Mzanzitravel Magazine - Issue 9

Responsible Tourism
Traditional culture generating income - InnaFelker /
Shutterstock.com
Helping protect endangered animals - JMx Images / Shutterstock.com
(STPP), was established to facilitate the implementation of sustainable tourism
practices in smaller accommodation establishments and tourism SMMEs across
South Africa. The programme is also closely aligned to the recommendations
of the United Nations Environmental Programme, which shifts the focus of
sustainable tourism development to SMMEs.
The STPP uses tourism as a catalyst for local economic development. Since
Another company in this field is GT Active, a sustainability management company
offering sustainability assessments and certification for the hospitality industry.
The company says its seeks to change consumer behaviour, processes and
strategies through informed choice, raising awareness around all sustainability
aspects and positioning its clients as leading responsible tourism service
providers.
its inception, the STPP is viewed as a thought leader in sustainable tourism
implementation. The programme has been developed in alignment to, amongst
others, the National Tourism Sector Strategy and the National Minimum Standard
for Responsible Tourism NMSRT (SANS 1162:2011). As such the programme
incorporates environmental, cultural, heritage and social criteria, economic best
practice, community resilience, universal accessibility and service excellence.
Consulting companies
Levelle Perspectives, another consulting company, says it provides business
development services in Africa that support globally recognised principles of
sustainable tourism, while ensuring that local context is prioritised. The company
works with stakeholders to find solutions that ensure the needs of business are
balanced with those of the local area in a way that benefits everyone. Specific
focus areas include using tourism as a tool to achieve local development objectives
through, e.g. sustainable livelihood and supply chain development, as well as
corporate social responsibility that is designed to empower local communities and
ensure that the integrity of their local environments is maintained.
Serendipity Africa is another such a responsible tourism consultancy based in
Cape Town. Serendipity Africa offers a range of specialist development services
including responsible tourism training and mentoring, product or destination
marketing, fundraising guidance and media support. In addition the company says
it undertakes projects that create positive frameworks for sustainable tourism
destination planning and strategies for improving tourism in destinations.
A number of consulting companies are also active in the tourism industry in
South Africa. Among these, the Heritage Environmental Management Company
(Heritage) was first established in 2001 as an environmental rating initiative for
the hospitality industry in South Africa. Its first certification was awarded to the
Sandton Convention Centre in 2002 to coincide with the 2002 Earth Summit which
was held in Johannesburg.
Since then, the company has expanded its certification categories and product
range to provide certification solutions to all facets of the service industry including
hotels and accommodation; game lodges and resorts; zoos and aquaria; meetings
and events; golf courses; residential estates, banking, retail businesses and
business services. Heritage is currently being applied by over 150 businesses
across eight African countries and, says the company, it is recognised as the
leading certification brand in Africa.
It is clear that much work has been done over the past decade or more to
firmly establish responsibility and sustainability in tourism in South Africa and
throughout Africa. In itself it has given rise to entire new industry. Many South
African tourism services and establishments offer high-level sustainable and
responsible products, benefitting not only tourism, but also the environment
and local communities. In many instance government and South Africa’s official
tourism authorities, as well as the country’s national parks and nature reserves
authorities have been intimately involved.
In a number of instances this has also led to local communities participating in,
being integrated into and benefiting from these initiatives, with numerous examples
found in some of the country’s leading national, regional and transfrontier parks
and reserves.
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