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Prospects of ecotoursim-2013
"You protect what you love, and
you love what you know."
- Giulia Maria Mozzoni Crespi, President, Fondo per
l’Ambiente Italiano [5]
Why ecotourism? Why go green and think green?
According to Global Ethic Code of Tourism (article 3, point 5), “Nature
tourism and ecotourism are recognized as particularly enriching and valuable
forms of tourism due to the fact that they show respect to the natural
heritage, and local communities and respect the potential tourist reception
facilities”.
Let’s start with some definitions and figures. Ecotourism is a "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves
the environment and improves the well-being of local people"[1]
– it’s a definition given by TIES in 1990. Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable
travel. Apart from that it is the fastest growing sector in the
tourism industry increasing at a rate of 4-10% each year. As we can see it
nowadays ecotourism is getting more and more popular involving people to
“travel green” and “think green”. Yes, ecotourism is exactly about “travelling
green”! Why? TIES gives a reasonable answer: “Because
we believe in the power of travel to transform people and inspire positive
change. When executed mindfully, and with the minimum impact, travel can
inspire cultural awareness, tolerance, and commitment to environmental
responsibility.” [5]
Every year TIES, and also UNWTO, UNEP and other
organizations hold conferences concerning problems and prospects of ecotourism.
It’s necessary to underline that ecotourism is closely connected with
sustainable development. The latest landmark
resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (21, December 2012)
recognizes ecotourism as key in the fight against poverty, the protection of
the environment and the promotion of sustainable development. [4]
It further recognizes that “ecotourism creates significant
opportunities for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of
biodiversity and of natural areas by encouraging local and indigenous
communities in host countries and tourists alike to preserve and respect the
natural and cultural heritage”.[4]
We can consider that ecotourism, comparing with
other kinds of tourism, offers long-term solutions and provides effective
economic incentives for conserving and enhancing bio-cultural diversity. How
does ecotourism fight against poverty? By increasing local capacity building
and employment opportunities, ecotourism becomes effective vehicle for
empowering local communities around the world to fight against poverty and to
achieve sustainable development.
Sustainable
development is important not only for travellers and natural areas, but for
travel companies too. An important event has happened this year: on 9th January
in Amsterdam, in the presence of the Dutch Royal Princess Laurentien, the first
Travelife awards for Tour operators and Travel agents was handed out by Mr
Taleb Rifai, General Secretary UNWTO. TUI Nederland is the first major travel
company to achieve this award, along with two other Dutch companies.[3]
The certification
recognizes companies that have made a long-term commitment to sustainability
and are leading in this area. The companies must comply with more than 150
certification criteria, related to an operators’ office management, product
range, international business partners and customer information.
This Travelife
certification has recently been recognized by The Global Sustainable Tourism
Council (GSTC) – a global initiative dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism
practices around the world. This means that the Travelife standard for Tour
operators and Travel agents is considered equivalent to the Global Sustainable
Tourism Criteria - the minimum requirement for tourism businesses worldwide.
[3]
Another one
important event is impending Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference
(ESTC), Nairobi, Kenya, Sept 24-27. It
will be the seventh annual Conference , organized by The International Ecotourism Society, co-hosted by Kenya
Tourist Board and Ecotourism Kenya and in cooperation with the World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO).
Luigi Cabrini, UNWTO's Director for Sustainable Development of Tourism,
states that “The development of ecotourism, within the framework of sustainable
tourism, can have a positive impact on income generation, job creation and
education, and thus on the fighting against poverty and hunger, protection of
the environment and the promotion of sustainable development, contributing to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals”. [2]
The conference program will feature ideas, opportunities and solutions
for the tourism industry to assist in conserving natural areas, alleviating
poverty, empowering women, enhancing education, and improving the health and
well-being of local communities. By minimizing negative footprint and
maximizing positive impact, tourism can play an active role in contributing to
these goals, which are outlined in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
the world’s time- bound commitment to fighting poverty and achieving a just,
sustainable, and healthier future.
Ecotourism and green rural tourism takes its place in Ukraine too, and
there is no wonder, because Ukraine has a great potential and opportunities for
the development of such kind of tourism.
One of the main organizations in the sphere of development and
regulation of green tourism in Ukraine is Union for Promotion or Rural Green
Tourism Development. Founded in 1995, this Union takes as objective “to protect
national cultural, artistic, economic, legal and other common interests of its
members and promote the movement in Ukraine for rural green tourism.”
The main tasks of
the Union are:
-
To popularize rural green
tourism;
-
To promote the development of
rural infrastructure;
-
To behave respect to the
beauty of native country, hospitable inhabitants of rural communities and historical
heritage of Ukrainian nation;
-
To empower local communities
to fight against poverty and create opportunities for job.
One of the acute problems that slow down the development of rural
tourism in Ukraine is the problem of quality of services in the sphere of rural
tourism. In 2004 the Union suggested such system of ecological quality as
"Green mansion", in 2008 – system of quality of accommodation
"Ukrainian hospitable mansion".
Every year the Union organizes conferences on green rural tourism
trying to solve the problems and create opportunities for successful
development of tourism in Ukraine.
On December, 7-8 another one conference was held dedicated to formation
of policy development and functioning of rural tourism in Ukraine. As a result
of the conference the Resolution was adopted. Concerning this Resolution, the
main actual task of the Union for the present day is to intensify efforts on
categorization of rural tourism
mansions and eco-labeling within a single program "Rural hospitality" and promote regular trainings for owners of
mansions and rural workers involved in agro-service. [6]
As we see it’s do necessary to summarize the proposals and submit the
relevant Ministries for inclusion to the State Program for Development of
Tourism in 2013 and by 2022, and also it’s important to begin work on drafting
a national standard on rural tourism "Tourism rural green. Basic
requirements " (according to the Resolution of the conference on December,
7-8).
Making a general conclusion we can once again underline that ecotourism
is an effective tool for empowering local communities around the world to fight
against poverty and to achieve sustainable development, and moreover it
provides effective economic incentives for conservation of bio-cultural diversity
and natural heritage.
Developing Ecotourism we don’t simply promote green travels and support
local communities (villages, farms, etc.), but we also conserve the
environment, take care of nature and show our respect to it; we improve
people’s health and ensure sustainable development and preservation of natural
resources for new generations. Ecotourism isn’t simply a kind of tourism, but
it’s a philosophy and way of life.
Literature:
6.
Resolution of the conference
on green rural tourism, Kiev, December 7-8 (extracts)