Ecumenical Coalition On Tourism

25TH ANNIVERSARY CONSULTATION

2008 APRIL 7-9 | CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

Questioning tourism directions in the Third World

By CAESAR D’MELLO

A Consultation in Chiang Mai, Thailand was one of the ways the Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (ECOT) has marked its Twenty Fifth Anniversary.

Twenty five experienced tourism workers from both the South and North engaged in a wide ranging analysis of modern day tourism. The discussions took place within a framework ECOT has always espoused, namely, the impact of tourism on Third World communities.

The link between tourism and development was explored. Governments of developing countries, with the strong endorsement of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, often look at tourism as a godsend for development and poverty alleviation. They provide economic information such as tourist arrivals and revenue earned, but often no social indicators on tourism’s impact on people. ECOT was urged to assist in the development of tools to empower communities in assessing how tourism affects them at the grassroots level. A Code of Ethics was also suggested for local communities to equip them to deal with a burgeoning tourism.

Tourism and indigenous peoples is another area of serious concern. A major consequence of globalisation for indigenous peoples is the growing loss of culture, and tourism plays a significant role in this regard. The commercialisation of indigenous dress, song, dance, sacred sites and rituals for the benefit of tourists is well known. Indigenous communities are faced with the prospect of loss of their language which is associated with losing traditional wisdom and heritage. Many indigenous communities fear the growth of ‘eco-tourism’ as a Trojan horse which enables tourism interests to exploit their resources and sites. Much work still lies ahead in realising the aspirations enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The growth of both HIV-AIDS in the world, and of the tourism industry is well documented. Anecdotally, a strong correlation can be seen between the two. Yet, fearing a loss of income, both governments in developing countries, and the tourism industry, are reluctant to acknowledge this link. Given the spread of HIV-AIDS, there is an urgent need for more ‘evidence-based’ research into this dimension of modern tourism to advocate for better policies from governments and the tourism industry. The Consultation also looked at climate change and global warming. As the number of leisure traveller grows - with a prospect of a billion visitors a year well within sight - the issue of carbon emissions through air travel is a significant one. In Northern countries, carbon offsets are proposed. We have also to consider the effects of vast numbers of travellers visiting and damaging fragile environments, such as coral reefs. These are major issues affecting the life of the planet, especially the Third World, yet generally the response from communities and tourism networks in the developing world has been limited. This has to change.

Peace, conflict and tourism also engaged the Consultation. If tourism is to exercise its potential in peace building in relation to conflict regions, such as Palestine, it should also involve aspects beyond food and historical sites. Visitors to such areas - pilgrims and other tourists - should be enabled to understand the root causes of the conflict even as they are exposed to culture, history, spirituality and of course the enjoyable moments during the visit. There is another vexed dimension to consider: is it moral to promote tourism to a country under a dictatorship, as is the case with Myanmar?

The Consultation was as well an exercise in networking with various groups from Asia and beyond. It will guide ECOT’s future work. It also saw the launch of ‘Transforming Re-Forming Tourism’,* a book marking the 25th Anniversary of ECOT with valuable insights from writers from around the world.

Ceasar D’Mello is the director of ECOT and editor of its newsletter, Contours Magazine.

Source:

Contours of the Climate Change Challenge, Contours Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 2 June-July 2008

¤ Please send an order request to ECOT if you wish to purchase a copy of the book.

Related pages:

• ECOT marks 25th year seeking to ‘transform, re-form tourism’
• Practicing the Rage: Perspectives from 25 years of civil society engagement in Tourism
• PfL, ECOT, Philippine groups to probe impacts of global tourism