At the founding conference of the Responsible Tourism movement held in Cape Town in 2002, the 280 delegates from 20 countries, most of them en route to the World Summit on Sustainable Development taking place in Johannesburg, passed the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations. Drawing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Krippendorf, in The Holiday Makers, published in English in 1987, forecast that tourists would seek “the satisfaction of social needs: contact with other people and self-realisation through creative activities, knowledge and exploration.” As demand for experiential tourism grows, tourists are increasingly seeking to engage with the places and people they visit.
Participants in the 2002 conference recognised that tourists were increasingly seeking experiences and asserted that one of the core characteristics of Responsible Tourism was that it provides “more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues.” Many subsequent surveys have confirmed the trend.
The Association of National Tourist Offices and Representatives (Antor) has surveyed its UK members about travel trends. Their report concludes that traditional resort holidays are expected to decline as UK travellers increasingly seek authentic, local, and unique experiences. They conclude that this shift is “being driven by younger, more independent travellers, while traditional resort holidays are expected to decline, perhaps due to fewer families and older travellers.”
Antor chair Manuel Butler, UK director of the Spanish Tourist Office, points to “a clear shift in how and when UK travellers choose to explore the world. As cost-of-living pressures, climate, and global events reshape travel behaviour, we’re seeing a more mindful, experience-led approach emerge. Travellers are seeking authenticity, value and quality, whether that means discovering new cultures in the shoulder season or investing in fewer, more meaningful trips.”
One of the problems with certification is that certifications do not carry meaning; they are opaque, and there are so many of them. Travalyst lists 49 certification schemes as compliant with its criteria. Its criteria are process-driven: third-party on-site and/or remote online assessment; schemes based on publicly available standards, focused on evaluating the impact of social and/or economic and/or environmental factors.
How can the tourist make an informed choice between properties that are certified? In a drought, which hotel is using the least water per bed night? Which has the best labour practices? Which offers an authentic experience of the place?
As a consumer, there are dimensions of “sustainability” that matter more to me than others. Tourism businesses and destinations can seek to attract particular kinds of clients by describing what they are taking responsibility for and why, and reporting the impact of their efforts.
Certification is perhaps best seen as a “hygiene” assurance for those businesses concerned about their supply chain. I have lost count of the number of times I have taken care to rehang my towel only to have it replaced with a new towel. When it happens in a certified hotel, it undermines the certificate too. We hear a great deal about the intention–behaviour gap in consumer behaviour. We hear much less about the intention–action gap in corporate sustainability.
Businesses should not be cowed into greenhushing by fear of the regulator. Address the issues that matter locally and tell your potential clients what you are doing to make tourism better in the place you share with your neighbours. Their culture and environment provide the authentic experience the tourist seeks.
In an advertorial published in the UK TTG, the UK Advertising Standards Authority is encouraging the sector not to “greenhush”: “With people increasingly focused on how environmentally friendly the products or services they’re buying are, ensuring sustainability claims are clear and accurate is essential to ensure people are not misled – especially in higher emission sectors like travel.” “Informative and accurate environmental claims help consumers make better, more responsible choices. They also highlight the steps organisations are taking to reduce their impact, an important part of moving toward a low-carbon future.”
