Having worked on the early proposals for a Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council, and edited the first book on tourism ecolabelling, I have followed the debate and contributed to certification for some time. That doesn’t mean I agree with what is taking place.
You would think that the current world efforts would be towards reducing the number of labels, consolidating standards, and looking for a joint marketing effort. Think again.
The truth is, much of the value in labels is coming from empowering small groups of individuals in developing standards that are relevant to their needs, that they believe in, and that they feel they can meet.
Two new EU funded projects work on this premise. Collabor8 brings together a number of partners to develop standards for businesses in each national park. I will be providing training to these partners in Cornwall 20-21 April 2010 on how to make sure new labels are market led.
A month later, a new EU project will be launched, to financially support the development of standards for tourism businesses within national parks (yes, also!), this time within the framework of Europarc’s European charter for protected areas. ICRT at LeedsMet is one of the knowledge partners in this 18 month project.
What have we learned from this? Well, that we like reinventing the wheel, and that ownership of local standards often takes prevalence over the benefits of being part of something bigger. Each park wants their own standard, in part to promote the park and not just the businesses. Having a number of certified businesses by a much bigger label just wouldn’t have the same feel good factor.
All of this comes at a time when the world is discussing the merits of ecolabelling in tourism, particularly around the Tourism Sustainability Council and the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. You may have read Harold Goodwin’s latest blog entry on this http://haroldgoodwin.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2010/4/11/4502727.html
Sr. Font un cordial saludo. Estoy interesado en tener el estudio sobre lo que deben hacer los pequenos hoteles. En M[exico en la zona del Caribe Mexicano, tenemos una considerable cantidad de esos establecimientos ;por tal motivo le solicito su estudio para poder publicarlo en nuestro sitio.
Espero tenga unos minutos para conocer nuestro dfiario on line, el cual esta asus órdenes.
Alfredo Villagrán y Arevalo.
Sr Font estamos intersados en tener su estudio sobre los pequeños hoteles, ya que en México como usted debe saber especialmente en la zona del Caribe Mexicano tenemos una buena cantidad de ese tipo de establecimientos. Quisieramos cooperar con el turismo responsable y consideramos que un camino es publicando su estudio.
Espero tenga unos minutos para navegar nuestro diario on line el cual esta a sus ordenes.
For years I have been trying to figure out the Tourism Sustainability Council and the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. What I see is that lessons have not been learned by those who have created a process that is neither inclusive nor transparent. I’ve compiled the notes and links that I have online the Planeta Wiki
http://planeta.wikispaces.com/gstc
Your observation that “ownership of local standards often takes prevalence over the benefits of being part of something bigger” reflects the growing local travel movement. We’ll see far that goes down the road. I’m collaborating with the WHL folks and other friends online http://www.localtravelmovement.com