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The Tour Operators’ Initiative: building sustainability through partnership

The Tour Operators’ Initiative: building sustainability through partnership. IEF Roundtable Ile de Porquerolles, 23 September 2005 Giulia Carbone Programme Officer United Nations Environment Programme. The Tour Operator position and links. On-line agency/ dynamic packaging.

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The Tour Operators’ Initiative: building sustainability through partnership

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  1. The Tour Operators’ Initiative: building sustainability through partnership IEF Roundtable Ile de Porquerolles, 23 September 2005 Giulia Carbone Programme Officer United Nations Environment Programme

  2. The Tour Operator position and links On-line agency/ dynamic packaging Travel guides Accommodation Transport to/from destination Travel agency Ground operator Ground transport Tour Operator Consumer Marine and Water based recreation activities Destination Land based recreation activities Cultural and social events Cultural and natural heritage

  3. Tour Operators’ role • Direct the flow of tourists • Influence the development of destinations • Influence the supply chain • Influence customers’ choices and behaviour

  4. Tour Operators’ Initiative • A network of committed tour operators Over twenty tour operators members catering for more than 30 million tourists. Open only to tour operators of all sizes and specialities, in bound and out bound from all countries of the world. • A partnership between three international organizations UNEP, UNESCO and WTO/OMT work together to guide and provide assistance to the members.

  5. Launched by UNEP, UNESCO and WTO • Catalyse the actions of committed tour operators; • Provide a neutral platform for dialogue among tour operators and between tour operators and other stakeholders; • Provide guidance and motivation.

  6. Tour Operators’ Initiative Members Accor Tours (France) Atlas Voyages (Morocco) Aurinkomatkat-Suntours (Finland) DiscoveryInitiatives (UK) Dynamic Tours (Morocco) Exodus (UK) First Choice (UK and Ireland) FreeWay Brazil (Brazil) Hotelplan (Switzerland) KEL 12 (Italy) LTU-Touristik (Germany) Premier Tours (USA) Sahara Tours International (Morocco) Settemari (Italy) Studiosus (Germany) Thomas Cook (France) Travel Walji’s (Pakistan) TUI Group (Germany) VASCO Travel (Turkey) Ventaglio (Italy)

  7. Summary of main features • For Tour Operator by Tour Operators • Fully participatory, self-governing and voluntary initiative • Diverse: it brings together big and small operators, from the North and the South, from the East and the West • An on-going process, it will represent a platform to develop ideas and projects and it will provide information, guidance and motivation • For sustainable development • Under the umbrella of the United Nations and other sector inter-governmental organizations (UNEP, WTO and UNESCO)

  8. The TOI Objectives • Assist tour operators in implementing sustainable tourism through the adoption of best practices in their internal operations, in the supply chain and in the destination; • Broaden the support to sustainable development of other players in the tourism sector, including tourists; • Create the critical mass of committed tour operators.

  9. A Commitment to Sustainable Development • Members of the TOI have signed a Statement of Commitment that includes - among others - commitments to: • Adopt best practices with regards to environmental, social-cultural and economic impacts of their activities internally and when forming business relationships with partners, suppliers and sub-contractors.

  10. Encourage and seek co-operation with all stakeholders at destinationsto develop an integrated planning and management of destinations. • Create awareness and active involvement in their customers towards the natural, social and cultural environments they visit by promoting, in their communication and advertising, behaviors and activities compatible with sustainable development’s principles. • Develop the principles in their corporate policy, establish measurable goals and report regularly.

  11. Preparatory phase • TOI announced at Commission on Sustainable Development 7 (1999) by Mr Toepfer (UNEP ED) and Mr Iwand (TUI Group). • Preparation supported by over 40 tour operators. • Statement of Commitment and working modalities drafted by a multi stakeholder group. • Launched at ITB Berlin, 12 March 2000 with a signatory ceremony with fifteen founding members.

  12. Structure • Membership open only to tour operators • AGM and the Board • Cooperations with other organizations • Currently secretariat hosted by UNEP

  13. Governance • The Initiative’s is governed by: • Its members through the Annual General Meeting • An Executive Committee of 5 members • A Board of 12 tour operators members + 3 representatives of UNEP, UNESCO and WTO (with no voting power) (currently not implemented) • A Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and a Treasurer • Constitution and Rules and regulations for membership

  14. Membership process • Applicants complete questionnaire and application form • Executive Board evaluates documents and make decision • Accepted candidates sign the Statement of Commitment (by CEO/MD) and pay membership fee

  15. Funding arrangements • Membership fees are proportional to turnover • Paid annually • Funds serve for Secretariat operating expenses and activities • Members contribute additional in kind (covering travel costs, printing of material et al.)

  16. Cooperations and partnerships • Contribute in ‘ad hoc’ activities and working groups: WG on Sustainability Reporting, Poverty Alleviation information campaign, internal reports, Side meeting, etc. • Provide technical advise, align goals and activities and provide funding • Examples: • International Labour Organization, labour unions, Tourism Concern, Tearfund, IHEI-ITP, ABTA, CAST, IHRA… • WWF, Conservation International, GTZ

  17. A common programme of activities • Areas of work: • Sustainability reporting • Supply chain management • Cooperation with destination • Common tools and guidelines • Industry outreach • Working modalities: • Developed and coordinated by the TOI Secretariat • Full participation of the members

  18. Building partnerships with destinations • Establishment of a partnership with Side (Turkey) for the support of a legal landfill area and closure of the illegal dump in the coastal sand dune protected area

  19. Building partnerships with destinations • Sustainable Tourism Round Table in Punta Cana/Bayahibe and marine recreation training for operators in the Parque del Este

  20. Building partnerships with destinations • Support the establishment of the first marine protected area and developing sustainable tourism opportunities in Lastovo (Croatia) in partnership with WWF

  21. Supply Chain Management

  22. Supply Chain Management • “Practical Guide to good practice for the accommodation sector”, in co-operation with CI/CELB, with best practices for hotels 30.000 copies disseminated by members of the TOI to their contracted hotels • The guide has been now translated in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Arabic

  23. What is a partnership? • Group of individuals that share a common goal, and have agreed on a common path to reach it (and not a sum of individual needs nor astructure to replace individual responsibilities and actions). • Homogenous partnerships: share experience, form one ‘sector’ voice and leadership. • Heterogeneous partnership: creation of cross cutting synergies, complementary in means and objectives, conflict resolution.

  24. Why sustainability through partnership? • The complexity and interlinkages of ‘sustainable development’ call for a coordinated and complementary of actions for efficient and effective solutions. • Sustainable development and environmental conservation are public goods, susceptible to free riding.

  25. Partnerships generate peer pressure that can overcome key barriers to the integration of sustainability into business: • Challenging to prove the ‘business case’ in sustainable tourism. • Consumers’ pressure for sustainable products is not strong enough. • Not enough pressure from NGOs and investors.

  26. Key elements for a successful partnership • ‘Membership services’: • Responding with common voice to shared problems • Sharing experiences and good practices • Benchmarking performance • Developing standards and common management tools that would benefit the sector as a whole • Opportunities to forge complementary partnerships with other organizations • Cost sharing opportunities and economies of scale

  27. Partnership development and management elements: • Members of the partnership in the driving seat • Main industry leaders on board • Full participation in its initial phases (including main stakeholders) • Balanced combination between homogeneity and heterogeneity • Recognise that each member of the network is a crucial node

  28. Keep the system as informal as possible • Have a well defined mission/goals and programme • Define the boundaries between individual vs. group performance, responsibilities and liability • Focus on the value of a common platform and avoid ‘free riders’ (What’s in for me?) • Dedicated coordination with clearing house services

  29. For more information Contact The Chairman of the TOI Tom Selanniemi tom.selanniemi@aurinkomatkat.fi http://www.toinitiative.org

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