Ambassadors for Sustainable Tourism

Journeys change the environment, the economy and the people living in the destinations. But every journey also changes the traveller who gains new impressions and experiences.
2016 we offered out Youth Ambassador programme for the first time. Teenagers from Austria, Senegal and Togo were invited to learn about sustainable tourism during workshops and to discuss different issues during our Peer-to-Peer exchange.
As “Youth Ambassadors for Sustainable Travel”, they now spread the word about fair travelling within their networks. Using different social media channels, the groups created great projects that will help people to understand the issues within sustainable tourism.
The project will continue in 2017. This year, materials for further use will be developed.

Type of Resource: Workshop & Documentation
Organisations involved: Naturefriends International
Date: Started in 2016, ongoing
Link: http://www.nfi.at//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=726&lang=en

Voluntourism: The business with busy cosmopolitans

The large number of women and men who want to deal with difficult living conditions or environmental problems and are looking for a direct exchange is a great potential. Volunteering can provide a suitable form for this. But the commercialization of voluntary work by the tourism industry makes it increasingly difficult to find meaningful engagements.

Type of resource: article
Organisation (s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: 08.11.2016
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/news-medien/news/detail/voluntourismus-das-geschaeft-mit-eiligen-weltenbuergern/ 

Shipping: The delay of more stringent requirements is lethal

Since October 5, the Paris Climate Agreement has been in force, which aims to limit global warming to two degrees. Next week the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) will meet in London to agree on a broad-based input from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at the international climate conference in November. It is about a global capping of the sulfur content of fuels in shipping from 2020. Lobbies make pressure to postpone the date. But that would endanger the lives of more than 200,000 people. Available in German.

Type of resource: article
Organisation (s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: 21.10.2016
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/news-medien/news/detail/schifffahrt-aufschub-strengerer-auflagen-ist-toedlich/ 

Travelifes broken promises to the hotel workers

This report scrutinizes the Travelife system both in theory and in practice. It serves to ask the question: What positive improvements have been achieved and which challenges still exist? The criteria of the standard are compared to international labour and human rights standards. The review of the standard comprises a combination of interviews with workers at Travelife certified hotels and non-certified hotels in Turkey. The hotels are connected to three of Sweden’s biggest tour operators: Apollo (Kuoni)1, Fritidsresor (TUI) and/or Ving (Thomas Cook).The evaluation of the Travelife criteria uncovered fundamental flaws: the absence of core labour standards such as freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, along with a lack of references to international labour rights standards such as the ILO core conventions. According to Schyst resande’s interviews with hotel workers in Turkey, violations of the local labour law as well as international human and labour rights occur at the hotels. The most severe violations are related to breaches of freedom of association, low wages and a lack of occupational health and safety.

Type of resource: Publication/Case study
Organisation (s) involved: The network Schyst resande
Date: 2015
Link: http://www.schystresande.se/upl/files/118831.pdf

No holidays for the Burmese

This report examines the working conditions of Burmese migrants at hotels contracted by Sweden´s three major tour operators Apollo (REWE Group), Fritidsresor (TUI Group) and Ving (Thomas Cook Group) in Khao Lak and Phuket, as well as hotel suppliers. The interviewed migrants, who work at seven different hotels and six suppliers to the hotels, report receiving below statutory minimum wages, working overtime without compensation as well as facing discrimination. Half of the 18 hotel workers state that their salary is lower than that of the minimum wage. Moreover, only three of them receive vacation or leave
according to the Thai labour law. The workers employed at the hotels’ suppliers face more severe labour rights violations. Nine out of the eleven interviewees do not earn the minimum wage. Additionally, workers express that they have never had a single day of vacation. Such practices violate both the Thai labour law and international conventions, as well as the policies of the Swedish tour operators and are a clear violation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

Type of resource: Publication/Case study
Organisation (s) involved: The network Schyst resande
Date: 2015
Link: http://www.schystresande.se/upl/files/140068.pdf

A Guide Through the Label Jungle

In the handy brochure the leading international quality labels for accommodation providers, travel offers and tour operators are presented and their credibility evaluated. Who is behind the certification system? Are the criteria transparent and have they been published? Is the verification procedure reliable? Are all subject areas of sustainability included? „In the new edition, the focus remained on sustainability labels in the German-speaking countries as well as in popular European holiday countries“
Booklet (44 pages) with structured description of 20 leading sustainable tourism certificates worldwide and a compiled list of 30 additional labels, published in German and English language (March 2016).

Type of resource: Publication
Organisation(s) involved: NFI, Brot für die Welt, Tourism Watch and ECOTRANS.
Date: Published in 2015
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/node/2224 

Fair travelling in 3 minutes - The online quiz

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” (St. Augustine). For many of us the most important time of the year is our holiday: Relaxing, discovering new places and escaping the daily routines.
However, news about climate change, pictures of people living in poverty and reports about endangered species put a damper on our excitement. Eco-tourism, slow travel and sustainability are supposed to be the solution. What does „fairness“ in tourism actually mean and how can I implement that?
If you have ever asked yourself those questions, this quiz is what you need. We offer an introduction into sustainable tourism, answer questions and give you food for thought. This is a resource to reach people, who know very little about the subject and offers a low-threshold introduction in German, English and French.

Type of Resource: Online Resource
Organisation involved: Naturefriends International
Date: Published 2015
Link: http://www.nfi.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=713&Itemid=138&lang=en

From Volunteering to Voluntourism - Challenges for the Responsible Development of a Growing Travel Trend

Voluntourism- this means short-term volunteering with high adventure and experiential content - has become increasingly important in the past years in Germany. Many commercial tour operators have discovered this trend. Bread for the World - Tourism Watch together with ECPAT Germany e.V. and the Working Group on Tourism & Development (akte) show considerable deficits in relation to child protection and sustainable development within many offers from operators in a new study. The editors welcome the interest of many people wanting to be actively involved in social and environmental projects in developing countries.
The publication describes not only recommendations for travellers, but also includes requirements for tour operators, how they can make short-term volunteering offers responsible and how risks, in particular for children, may be reduced. The 24 page study was published in 2015 and is available in English and German.

Type of resource: Publication
Organisation(s) involved: ECPAT Germany e.V.,Working Group on Tourism & Development (akte) and Tourism Watch
Date: Published in 2015
Link: https://www.tourism-watch.de/node/2224 

Keep an eye on your holiday purchase: human rights

Make your contribution to preserving the landscape, social cohesion and a healthy regional economy in the destination, while preparing, booking and traveling. Here you will find specific tips for the choice of your tour operator, your hotel and your own travel behavior. Available in German.

Type of resource: article
Organisation(s) involved: arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung
Date: 2015
Link: https://www.fairunterwegs.org/fair-unterwegs/augen-auf-beim-ferienkauf/menschenrechte/ 

There Is No Such Thing as Sustainable Tourism: Re-Conceptualizing Tourism as a Tool for Sustainability

While the management of tourism impacts and the relationship between tourism and sustainability have been paid considerable attention by tourism academics, there is little evidence of any significant change in tourism practice. This paper will argue that this lack of change reflects problems in the way tourism academics have conceptualized sustainable tourism. After reviewing these problems with sustainable tourism, this paper will offer an alternative framework for sustainable tourism that focuses on the concept of quality-of-life, recognizes the complexity of tourism within local and global systems, adheres to the principles of responsible tourism, and explicitly assesses the value of tourism as one tool, amongst many, for sustainability. One potential application of the framework will be demonstrated with a case study of tourism development on Magnetic Island in Australia.

Type of resource: Article
Organisation(s) involved: School of Business, James Cook University, Australia
Date: 2014
Link: https://www.google.ch/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiuq5K5x6_XAhWLVRoKHQl1A00QFggqMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdpi.com%2F2071-1050%2F6%2F5%2F2538%2Fpdf&usg=AOvVaw2-M1PtsW-5dx90QvzY4Je1

No childs play. Respect for children´s right at tourist destinations. Examples from Thailand, Cambodia & South Africa

This report has the overall objective of raising awareness of children’s rights in relation to tourism and travel destinations which many Swedish tourists visit. It pays specific attention to booming tourism destinations in Thailand, Cambodia and South Africa and focuses on how children are directly and indirectly affected by tourism, and in particular on how their rights as children are affected in these countries. The report also focuses on orphan tourism, with examples from Cambodia and South Africa.

Type of resource: Publication/Case study
Organisation (s) involved: The network Schyst resande
Date: 2013
Link: http://www.schystresande.se/upl/files/111390.pdf

Multi-stakeholder Initiative: Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism e.V.

The Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism is a non-profit association under German law and international multi-stakeholder initiative promoting human rights in the tourism industry. Members of the Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism e.V. include tourism SMEs, large tourism business, travel associations, certification bodies and NGOs. Based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights they committed themselves to human rights responsibility and due diligence. Participation is open to all tourism businesses, travel associations, NGOs and all industry participants that identify with and commit themselves to the principles of the Roundtable.

Members profit from a valuable exchange of best practice and the opportunity to network through working groups, conferences and expert dialogues. The roundtable has published a number of practical guidance documents that can be used by the tourism industry, such as a Management Guideline for tour operators to develop a human rights strategy or recommendations for standards in the transport sector and a Guideline for travel products in fragile contexts.

All information is provided in German and English.

Type of Resource: Initiative
Date: Initiated in 2012
Link: http://www.menschenrechte-im-tourismus.net/en/home.html 

Happy Hour in Paradise

This report raises the question of whether increased tourism leads to increased
consumption of alcohol by citizens of the host country. It shows, through a survey of the existing literature in the field, and with examples from countries including Thailand and Cambodia, that tourism is indeed one of the causes of increased alcohol consumption in many tourist destinations.
There are several explanations for this. One is that tourism, and especially mass tourism, has helped to spread new drinking habits. Moreover, the tendency of tourists to drink more when on holiday means that the pattern of consumption they pass on is often a high‐risk one. Secondly, the demand for alcohol by tourists also leads to increased access for the local population. Thirdly, the tourist and alcohol industries are able in various ways to influence policy proposals and legislation relating to alcohol. The alcohol industry also uses images related to holiday‐making in its marketing, while many of the trips and destinations offered by the tourist industry feature alcohol as a selling point.

Type of resource: Publication
Organisation(s) involved: The network Schyst resande
Date: 2010
Link: http://www.schystresande.se/upl/files/140074.pdf 

MSc Tourism and International Development Programme at the University of Brighton

Our Tourism and International Development MSc aligns with our vision of tourism as a key driver for environmental regeneration, socio economic integration and inclusive development.
By stimulating debate and providing a critical evaluation of theory and practice, the course provides an excellent platform to understand the role of tourism in international development. You will learn about macro-level destination development issues, as well as micro-level interventions, such as those aimed at implementing ethical and responsible tourism practices. For more details cklick this link. Our recruitment is open for a programme which is very much committed to the ‘transformation of tourism’ into a sector which is sustainable for all.

Type of resource: Programme specification
Organisation (s) involved: Prof. Marina Novelli – School of Sport and Service Management, Eastbourne, UK
Date: On-going since 2007
Link: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/tourism-and-international-development-msc-pgcert-pgdip.aspx

Central London Hotel Workers Branch – Unite the Union

Our union branch is dedicated to organising all those who work in the hotel and catering sector in London. None of the global hotel brands recognise unions for collective bargaining and actively work against our organising campaigns. Many of those we seek to organise are women and migrant workers. Our objective is to establish workplace organisation in every hotel so that informed, confident and competent workers can represent themselves and collectively bargain with their respective managements. As an active and campaigning organisation, we draw on our parent union’s resources and build relationships with like-minded organisations to build collective strength.

Type of resource: We are governed by a member elected committee. The vice- chair of the branch is responsible for strategy and building political and community networks.
Vice-Chair: Kevin Curran.
Contact: kevinbarrycurra@yahoo.com
Date: 2005. The campaign has been active for 12 years.
Link: www.facebook.com/hotelworkersunite