More meaningful tourism

Tourism around the world set an all-time record last year. The figure of 800 million tourist arrivals worldwide beat all expectations for 2005 despite terrorism, natural disasters, health scares, oil price rises, exchange rate fluctuations and economic and political uncertainties.

Tourism development is often considered to be the cure-all for economic problems - and is welcomed with enthusiasm. But as tourism development proceeds, social and environmental impacts sometimes outweigh the early economic advantages. The enthusiasm with which tourism was embraced at an earlier stage can turn into rejection.

At an international conference on Sustainable Tourism in Islands and Small States held last month in Valletta, it was stressed that planning for tourism should consider the values of the community.

Due to their small size, islands are quite vulnerable from both an environmental and a social point of view. Small island developing states are further challenged by having to be self-sufficient in energy, fresh water, sewage treatment and solid waste disposal.

Sustainable tourism tries to establish a suitable balance between economic, environmental and socio-economic aspects of tourism development. The goal is a form of tourism that is economically viable, ecologically bearable and socially acceptable. Only if all three are present would we be able to claim that sustainable tourism is in place.

One of the aims of sustainable development aims at improving the quality of life of the residents of local communities. Research in sustainable tourism development is often related to the meaning of tourism for the quality of life of the people and takes into account how tourism is perceived by local people.

Caution with mass tourism was advised at the conference. It was noted that the financial advantages and opportunities of tourism might weaken attention for social and environmental concerns. Revenue from sustainable tourism is more meaningful when there is an integrated approach. Distinctions were made between old and new style tourism.

Cultural landscapes

Large block type buildings, often unrelated to local context, have been the trademark of modern tourism when the industry first began to expand in the second half of the last century. An alternative approach of "new tourism" requires looking at tourism as a venture which reconnects people to time and place. Landscape, culture and experiences all come into it.

Old tourism focused on one big attraction, mega-structures independent of their surroundings. New tourism, or place-rooted tourism, requires a more wide-ranging plan with a larger scale of intervention.

Carmela Canzonieri, a Professor of Environmental Studies who specialises in urban and regional planning at York University (Ontario, Canada), presented her views to the conference with special reference to tourism in small islands:

"We need to go beyond ensuring that the environmental impacts of development projects are assessed. We need to see that preventive plans are developed which carefully identify characteristics to protect. Particularly in small islands where land is scarce and where only a few instances of some specific element may be present, where even loss of a few elements may mean extinction of species or disappearance of a culturally significant tradition, a careful, preventive, ecocultural plan is needed before other activities can jeopardize the integrity of the territory."

Professor Canzonieri spoke of ecological plans as a first important step in planning for landscape integrity to provide a framework for collecting and updating knowledge about resources. The first objective of any such plan should be to stop any further damage. A fine balance between some knowledge and some form of preventive action at an early stage is required. In other words we do not always have to wait until all the data is in. Damage which arises from an absence of plans, or a "do nothing" scenario cannot be underestimated.

Speaking on the multiple scale of ecological plans, Professor Canzonieri pointed out that an extensive network of associations and groups exists with interest in and knowledge of local environments.

"Their reports generate knowledge of the kind that is not typically found in maps, either for the type of content, or for the level of detail. These are features or processes that could only be perceived locally or by specific searchers which would fail recognition by a centralised investigation. These are place-determined features such as hydrological, topographical, vegetational elements, or cultural and historic places, all linked to their geographical location."

"These elements, albeit difficult to discern at first, might have a catalytic effect when revealed, or a combined effect when aggregated. Local governments, recognising the value of this diffuse knowledge, can then co-ordinate it with other information, obtained through maps, remote sensing, or other techniques, in order to mark features of special significance both ecologically and culturally, whose value is not only in their function, but which resides in their specific placement."

"Cultural landscapes of the past have in most cases reflected a close response to local ecology. Farmers shaped agricultural practices responding to topography or hydrology. Dwellers built structures responding to climate and available material. A common thread with unifying elements went between the landscape in the countryside and the more constructed settlements. Regions took upon themselves the images of their natural processes resulting in a distinctive identity."

Professor Canzonieri has acted as environmental adviser on various projects, including planning and design of urban green infrastructure and a park system in abandoned quarries in Comiso, Sicily.

Some researchers argue that physical assets do not necessarily provide a useful measure of living standards or reflect quality of life. Dr C.H. Douglas , Professor in Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Salford (Manchester, UK) observed that income per capita data on tourism does not explain unequal shares or deficiencies and inefficiencies in the infrastructure.

Economic growth makes large contributions to islands' GDP. Yet economic development does not guarantee that structural transformation occurs on a scale which would improve the quality of life of all inhabitants of a country. Incentives for sustainability to be a central component of both large-scale and small-scale developments are needed.

Beds per square kilometre

A case study of Mediterranean island economies drew comparisons between Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta and the Balearic Islands. With one tourist bed per sq km as the Mediterranean average, Malta clocks 129 beds per sq km with a proportionate ecological footprint. The figures for the other islands are Corsica 13, Sardinia seven, Sicily five and Balearic Islands 83 beds per sq km.

In the case of the Balearic and Maltese tourism industries it was found to be of particular importance to take care of the environmental aspect. At the same time other factors that determine the quality of the tourism product, such as a qualified workforce and training for higher levels of productivity and competitiveness, cannot be overlooked.

Good management of tourism requires readily available evidence of changes in impact over time so that adjustments to policies and actions can be made. Indicators that relate to the aims and objectives of sustainability are designed to monitor the condition, performance and impact of tourism.

A UNWTO (United Nations World Trade Organisation) publication, Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations, includes a section on small islands, as well as coastal zones and beach destinations. It deals with general sustainable issues relevant to islands such as accessibility, leakages, seawater quality, fresh water and waste management an land use. The guide includes 9 case studies of different islands.

An extensive survey was carried out in WTO member states to identify policies and tools that had contributed to making their tourism sector more sustainable. The result was a reference book for governments seeking to build and implement their own sustainable tourism policies. Making Tourism More Sustainable: a Guide for Policy Makers provides a blueprint as it is based on real cases that have proven to be effective and successful in achieving the aims of sustainable development.

Visual integrity

One effective way in which sustainable tourism may be directly applied is to pay attention to the physical integrity of a destination. Eugenio Yunis, chief of WTO's Department of Sustainable Tourism, described the need for policeing to maintain and enhance the quality of landscapes, both urban and rural and avoid visual degradation of the environment.

"Sustainable tourism in small islands requires the development and adoption of alternative building designs of tourism facilities, according to the characteristics of each island. In addition, all tourism infrastructure building plans should respect a minimum distance from the coast in order to avoid coastal erosion. It is important to engage and empower local communities in planning and decision-taking about the management and future development of tourism in their area in consultation with other stakeholders."

Mr Yunis is a civil engineer and development economist who has advised governments, local authorities and the tourism industry on development planning, marketing, environmental and organisational aspects.

John Schembri of the Geography Division, Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta presented a paper on modelling of coastal urban tourism in Malta. Dr Adriana Vella of BICREF read a paper on different ways to prevent negative impact of tourism on marine biodiversity.

In a final statement drawn up at the conference, participants noted that environmental, social and cultural degradation arising from tourism in the host country could often be far-reaching and irreversible. They acknowledged the importance of social inclusion and recognised the need to avoid one-sided approaches so as to evaluate tourism impacts within an integrated framework.

Among the recommendations put forward at the conference were that more information and advice on sustainable tourism should be given to politicians for planning and implementation purposes. Authorities and the private sector organisations must integrate cultural and environmental factors into wider policy and business contexts. UNWTO policy guidelines, standards and indicators should be incorporated into national tourism policies and legislative frameworks.

Authorities should take on the responsibility of ensuring that tourism stakeholders participate in sustainable development and are also held accountable for actions that have an impact on the quality of life of local communities. Authorities should also ensure that the provision of built environment, transport and communications infrastructure, including hotels and leisure complexes and utilities such as energy, water and waste disposal facilities are supportive of sustainable development principles, particularly social and environmental justice.

The final consensus at the conference was that an international islands and small states tourism research network be promoted among academic institutions and practitioners with the objective of fostering and sharing education, training and research activities on sustainable tourism.

Footnote: Volunteers are needed by Din l-Art Helwa for a few hours during the morning (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) or afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) to keep the Red Tower open for visitors. Anyone interested may apply by e-mail to mq@maltanet.net