Those who defend their rights are sued

For years the pressure on the Garifuna has increased - the descendants of survivors of a capsized slave fleet, which has mixed with the population of the island of St. Vincent. The Canadian entrepreneur Patrick Forseth of Carvida Villas wants to build a luxury tourist resort on the land of Garifuna. He hassles women who fight against his project with law suits. Available in German.

Type of resource: article
Organisation (s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: 26.09.2017
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/news-medien/news/detail/honduras-wer-sein-recht-verteidigt-wird-verklagt/ 

Union Initiative for Miami Beach Staff: Commuting to work is too Expensive!

Baywatch in this year's re-enactment brings us beaches with well-built bathers and the entire hotel landscape in Palm Beach County closer. As in reality, the room-keepers, who guarantee the Miami high-gloss, are never seen in the film. Their situation has worsened over the last few years of the steady boom in tourism: house prices and rents have shot up so much that they can not afford to live near the workplace. They have to commute and this is expensive and time-consuming. An initiative of the hotel trade union "Unite here local 355" intends to help. Available in German.

Type of resource: article
Organisation (s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: 26.09.2017
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/news-medien/news/detail/gewerkschafts-initiative-fuer-miami-beach-hotelpersonal-arbeitswege-sind-zu-teuer/ 

Unethical London - Petition

Unite has launched a report into London's unethical hotel sector, using the stories of hotel workers, Unite members in their own words to expose the shockingly shameful work practices that have been allowed to flourish unchecked in the multi-billion hotel industry.
Now we are serving notice on the global hotel chains. STOP giving London a bad name and start treating your workforce with dignity and respect. STOP denying workers their basic human and trade union rights and start living up to your commitments.
We are calling for the adoption of a set of 'City Wide Principles' to stamp out bad practice once and for all.
Please sign our petition below to the top bosses of the global hotel chains operating in London. Join our call for an end to shameful work practices

Type of resource: Petition
Organisation(s) involved: Unite Central London Hotel Workers Branch, Tourism Concern
Date: September 2017
Link: http://www.unitetheunion.org/campaigning/hotel-workers-deserve-a-living-wage/ and https://www.change.org/p/london-hotels-we-demand-that-london-hotels-treat-their-staff-fairly-and-pay-a-living-wage

Unethical London

Published by Unite the Union, Central London Hotel Workers Branch to bring to the attention of the general public, opinion formers, the media, hoteliers and hotel workers, the existing situation in the London hotel sector. The publication relies on the testament of the workers themselves to describe their daily experiences and the union’s strategic objectives to achieve beneficial change.

Type of resource: Union publication
Organisation(s) involved: Unite the Union, Central London Hotel Workers Branch
Date: published in 2017
Link: http://www.unitetheunion.org/uploaded/documents/(JN7544)%20A4%20Unethical%20London%20Brochure%20(2)11-27954.pdf 

Fairunterwegs Travel Check

While others proclaim a new egoism, you are committed to greater justice and the preservation of natural resources. You separate garbage, buy fair trade, regional, seasonal and organic products, but: How well do you consider these values during your vacation? Find it out with our Fairunterwegs- travel check over nine stages of travel planning. For each question, tick the solution that is most appropriate. At the end you will receive feedback and encouragement. Available in German only.

Type of resource: Article
Organisation (s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: April 2017
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/reisecheck/

Maldives regime imperils coral reefs in dash for cash

The Maldives government is endangering coral reefs in pursuit of urbanisation and opaque mega-deals with foreign investors. After a 2016 ocean heat wave that killed 70 to 80 percent of the country’s surface corals, widespread dredging and land reclamation threatens their recovery. Investors are being courted for massive resort and infrastructure projects. To facilitate this, the tourism ministry has taken over environmental impact assessments for resort developments from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as Megan Darby explains in her article.

Type of resource: Article
Organisation(s) involved:
Date: September 2017
Link: http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/20/maldives-regime-imperils-coral-reefs-dash-cash/ 

Mangroves under Threat: Tourism as a Problem, Eco-Tourism as a Potential Solution

In their article Alfredo Quarto and Martin Keeley describe the effects of industrial-style tourism in Bimini, a Caribbean Island. The island is now replete with five-star hotels, condos, restaurants, golf courses and marinas, all meant to attract the wealthy tourists. Large swaths of mangroves were cleared, shorelines extended by using land fill, threatening corals and sea grasses, marine life and a way of life for the local people.

For more than 20 years the Bahamas government has pledged to turn large parts of Bimini into a Marine Protected Area. To its shame, it has failed to act on its promises. This is rather typical of the multi-national corporate/mangrove/government conflict which all too often plays itself out in the Caribbean.

Type of Resource: Article
Organisation(s) involved: Mangrove Action Project, Tourism Watch
Date: September 2017
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/mangroves-under-threat

Photographing People in Poverty? Pros and Cons

Slums, Townships or Favelas: disadvantaged neighbourhoods are increasingly visited by tourists. If such excursions are organised in a socially responsible manner, they may be beneficial for both, local people and tourists, creating win-win situations. Visitors can get a better understanding of the living conditions of people beyond the tourist attractions. But what about taking photos? Is it ethical? Kim Geffen, owner and CEO of Kimba Africa from South Africa, claims "yes, if done respectfully". Joseph Bird, CEO of Reality Tours & Travel in Delhi, on the other hand opposes this position as a matter of principle.

Type of Resource: Article, Pro and Contra
Organisation(s) involved: Kimba Africa, Reality Tours & Travel, Tourism Watch
Date: July 2017
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/photographing-people-poverty

Protecting Privacy: Experiences with Community Tourism in Brazil

“Come in, the house is yours!” Many Brazilians still use this old saying to make visitors feel at home. However, this hospitality is not found in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, but lives in the hearts and houses of people outside the hustle and bustle of the big cities. The much closer relationship between visitors and local hosts allows for more authentic experiences, but home stays have intrinsic problems. Protecting hosts’ privacy is the key to success.

In her article Mariana Madureira elaborates different strategies and measures how communities and individual hosts protect their privacy while welcoming tourists. Some, especially indigenous communities, opt for collectively managing guesthouse while others receive tourists in their own homes.

Type of Resource: Article
Organisation(s) involved: Tourism Watch, Projeto Bagagem
Date: July 2017
Link:  https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/protecting-privacy

Our sex migrants

Baywatch in this year's re-enactment brings us beaches with well-built bathers and the entire hotel landscape in Palm Beach County closer. As in reality, the room-keepers, who guarantee the Miami high-gloss, are never seen in the film. Their situation has worsened over the last few years of the steady boom in tourism: house prices and rents have shot up so much that they can not afford to live near the workplace. They have to commute and this is expensive and time-consuming. An initiative of the hotel trade union "Unite here local 355" intends to help. Available in German.

Type of resource: article
Organisation (s) involved: Gunda Werner Institut, Heinrich Böll-Stiftung
Date: 12.06.2017
Link: http://www.gwi-boell.de/de/2017/06/12/unsere-sexmigranten

Participation as a key to sustainable development - also in tourism!

Christine Plüss, Managing Director of arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung, explains why tourism can not continue as it has done so far. She refers to a declaration by the municipality of Mothakkara in Kerala, which calls, among other things, for a stronger participation of the local population in all decisions concerning tourism as well as its own development. The KARED initiative in Uganda is also a pioneering example that could lead tourism to more sustainable paths. Available in German.

Type of resource: article
Organisation(s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: 09.05.2017
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/news-medien/kommentar/detail/partizipation-als-schluessel-zur-nachhaltigen-entwicklung-auch-im-tourismus/ 

Opportunities and threats for women in the tourism industry

Women make the beds in London's hotel rooms, they sell souvenirs on Nairobi's streets or scrub the floors in Buenos Aires' bars: more than twice as many women as men work in the tourism industry worldwide. Especially in developing countries, tourism is often the main opportunity to make money. Women, however, do not always benefit from it. Available in German only. 

Type of resource: article
Organisation (s) involved: Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen e.V.
Date: 04.04.2017
Link: http://www.dgvn.de/meldung/chancen-und-gefahren-fuer-frauen-in-der-tourismusbranche/

Agriculture and Tourism in the Philippines: Risks and Opportunities for Food Security

Tourism as a prime economic-generating activity has a trade off. In the Philippines, some people earn from tourism, but it has also affected the preoccupation they played in the community as providers. In her article Ma Rosalie Abeto Zerrudo describes the complex relationship between tourism, food security and food sovereignty for the local population.

Type of resource: Article
Organisation(s) involved: Tourism Watch
Date: March 2017
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/risks-and-opportunities-food-security

Mothakkara Declaration on Participation of Local Communities in Tourism

The the local community of Mothakkara, Wayanad, Kerala, South India, met with representatives of local self governments, civil society organisations, community-based organisations, representatives of political parties, and business representatives assembled in Mothakkara from 24th to 26th January 2017. They discussed challenges of participation at different levels of community development and tourism. They stressed that local community participation is the key to transform the current tourism and developed the Mothakkara Declaration on Participation of Local Communities in Tourism.

Type of Resource: Declaration
Organisation(s) involved: Kabani - the other direction
Date: January 2017
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/mothakkara-declaration-participation-local-communities-tourism

Interview with Mitchel Lay, Fisherman and Coordinating Member of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO)

Mitchel Lay, a professional fisherman and representative of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO) from Antigua and Barbuda, is concerned about the increasing conflicts between the growing tourism industry in his region and the mostly small-scale fishery that provides a living for many natives. In an interview TourismWatch asked him how the fishing communities deal with the limited access to the coast and fishing grounds by touristic infrastructure, recreational beach-bound activities and marine protected areas.

Type of resource: Interview
Organisation(s) involved: Tourism Watch
Date: September 2017
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/fishery-and-tourism-caribbean

Position Paper: "In Deep Water. Coastal Communities in the Era of Tourism Development"

Many governments promote tourism as an alternative business opportunity to fishing proclaiming its positive effects on economic development of costal zones. However, tourism development often occurs at the expense of local communities. Tourism is one of the driving forces behind ocean grabbing, the reallocation of rights and access to marine resources, their use and control away from small-scale fishers and local communities. This growing phenomenon results in infringements of land rights and violations of human rights.
The position paper gives practical examples how communities were negatively affected by tourism development from Sri Lanka, India and Italy. The paper also names a positive example for sustainable use of land and sea from Brazil, demands community participation and self-determination, describes necessary structural changes for the transformation of tourism and identifies potential ways forward.

Type of resource: Publication
Organisation(s) involved: National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (Sri Lanka), Kabani-the other direction (India) and InstitutoTerramar (Brazil), Tourism Watch (Germany)
Date: June 2017
Link: https://www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de/fileadmin/mediapool/2_Downloads/Fachinformationen/Aktuell/Facts_60_In_deep_water.pdf

Prof. Marina Novelli Inaugural Lecture on “Travel and Tourism in the Age of Sustainability”

Travel and tourism are broadly performed through the active engagement of people as consumers or service providers, planners, policymakers and destination communities. This happens while development priorities are reshuffled in relation to sustainability ambitions. Politics, levels of power, consumers and local communities’ needs, social justice, natural resources’ protection, fair trade principles, poverty reductions strategies, climate change, ethics and corporate social responsibility are all core dimensions of the prominent sustainability agenda, promoted through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Rio+ Protocol.
Within the tourism and sustainability realm, Professor Novelli has had an active presence. Her critical scholarship, multi-disciplinary and participatory research approaches have made a difference to the quality of decision-making that underpins the development and management of tourism in destinations across Africa, Asia and Europe. She has also provided new insights into the socio-economic, cultural and natural environments in which travel and tourism occur.
By drawing upon some of her most significant research, enterprise and teaching experiences, Professor Novelli’s inaugural lecture offered key reflections on her use of critical social science perspectives in understanding travel and tourism. It also highlighted her pro-activist and impact-orientated commitment to the development of programmes and practices that actively promote progressive social change, tackle social problems and promote positive outcomes beyond travel and tourism.
Type of resource: Video
Organisation (s) involved: Prof. Marina Novelli – School of Sport and Service Management, Eastbourne, UK
Date: 29th March 2017
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUqj9ba9pTM 

How to Impoverish a Destination: Tax avoidance strategies by all-inclusive resorts through vertical integration

International tourism engenders inequalities, with grave consequences. Governments of emerging economies and developing countries look to tourism to raise them out of poverty and provide employment. They subsidize expensive All-Inclusive resort developments by vertically integrated corporations to kick-start economic prosperity. However, the prosperity will be an illusion, impoverishing the destinations and indebting them to these international tourism corporations.

In her article in TourismWatch No. 86, Linda Ambrosie explains how All-Inclusive resorts are able to avoid corporate taxes through complex chains of international companies and cause economic and social damage to destinations. Thanks to transfer pricing they can invoice less than the full value of the trip, allowing profits to remain in low- or no-tax jurisdictions.

Linda M. Ambrosie, PhD, is a Post Doctorate Fellow at the University of Calgary. She is the author of “Sun & Sea Tourism: Fantasy and Finance of the All-Inclusive Industry”, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Cambridge, 2015.

Type of resource: Article / Book
Organisation(s) involved: Tourism Watch
Date: March 2017
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/en/content/tax-avoidance-through-vertical-integration

Online Compendium on Tourism and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development

In the international Year on Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017, authors from academia and civil society organisations analysed the connections between tourism and each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on academic analyses, case studies and their personal experiences from the local ground, they examined how tourism can foster or hinder the achievement of each of the 17 goals. The online compendium consists of 17 chapters on each SDG highlighting major challenges and tangible ways forward in transforming tourism in order to help transform our world. The varieties of analyses are by no means comprehensive, but aimed to be a first starting point for further debates and discussions.

Type of resource: Publication
Date: Published 2017
Link: www.transforming-tourism.org