Performance Durable

1.    Stakes

 

·        Tourism data :

 

           

According to the Organization worldwide of tourism, the area spends and invest 550 billions a year, has created 200 millions of jobs (1st industry of the planet) and is going to show an annual growth of 4 % for next 10 years.

 

·        6 mains goals :

 

-        Struggle against climatic change 

-        Protect biodiversity and any fragile circles

-        Struggle against infringements of human rights / rights of-circles 

-        Promote local courses of study

-        Protect and promote cultural heritages

-        Reduce inequality, social tensions and eradicate misery by a more sharing out of the benefits of the industry of tourism

 

2.    Main Actors of sustainable tourism

 

·        associations and associative networks

→ Actors of small sizes and in the figure of modest affair

→ Offer trips closer to local populations and to nature. Supervise small groups and make offer à la carte

→ Associative character brings to the consumers a bigger guarantee in the ethical character of offered activities

 

Ex :   l’Association du tourisme équitable et solidaire (ATES) : which federates about twenty French associations which offer equitable and united trips abroad (www.tourismesolidaire.org).

         Cap France – label « Chouette Nature » : regroup a network importing associative tourism and numerous villages vacation. He offers a broad offer of thematic stays in most cases for families with children (www.capfrance-vacances.com / www.chouettenature.com)

         Ethic étapes : an association which federates 43 structures of accommodation of comparatively important size (between 70 and 600 rooms), called « international Centre of stay ».

 

·        Travel agencies

→ local and specialized Structures, in medium size which give specific and quality services.

 

Ex :   Allibert : the agence Allibert Montagnes et Déserts organizes trips on foot on the five continents for more than 30 years for small groups 4 - 15 persons with united actions as the cleaning of visited places (about 30000 customers in year)– www.allibert-trekking.com

         Escursia : created in 2003, this agency is specialized in scientific tourism and offers trips in small groups accompanied by experts (www.escursia.fr)

         Saïga : created in 1996, this agency centered its offer on the observation of nature, by trying to sensitize his customers in the necessity to respect environment and to participate in the good to be local populations (www.saiga-voyage-nature.fr)

Voyager autrement : he agency offers trips in small groups which aim at alternating visits of the tourist sites and meetings with those who work at the development of the country (www.voyagerautrement.com)

Voyages pour la Planète : an online guide who offers a vast palette of accommodations and stay environmental and united worldwide. All operators are chosen for their commitments. The internauts are put in touch live broadcasting with the tour operators or hotels to finalize reservation (www.voyagespourlaplanete.com)

 

·        Bigger actors of the tourism area

→ The big actors of tourism are for the time being restricted to work on the environmental aspect of responsible tourism and particularly on the equipment of facilities and the sensitization of the personnel.

→ Three  interesting operations :

-       Club Méditerranée be going to offer practice of sensitization for the children in Hotels Club

-       Voyages-sncf.com who offers interesting stays with partners (of associations or of specialized travel agencies)

-       Thomas Cook accomplish partnerships with ONG of humanitarian and have write a charter for its personnel and its customers

 

Ex :   Air France : programs of compensation of the programs of CO2 in partnership with the association Good Planet (Yann Arthus Bertrand)+ Inside, programs of reduction of waste and energy consumption.

        

Accor : programs of reduction of consumption in water, in energy of its hotels (programs 200 hotels equipped with solar panels from 2010) and sorting of waste. The group is also hired in favour of the conflict against sexual tourism and big epidemics.

         Club Méditerranée : first village club La Plantation d’Albion in the island Maurice with different equipment intended to restrict his impact on environment. 

Hilton : programs of reduction of consumption of energy of its hotels, across the investment in equipment and the sensitization of its personnel.

         Nouvelles Frontières : program of management of energy, water and waste (hôtels Paladien), haughtiness head office and in agences haughtiness + next program to sensitize the children in the respect for environment in hotels club.     

Scandic Hotels

         Virgin Atantic : test of use of agro-combustible for its planes, modification of the procedures of theft to consume less and transfer the entirety of its benefits of next ten years to search resolutions in the conflict against climatic warming

         Voyages-sncf.com : the online agency offers to his visitors to calculate the programs of CO2 of their trips to compare them and to compensate for them by actions accomplished in partnership with Action Carbon (good Planet). It organizes Trophies of Responsible Tourism which highlight nice initiatives and show that it is possible to travel in another way. Finally, she invites the French consumers to discover a range of responsible trips with hired partners and specialists.

Thomas Cook : operation in September 2003, 2 euro on any online bought fixed rates or in one of the agencies been poured in the humanitarian association Care. Installation of an ethical charter within the firm (sensitization of the personnel in sustainable tourism and sensitization of the customers)

 

·        Associations of sensitization

→ Actors who sensitize the passengers and professionals of tourism, actors of lobbying and information.

        

Ex :   Association française d’écotourisme

Comité 21 lead a working group which contributes to help the Groupe de travail international sur le développement du tourisme durable (GTIDTD) thrown by the French ministry of ecology (Meeddat) + publication of a methodological guide.

 

 

Echoway : inform and sensitize significant by recommending him on his site responsible structures of reception – hotels / campsite (www.echoway.org)

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) : having created in 1990, this association is the biggest, it regroups 800 members on 80 countries and tries to influence all actors of tourism to insert the principles of eco-tourism (www.tourismfordevelopment.com)

 

·        Associations of carbone compensation

 

Ex :   Action Carbone (association Good Planet)

         Tourism for Development = is a quality-label but also organize actions of development with the financing of donations of partners

         CO2 Solidaire = actions offered to the individuals and to firms to compensate deliberately their programs of GES relating to their displacements.

 

·        Tourism Quality Labels

→ Quality-labels used by the actors of tourism to give proof of their commitment and communicate to their customers

 

Ex :   Ecolabel : European quality-label which concerns products but also hotels and campings, by guaranteeing that these structures respect environment.

         La clef verte : other quality-label of environmental management for the tourist accommodations issued Foundation for education in environment since 1998 in France, even so less overdemanding than the ecoquality-label (www.laclefverte.org)

         Green Globe : international quality-label developed initially in Australia and gift in most cases in Peaceful Asia and Latin America. It rewards hotels for their environmental and social management (www.greenglobe.org)

         Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR) : quality-label created by tour operators specialized in tourism of adventure in partnership with the French State and according to the procedures of the AFNOR. (www.tourisme-responsable.org)

         Tourisme et Handicap : created by the French State, this quality-label allows to identify the places of vacation, free time or culture approachable to the handicapées persons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.    Initiatives

 

·         A part of the price of stay is directly transferred to funds of development serving for financing plans of collective interest within populations (ex: trainings in the jobs of tourism, financing of building of schools or participation in cultural radiance by the organization of festivals.

 

·         Meeting with the local associations (sensitization) and organisation of which working workshops to bring an assistant punctual.

 

·         Environmental Management of accommodations (building and renovation) = insulation, renewable energy sources, management of waste, choice of eco-conceived products, composting of organic waste, recovery of pluvial waters and treatment of wastewater, use of local materials, promotion of traditional habitats.

 

·         Information and sensitization of the customers in eco-gestures on the place of vacation = eco-charter of the passenger (www.voyagepourlaplanete.com) on the basis of principle that a well-informed passenger can easily change his habits and so reduce the impacts of his trip.

 

·         Involvement of the local populations in development

>        Assure decent working conditions the local personnels

>        prefer local direct jobs and participate in the training of personnels 

>        Promote local cultures (restoration offering exit of equitable trade of the local food and/or biological food and/or existent feeding of equitable trade

 

4.    Tendencies

·         more and more strong Request of the consumers for this type of trips, which shows that it is not a market of alcove but outright an ineluctable evolution of the whole tourist area.

→ Figures (opinion polls acted in march 2008 for Voyages-sncf.con and routard.com):

-       9 Passengers on 10 are interested by the concept of responsible tourism, (87 % against 72 % in 2007) in most cases owing to the respect for nature and for local development according to 72 % of polling.

-       more half of the French passengers thinks that it is not about a trip dearer to level of identical benefits but 44 % of them still think that it is still about a trip in rudimentary comfort.

-       78 % of the French passengers declare themselves badly informed, against 84 % in 2007. They would like to be inform bt television (68 %), press (60 %) and net (51 %)

7 % have practice Responsible Tourism against 2 % in 2007. However, they always want so much to play it (72 % in 2008, against 68 % in 2007) and 65 % of the French passengers stay as in 2007, ready to compensate their programs of CO2.

 

+ need of the consumers to differentiate the concrete offer of simple commercial actions. They ask the actors of tourism to get involved and to provide concrete guarantees.

 

·    Multiplication of quality-labels, even so still badly known