Integrating Business Skills into Ecotourism Operations

1. Integrating Business Skillsinto Ecotourism Operations byShane K BearyCEO – Track of the Tiger T.R.D.Tourism Resources Development Founder & Consultant – VWB Volunteers Without Borders

2. Business perspective on sustainability issues and concepts • SUSTAINABILITY - is the end goal. • Tourism is simply one of a number of revenue generating options that can be used to achieve sustainability in conservation or development efforts. However, ecotourism is viable in very few cases, and then more often only as a 2nd revenue stream. The multiplier effect is important. • ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC sustainability – which is more important?In my own experience in S.E. Asia, where my efforts have focused on using responsible tourism to protect forests, watersheds and farmland – ensuring that the local people enjoy significant economic benefits from supporting the projects is the single most important factor in ensuring sustainability.

3. SOCIAL sustainability – at the local level the next most important. Where local people are able to feed clothe and educate their families, they become socially responsible, are proud of themselves, regain their dignity and take new pride in their customs and culture. ENVIRONMENTAL sustainability - the international ecotourism client helps fund efforts towards sustainability at a local level, but the domestic ecotouristhas a far more powerful role to play in raising awareness. You must attract both if you can. Prof. Harold Goodwin of the ICRC states that some 97% of Government or NGO driven ecotourism initiatives established in the past 25 years have failed.

4. The key to achieving sustainability From a business point of view, investors (and more frequently donors) want to be assured of a viable return on their investment. • You cannot count saving the forest as a benefit – if your business plan cannot explain or defend how (realistically) you can achieve that goal. • In every NGO proposal I have ever read for the development of individual ecotourism based attractions the set up cost was far too high, and the revenue projections unrealistic. • There are too many ecotourism attractions that see tourism revenue as a potential solution – and not enough tourists to provide that revenue.

5. The key to success lies in: • Looking at different models – consider PPPs (Private-Public-Partnerships) sharing skills, costs and benefits. • Centralisingcost & revenue centres– consider which of the PPP functions could be centralized to the ‘groups’ advantage in terms of cost saving AND revenue generation. • Collaborating – Too many NGOs do not share their knowledge and resources – to the detriment of the environmental assets they are established to protect. In this age of austerity collaboration is key. Money saved can be used to do more, and do better in achieving sustainability. As things stand - we are losing the battle.

6. Examples of PPS at work in Conservation/Tourism VWB Model

7. Pang Soong Nature Trails

8. Photo-gallery VWB Model Images. • Volunteering – outdoor education – environmental education – abseiling – trekking and more……

11. Bamboo Curing Centre

12. Products from Bamboo

13. The Sanpatong (Farm) Homestay

15. Proposed solution for Conservation Based NGO’s& Private Sector Tourism Partners Sustainability Centre Model

16. What are the key elements required for designing sustainable tourism products? • Good products with strong and ideally broad market appeal. (international & domestic clients/different interest groups.) • Competitively and transparently priced – not high or low but good perceived value for money. • When using volunteers and their funding to develop projects – make sure you differentiate between their costs for meals, transport, accommodation etc.

17. What are the key elements required for designing sustainable tourism products? (contd./-) • Both Ecotourists and volunteers role must add genuine value to the project – and must learn from the experience. • Good 2nd revenue stream (tourism is far too susceptible to outside influences) • Good marketing is essential – but put product before promotion. • Make best use of social media.

18. Implementing sustainability • How sustainability is implemented in our business? Our business model is developed around our sustainability plan and both are performance based. • What are your standards? Guided by several different published standards – GSTC amongst them – we comply with those we find relevant to our situation. • What concrete actions do you take to implement sustainability? We subscribe to the flexible (step by step) self funding , selectively introduced ‘best practices compliance system’ proposed by the RTA – The Responsible Tourism Alliance. (Contd./-)

19. Minimise on use of electricity by (a) policy (b) design. • Grow local - eat local – build local. • No disposable water bottles allowed - drinking water filtered on site is provided free of charge. • Use natural materials in picnic boxes (limit plastics) • Reduce, reuse, recycle, redesign, rethink. • Make the sustainable option the more attractive one.

20. Thoughts on engaging staff in our sustainability efforts. • The key to ensuring you have good staff lies in your designing a good tourism product and employing staff who are passionate about it. • Have a formal sustainability plan with defined aims and objectives. • Introduce a reward (bonus system) for reaching goals. • Reward staff for introducing new ideas that improve sustainability .

21. Thoughts on engaging suppliers in our sustainability efforts. • Instead of just promoting your own use of sustainable products and services in you literature, add the name and contact detail of your providers where possible. Promoting them costs you nothing – and gets them greater exposure for free. • Provide them with references they may use freely in the promotion of their products and services. This should include stats on what using their products or services have probably saved you. • Collaborate on joint promotions with them where possible.

22. Introduction to sustainable tourism certification • I personally believe that diversity of the tourism product, the different priorities from one business to another, and between different regions and countries, makes standardized certification too complicated to have real value. • All the paid for certification systems that I have reviewed appear well beyond the budgets of most tourism SMEs – who in fact make up some 90% of the industry membership. (contd./-)

23. Introduction to sustainable tourism certification • Given the benefits (economic, social, environmental) that responsible (sustaimnable) tourism has the potential to deliver for ANY economy, it is hard to understand why effective best practice compliance and monitoring systems are not offered free or heavily susidised by governments. • I subscribe to the simple logic that because ‘going green’ actually SAVES the tour industry provider business operator money – it should in fact cost the customer LESS and not MORE.

24. Key things to take away • Multiplier effect – All efforts must have a multiplier effect. • Collaboration – Share costs and benefits to achieve more with less. • Ecotourism – Domestic & international markets. • Diversify – Within the ‘ecotourism market segment’ • Importance of 2nd Revenue Streams – bamboo/charcoal/carbon sequestration/value added at source. • Benefit sharing – Equitable share for the stakeholders. • Competitiveness – The coming drive for it in the west will erode donor funding. Thank you. Shane K Bearytiger@loxinfo.co.th