GREENTOURISMTRENDS, SENSE OF
PLACE AND COMMUNITY
SUSTAINABILITY: GUIDELINES FOR
SUCCESS
A PRESENTATIONATTHE GREENTOURISM SUMMITAND
MAZINGIRAAWARDS
11TH AND 12TH JUNE 2015
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL
BY PROF. R. O. B. MAKOPONDO PhD
DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITYANDTOURISM STUDIES
THETECHNICAL UNIVERSITYOFKENYA

 INTRODUCTION
 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
 GREENTOURISM
 SENSE OF PLACE
 GUIDELINES FORTOURISM PROVIDERS

 Definition: “Tourism that takes full account
of its current & future economic, social &
environmental impacts, addressing needs of
visitors, Industry, environment and host
communities”. (UN)
SustainableTourism should:
 Make optimal use of environmental resources
 Respect socio-cultural authenticity of host
communities

Ensure viable, long-term economic operation
 Sustainable tourism development requires
the informed participation of all relevant
stakeholders & strong political will to ensure
wide participation and consensus building
 Should maintain high level of tourist
satisfaction

 Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous
process and requires constant monitoring of
impacts, introducing necessary preventive
and/or corrective measures whenever
necessary.

Environment
Balancing the use of Balancing the use of
environmental resources & environmental resources &
the economic benefits changes to the
social/community values
of those environmental
resources
Economic Social
Balancing economic growth and
development and the Impacts of development
on community/social values
Sustainable
Tourism

i) Economic Facet
 Tourism is considered an export industry
 It directly and indirectly impacts global economy
 Tourism contributes more than 9% of global GDP
and almost same % of jobs globally
 Tourism has a value of 1trilion a year

 Many services linked to tourism are classified
under sectors such as business, financial and
recreational services
 Regulatory commitment under General
Agreement onTrade in Services (GATS) play
significant role in promoting tourism
 International travel has become one of the
fastest growing economic activity worldwide

ii) Environmental Facet
 Balances the use of environmental resources and
economic benefits of tourism
 The local natural environment is a major attraction
for many destinations.
 The local as well as tourism industry must ensure
that any tourism development minimizes harm to
the ecology

iii) Social Facet of sustainable development
Involves balancing economic growth and
development and the impacts of development on
community/social values

 Increasing use of renewable energy
 Consuming less water
 Minimizing waste
 Using biodegradable products for guests
 Conserving bio-diversity, cultural heritage and
traditional values

 Supporting intercultural understanding and
tolerance
 Generating local income
 Integrating local communities
 Enabling tourism business to make long term
investment

(i) ECO-TOURISM: This is tourism with
 All nature based forms of tourism
 Contains educations and interpretation
feature
 Is generally but not exclusively organized
 Minimizes negative impacts upon the natural
and socio-cultural Environment

 Supports the maintenance of natural areas
through:
▪ Generating economic benefits for ho st communities,
org
▪ Provide alternative employment and income
opportunities for local community and increase
awareness to conservation of natural and cultural assets.
(ii)Marine & CoastalTourism
▪ M&C areas can be used for sustainable tourism and
recreation

 Marine Protected Areas: these regions can
develop sustainable industry i.e catering for
activities like recreation fishing etc.
 (iii) Agro-Tourism
Primary appeal is towards cultural and
traditionally managed landscapes. Involves
growing, harvesting and processing locally
grown food.

 WHAT IS GREENTOURISM?
 Green tourism is tourism that respects the environment
and the local community as well as making good
business sense.
 A green tourism business is as interested in a healthy
profit margin as any good business, but it does this in a
way that helps - or at the very least doesn’t harm – local
people and the local environment.
 It is responsible.

Changing consumer patterns
 Tourists have become more conscious of the
environment hence look for responsible
alternative to traditional travel options
Sustainability Certifications
 Various standards of the ISO have been used
in the tourism sector to improve overall
quality of service e.g ISO 9000 quality mgt,
ISO 14000 environmental mgt, blue flag label
etc.

 Certification informs tourists of
environmental and social impact of tourism
related activities
Carbon offsets
 This is a reduction in emissions of carbon
dioxide or green house gases made in order
to compensate for/or to offset an emission
made elsewhere
 Tourism businesses and destinations can
"offset" travelers' carbon emissions by :

▪ calculating their travel-related emissions i.e
air travel, local transportation,
accommodation, etc.
▪ Making financial contributions to projects
that address climate impact mitigation e.g.
tree planting, reforestation, subsidizing
renewable energy, or increasing energy
efficiency).

What is the sense of place?
www.artofgeography.com/info/the-sense-of-place
 It is a combination of characteristics that makes a
place special and unique.
 Sense of place involves the human experience in a
landscape, the local knowledge and folklore.
 Sense of place also grows from identifying oneself
in relation to a particular piece of land on the
surface of planet earth.

 Anthropology
 Place attachment is the symbolic relationship
formed by people giving culturally shared
emotional/affective meanings to a particular
space of piece of land that provides the basis for
the individual’s and group’s understanding of and
relation to the environment.
 Environmental psychology
 Sense of place: particular experience of a person
in a particular setting (feeling stimulated, excited,
joyous, expansive, and so forth)

 Spirit of place: the combination of characteristics
that gives some locations a special feel or
personality (such as a spirit of mystery or identity
with a person or group)
 Setting: a person’s immediate surroundings,
including both physical and social elements.

 Geography
 Topophilia is the affective bond between people and place
or setting. Such ties vary in intensity, subtlety, and mode
of expression. Responses to the environment may be
aesthetic, tactile, or emotional.
 Landscape architecture / history:
 a sense of place is something that we ourselves create in
the course of time. It is the result of habit or custom.
 A sense of place is reinforced by what might be called a
sense of recurring events.

 Tourism planners and developers, business
enterprises must recognize that sense of place is
about how people relate with and interpret their
environment and circumstances
 Sense of place is a combination of the values and
meanings communities make of their environment
and its resources as well as the values, meanings, and
experiences sought by visitors
 As opposed to sustainable tourism development,
visitors and residents play a greater role in green
tourism

 SAYING IT,WRITING IT AND DOING IT.
 TWO SIMPLE STEPS
▪ WRITE AN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYTO CLEARLY
STATE WHATYOUWANTTO CHANGE
▪ INVOLVEYOUR STAFF ANDVISITORS

 IT HELPSYOUTO STAY CLEAR ABOUTWHATYOU
ARE DOING AND HOWYOU ARE GOINGTO DO IT.
 EG. ….XYZ HOTEL IS COMMITEDTO PROTECTING
THE ENVIRONMENTAND SUPPORTINGTHE LOCAL
COMMMUNITY.
 IDENTIFY SPECIFICWAYSTO ACHIEVETHE ABOVE
 MINIMISING ENERGY USE
 SENDING LESSWASTETO LANDFILL
 MINIMISINGWATER USE
 PURCHASING SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
 SUPPORTING LOCALCOMMUNITY
 ENCOURATING SUSTAINABLETRANSPORT

 Insulate by about 10 inches!
 Up to 35% heat is lost through the roof and
windows.
 Invest in low energy light bulbs.
 The upfront cost is greater, but these last up to 10
times longer and use a third of the energy.
 Install a water efficient showerhead.
 This could save you substantially on water heating.
 Switch devices off at the wall instead of
leaving them on standby.

 MINIMISEWASTAGE
 Conduct waste audit to better understand where
your waste is coming from and how to reduce it.
 Rethink your portion size.
 If 40% of wasted food is carbohydrates, are you
serving too much?
 Offer “doggy bags” to customers.
 Keep your fridge at 5 degrees or cooler to
maximize food lifetimes.
 Compost your kitchen waste and create
clearly labelled recycling stations at
prominent locations.

 PURCHASE AND/OR UTILISE LOCAL RESOURCES
 Purchasing from external sources causes leakage of money
out of the local community
 Local food stuffs and materials support local families and
build strong vibrant communities
 Serve up local, seasonal produce
 Use local farmers markets and farm shops
 Actively support other local businesses and initiatives
 Provide guests opportunities to sample local stuff with
information on where they can buy more
 Use local art and crafts

 Use of bicycles.
 Encourage your customers to leave
the car at home by offering pickups,
discounts for those who arrive
without the car and providing up to
date public transport information.
 Encourage walking and hiking.

 Know your local area.
 Take time out to enjoy your own area so that you
can give your customers first hand knowledge.
 Support wildlife by installing nesting boxes, bird
baths.
 Get involved in (or organise) a cleanup effort in your
local area.
 Sponsor a local environmental charity or make
a visitor payback scheme available.
 Display the ‘Leave NoTrace’ principles to
encourage your
customers to respect local wildlife.

 Install a cistern displacement device - such as a
HIPPO bag.
 Reduce water usage by up to 70% by fitting
aerators on taps and showerheads.
 Check regularly for leaks from pipes (especially in
cold weather) and monitor meter readings and bills
regularly to identify unusual patterns.
 Communicate the importance of water efficiency
to your employees and customers.
 Where possible, use water butts to harvest rain
water.

 The way you spend your money demonstrates your
commitment to the environment
 Evaluate the ethical and environmental credentials
of suppliers and service providers
 Wherever possible, source local services and
products.
 Cut down on packaging – avoid small plastic
packages and containers.
 Choose environmentally friendly paper
 Choose ethical and organic products.
 Choose natural cleaning products that are free
from toxic chemicals.

 Plan your building to maximise on solar insolation/
harvesting.
 During the design phase, prioritize good insulation
and ventilation.
 Make use of rain water by installing a rainwater
catchment system.
 Include solar water heaters, photovoltaic panels
and geothermal features or design in a way that
allows for future installation of renewable energy
features.
 Install windmills where appropriate
 Consider incorporating solar-tube lighting to allow
natural light into interior rooms.

 Membership of a sustainable tourism certification
programme such as ‘GreenTourism’ makes it easy
for your customers to know that you are
committed to the environment.
 It also provides a supported approach to going
green from the beginning.
 ‘GreenTourism’ is one of the world’s most highly
rated green certification schemes.
 A green award can also help you to tap into of a
growing market of consumers who are seeking
out businesses which are environmentally and
socially aware.

 Green Economy andTrade, UN., 2013
 UNWTO(2013a), International tourism to continue
robust growth in 2013, PR No.; 13006. worldTourism
Organization
 UNCTAD. (2010).The contribution of tourism to trade
and development. Trade and Development Board,
second session, Geneva.
 Cross, J. E. (2001)L:What is Sense of Place? 12th
Headwaters Conference,Western State College, USA