Community based tourism as a Global Trend Mr. Peter Richards, sustainable and community based tourism expert On behalf of Thailand Community Based Tourism Institute (CBT-I)
Working at the crossroads of responsible tourism and community development
Q: “ What is community based tourism?” Differences in the types of tourism products offered as ‘CBT:’ • ‘Classic CBT’: Overnight village stays in simple homestays / lodges; • Comfortable accommodations developed through joint investments; • Short visits to support a local craft cooperative, eat a meal, etc. • Tourism in community (passive) Vs community based tourism (active) • Both can ‘benefit’ communities; but CBT builds far more, transferable skills; • Empowers community to participate in, benefit from and influence tourism.
Q: “ What is community based tourism?” Do Learn Feel Share “ Inspiring experiences of culture and nature, based on special aspects of local life that community members feel proud and comfortable to share with guests .”
Q: “ What is community based tourism?” Product, experience and process; “ Tourism owned and/or Capacity building for community members, to work together to managed by communities develop tourism and welcome guests. and intended to deliver Sometimes as a Joint Investment / wider community benefit ” partnership with the private sector; (Goodwin et al. 2014, p. 31). Preparation and coaching is provided for community members / tour operator staff, guides, etc.; Sharing opportunities for work and income. E.g.: queues / community funds; managing +/- impacts . Some funds are used for nature conservation and development.
Since the 90 ’s Africa Asia Latin America
Successful CBT requires a mixture of tourism and community development skills. Works best when all stakeholders bring their expertise to the table. Private sector partners are key to success… need to be open to invest time, and try new ideas. Community members need training and experience to understand and welcome tourists; to work effectively with tour operators and tour guides; and to manage the potential impacts of tourism. Supporting organizations must understand needs / limitations of community and partners: build skills, facilitate an open and trusting space… …step by step…learning by doing.
Q: “Is community based tourism (CBT) a global trend?” Yes, for a while now… 2009 / 2010 •Estimation 2-4% EU Double income no kids market share for “pure” Active seniors CBT holidays (O/N stay) Families w/ children • 20-40 % EU market share Backpackers interests for CBT excursions
Q: “Is community based tourism (CBT) a global trend?” “ Community Based Tourism (CBT) is becoming more popular amongst European tourists … In this market segment Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom offer most opportunities for … a tourism provider from a developing country .” (CBI, 2015) Source: https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/tourism/community-based-tourism/
EU market trends are positive for community based tourism • Global, political instability: fear…? • Climate change: staycation? TREND ADVICE Exclusive tourism experiences Build services around intangible experiences Authenticity Non standard experiences with local people Customized travel Be flexible / dynamic packaging Specialized holidays Local expertise, good margins New target groups Seniors, traveling off season, families with older children + multi-generational Peer to peer Recovering economies High end Social media, mobile ready Concern for sustainability Get familiar with sustainability certification Liability concerns Open, honest communication on safety Liability clauses in contracts
Q: “Is community based tourism (CBT) a global trend?” Tourists are not directly asking for ‘CBT.’ However, many experiences developed through a CBT process are well positioned to benefit from diverse market trends; and meet the needs of diverse types of tourists…. Q: “What other, global… and local trends are opportunities for CBT?”
Evidence of demand for ‘good’ and ‘green’ tourism ใช่ ไม่ใช่ เล็กน้อย ไม่รู้ 65% 71%
2014 Social media envy: Technology has created an environment where we can watch people in our social networks visiting amazing places around the globe every minute of every day ….
“The tribes of 2030, described based on the values, behaviours and needs of travelers.”
Growth in demand for adventure travel “The adventure travel market in America, South America and Europe has experienced an average yearly size increase of 65% from 2009 to 2012 .” ATTA Adventure Tourism definition includes at least 2 of: Physical activity Natural environment Cultural emersion
140 ATTA members • Fifty-five percent currently run volunteer trips; of the remaining 45%, over 41% of them are considering them for the future; • Reasons cited included “growing awareness and demand for ‘giving back’” as well as trends towards local /sustainable initiatives; • Just over 12 percent of these consumers were younger than 20 years old, with 20-40 year-olds and 41-60 year olds coming in at almost 33 percent and 34 percent respectively; • ATTA members reported their volunteer travelers to be 53.21 percent female and 46.79 male.
I know exactly where we should go on holiday this year…. Women as travel decision makers: “We have learned to speak to Jane, rather than to Tarzan.” Carl Needham, Peak DMC, 2014.
People are being educated and advised to shop / eat local
Shares many values and goals with CBT.
Many opportunities for synergy… Based on meeting criteria…
CBT as learning centers ASEAN universities, schools, research, clubs GO,NGO study groups Urban professionals, wanting to reconnect their families w/ roots. Domestic, regional, international markets – think outside the box ASEAN has 620 million people, 46% of regional travel flows, 6,500 higher education institutions and 12 million post-secondary students (Wisansing, J. In DOT 2014, p. 15)
Designing CBT for educational markets… Add value by designing programs based on learning objectives: from ‘what?’ to ‘how?’
TOUR OPERATOR DEMAND More benefits Fewer impacts
The industry is funding its own change… Implementing practical, pilot projects… working with tour operators, to learn how to make tourism more sustainable.
Interviewed 4000 Travellers
“ Last week the eco community of Treis Elies was very busy preserving queens apples in syrup and doing marmalade. We prepared pommegranate juice and syrup and with Elpiniki (local old lady) we made pumpkins pies (kolokopites) with the lovely sweet pumpkin from our farms gardens .” ‘TUI Collection’ sustainable excursions to Treis Elies Eco Village grew by over 250% from 2014-15.
Scaling up… CBT isn’t a mass product. However, it can certainly be enjoyed by mainstream tourists… Many communities would like to welcome more guests… Still unmet demand for authentic, local experiences… How to scale up sales and drive more positive impacts…? Sustainably? “Beyond tokenism”
Q: How can UK tour operators and their ground agents source and sell more sustainable tourism? Driving sales of sustainable / inclusive / community based tourism requires nurturing a pro-sustainability culture inside tour operators, and proactive collaboration with B2B partners. Three pillars of success Orientate towards sustainable tourism Collaborate towards sustainable tourism To market… add value to sustainable tourism
Inside tour operators : orientating towards sustainable tourism Embed sustainability at the heart of staff’s daily tasks (Hiring criteria, JD, action projects); Use sustainability criteria to identify better products (local participation, community fund / projects?) ; Cooperation between departments to source/ sell ST: product, operations, marketing, H&S Recognize and reward staff sustainability performance and achievements.
Between companies : collaborating towards sustainable tourism Ground agents need to: Understand outbound tour operator staff and their key priorities; Experience which is suitable for markets Price and value for money Trustworthy, professional partners Successful sustainable Bottlenecks: H&S, hygiene and insurance tourism Unique, value adding experience Sustainability Support local suppliers /communities to offer sustainable products; Help suppliers to understand and improve H&S performance; Offer sustainable products more proactively to outbound operators. Outbound tour operators need to: Make sure that sustainability is on the agenda with ground agents; Request sustainable tourism more proactively from ground agents; Work as a team with ground agents to develop better experiences; Be much more proactive marketing and selling sustainable products.
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