common tools such as a guide for good practice in the hotel sector (see Box) and sustainability purchasing guidelines are also developed and used by all members. 2. Co-operation with destinations, to exert a positive influence and work with a collective voice to influence the actions of all partners in destinations. As a basis for establishing credible and transparent co-operation at the destination level, TOI members work with a cross-section of stakeholders encompassing the diversity of views and interests present in the destination, including the local authorities, the private sector, civil society and NGOs. To exercise this common voice, TOI members agreed to organise multi-stakeholder dialogues in key destinations, aiming at: • identifying a shared way forward for promoting sustainable tourism, keeping the destination perspective as the priority, and maintaining economic and business viability for all stakeholders; and • developing an agreed action plan to build on synergies between the tour operators and the various destination stakeholders. 3. Sustainability reporting, to develop and test reporting guidelines and performance indicators on sustainable development. One of the major achievements of the TOI is the development of the tour operators’ performance indicators, which supplement the 2002 GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The tour operators’ supplement is the result of a nine-month process that included numerous meetings and on-line exchanges with UNEP and the Global Reporting Initiative acting as facilitators, and the active participation of all relevant stakeholders.
Statement of Commitment We are Tour Operators concerned about the impact of our tours and activities. We recognise our responsibility to develop and operate in a manner that makes a positive contribution to the natural, social and cultural environment. We also recognise and accept our responsibility to operate in ways that reduce environmental impacts, benefit host communities, safeguard the future livelihood of local people, and ensure the protection of destinations for future generations. To fulfill this responsibility, we have joined together to work in close partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the World Tourism Organisation (WTO/OMT). In doing so, we commit in this Initiative to: • protect the natural environment and cultural heritage; • co-operate with local communities and people, ensure they benefit from the visits of our customers and encourage our customers to respect the local way of life; • conserve plants and animals, protected areas and landscapes; • respect the integrity of local cultures and their social institutions; • comply with local, national and international laws and regulations; • oppose and actively discourage illegal, abusive or exploitative forms of tourism; • work closely with business partners, local authorities, regional and national governments and other organisations to achieve sustainable development of tourism; • provide information on our activities to develop and encourage the sustainable development and management of tourism; • communicate our progress in implementing this commitment. We also acknowledge that we cannot achieve our goal of sustainable tourism development without the help of all stakeholders, including our Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators’ Contribution 11
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