Mzanzitravel Magazine - Issue 9

Responsible Tourism
Another global organisation advancing sustainable tourism is the United Nations’
tourism agency, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). The UNWTO says,
as the leading international organisation in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes
tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental
sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing
knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
The UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for
Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing
its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an
instrument in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared
towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development worldwide.
A number of organisations are also active on the African continent in promoting
responsible tourism, among them the Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance
Africa, formerly known as the Sustainable Tourism Network Southern Africa
(STNSA). This is an alliance of sustainable tourism certification stakeholders in
Africa, with an initial focus on countries in southern and East Africa, but hoping
to extend its activities across the entire continent. The Alliance aims to enable an
integrated approach to sustainable tourism certification throughout the continent.
According to the Alliance, the external environment is characterised by trends
towards international accreditation, harmonisation, dual certification and mutual
recognition between standards-setting organisations. The Alliance provides
services on behalf of members seeking to secure international recognition, mutual
recognition and other forms of partnerships.
Responsible tourism in South Africa
annual Imvelo Awards for Responsible Tourism in the hospitality industry and a
year later, with the introduction of the Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa trademark.
The Department of Tourism, in partnership with the South African National
Accreditation System (SANAS), also developed a National Minimum Standard on
Responsible Tourism (NMSRT). The NMSRT is a standard to accredit certification
programmes, sometimes referred to as “certifying the certifier”. According to the
department, this standard serves three purposes:
• To establish a common understanding of the minimum criteria for
responsible tourism;
• To promote responsible tourism in the tourism sector, including
accommodation, hospitality, travel distribution system, as well as all
organs of state and entities, organised labour and communities involved or
interested in the tourism sector in South Africa; and
• To establish the minimum criteria for certification of the sustainability of
organisations in the tourism sector.
Other organisations
According to its website, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) is a
pioneering initiative that promotes equitable and sustainable tourism development
in South Africa through a range of activities including awareness raising, capacity
building, advocacy and the facilitation of the world’s first Fair Trade tourism
certification programme. The FTTSA certification programme awards a special
certification Trademark (label) to tourism enterprises in South Africa that meet
specific sustainability criteria based on global Fair Trade standards and locally
relevant issues such as skills development, ownership and HIV/Aids management.
In South Africa a large number of tourism services and products providers
strive to advance sustainable tourism in their offerings. These companies and
operations are usually members of, or have been certified by any one of a number
of organisations in South Africa that set standards for and advance the practices
of sustainable tourism, among them Fair Trade, Green Tourism Active and
Responsible Tourism South Africa.
FTTSA was established under IUCN-South Africa in 2001, as a pilot project
to test the relevance of Fair Trade to the post-apartheid context. Since 2004,
FTTSA operates as an independent non-profit organisation in South Africa. To
date, FTTSA has certified close to 70 establishments across South Africa. A wide
variety of tourism establishments have qualified for the FTTSA-label including
hotels, safari lodges, backpacker lodges, guesthouses, cultural tours and ecoadventure
activities. Many of these products are small, emerging, and communitybased
businesses that are wholly or partially owned by rural black communities
disenfranchised by apartheid.
From its side, the South African government has through its Department
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), since split into two separate
departments and ministries, done much to advance responsible tourism. In 1996 it
published a White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South
Africa, in which responsible tourism was described as “an absolute necessity if
South Africa is to emerge as a successful international competitor”. Guidelines as
well as a manual for Responsible Tourism were designed by DEAT during 2002
as a basis for implementing responsible tourism practices throughout the tourism
industry.
Responsible tourism took a major step forward in 2002 with the inception of the
Fair Trade Tourism promotes sustainable tourism development through facilitating
the world’s first tourism Fair Trade certification programme. The FTT label is
awarded to tourism businesses currently operational in South Africa signifying
their commitment to Fair Trade criteria including: fair wages and working
conditions, fair purchasing, fair operations, equitable distribution of benefits and
respect for human rights, culture and environment. This is the label responsible
travellers should look for when selecting service providers.
A number of other non-profit organisations are also involved in advancing
sustainable tourism in South Africa, such as the African Safari Lodge Foundation
(ASLF). This non-profit company has an independent board of directors and works
mainly in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique. The organisation participates
in various African and global networks to implement a development programme
designed to overcome various existing barriers and enhance the real contribution
that safari lodges can make to rural development. The company states that its
mission is to facilitate economic growth, ownership, skills development and job-
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