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Certification and Standards - Outcomes of the Tourism Sustainability Council’s Africa Roundtable Meeting Accrediting

Certification and Standards - Outcomes of the Tourism Sustainability Council’s Africa Roundtable Meeting Accrediting Sustainable Tourism Certification – 18 – 20 January 2010, Johannesburg Jennifer Seif 6 May 2010, Durban. Contents. Purpose of the Meeting In Attendance

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Certification and Standards - Outcomes of the Tourism Sustainability Council’s Africa Roundtable Meeting Accrediting

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  1. Certification and Standards - Outcomes of the Tourism Sustainability Council’s Africa Roundtable Meeting Accrediting Sustainable Tourism Certification – 18 – 20 January 2010, Johannesburg Jennifer Seif 6 May 2010, Durban © 2010 FTTSA

  2. Contents • Purpose of the Meeting • In Attendance • Background to Tourism Sustainability Council (TSC) • Results Achieved • Concerns Raised • Current TSC Status • TSC – STNSA, Future Engagement © 2010 FTTSA 2

  3. Background of Meeting • “Accrediting Sustainable Tourism – Africa” meeting took place from 18-20 January 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa • Facilitated by Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) as the Secretariat of the Sustainable Tourism Network of Southern Africa (STNSA) • Funded by UNEP and the United Nations Foundation with additional support by the Southern Africa Trust • Aim – a “roundtable” meeting for African certification programmes to • discuss alignment to the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC), and • Provide input to the Tourism Sustainability Council’s (TSC) proposed international accreditation programme for sustainable tourism certificates © 2010 FTTSA 3

  4. In Attendance • Representatives of 9 (of about 12)African sustainable tourism certification programmes • Also in attendance: • 2 representatives from sustainable tourism certification programmes under development in Mauritius and Madagascar • Institute for Tourism (Mozambique) • National Department of Tourism (South Africa) • Development Bank of Southern Africa • Tourism Grading Council of South Africa © 2010 FTTSA

  5. Background to TSC • Founded in 2009 • Created by a merger between the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) and the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC) • STSC - perceived need to harmonise standards (and go beyond green); quality assure certification bodies and increase demand for bona fide ST products and experiences • GSTC -common framework for ST • TSC mission is “to improve tourism’s potential to be a driver of positive conservation and economic development for communities and businesses around the world and a tool for poverty alleviation”. • - Central organisation offering support & tools to tourism stakeholders © 2010 FTTSA

  6. African Roundtable Results • 9 sustainable tourism certification programmes provided input on the TSCs proposed accreditation programme and the GSTC • The TSC acquired an improved understanding of: - context of sustainable tourism in Africa - role of certification programmes - potential impacts of the TSC’s proposed accreditation standards • Sustainable tourism certification stakeholders from 9 African countries shared knowledge and information with each other and with TSC representatives through workshop proceedings and formal and informal networking • STNSA recognized as the primary sustainable tourism stakeholder body in Africa © 2010 FTTSA

  7. Concerns Raised • A new international accreditation body could potentially undermine the authority of strong national accreditation processes of counties such as South Africa and Brazil • Although the GSTC are internationally recognised, they need further clarification and must be flexible to address the African context • Accreditation fees should be affordable and announced far in advance to enable certification organisations to build these fees into annual budgets and fee structures • Lack of clarity regarding future governance of TSC and what mechanisms will be developed to ensure that African interests are represented • In addition to accreditation, TSC will offer other services including some directly to tourism businesses – these must not undermine or compete with local certification programmes © 2010 FTTSA

  8. TSC – current status • 28 June 2010 – TSC soft launch • Further research on stakeholder perceptions undertaken • Consultation meetings (Americas, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe) • Transition to a permanent board? • Accreditation programme: • May 2010 – publication of draft accreditation manual for comment • Piloting of accreditation procedures with1-2 schemes • Business planning to define accreditation fees © 2010 FTTSA

  9. TSC-STNSA – future engagement • Comment on draft accreditation manual (May-June 2010) • Lobby for representation within TSC board • Build stronger ties to ST Certification Network of the Americas, and emerging Asia Pacific Network • Ensure that TSC talks to national governments in Africa • Participate in regular reviews of GSTC © 2010 FTTSA

  10. Thank you Contact Jennifer Seif jennifer@fairtourismsa.org.za © 2010 FTTSA 10

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