• Despite progressive downgrades to growth forecasts through 2011, the industry grew by 3% over the course of the year (in terms of Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP).

• Tourism’s direct contribution to GDP in 2011 was US$2 trillion and the industry generated 98 million jobs.

• Taking account of its direct, indirect and induced impacts, Travel & Tourism’s total contribution in 2011 was US$6.3 trillion in GDP, 255 million jobs, US$743 billion in investment and US$1.2 trillion in exports. This contribution represented 9% of GDP, 1 in 12 jobs, 5% of investment and 5% of exports.

• Growth forecasts for 2012, although lower than anticipated a year ago, are still positive at 2.8% in terms of the industry’s contribution to GDP.

• Longer-term prospects are even more positive with annual growth forecast to be 4.2% over the ten years to 2022.

Get individual country and regional reports from WTTC free of cost.

WTTC Regional Reports 2012

WTTC Regional Reports 2012 cover the following areas: Africa, APEC Region, Americas, Asia Pacific, BRIC, BRIC and N11, Caribbean, Europe, European Union, Latin America, Mediterranean, Middle East, N11, North Africa, Northeast Asia, North America, Oceania, OECD, Other Oceania, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and World.

Follow this link to download WTTC Regional Reports 2012.

WTTC individual country reports 2012

WTTC individual country reports 2012 cover the following countries:
A: Albania Algeria Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan
B: Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi
C: Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Dem Rep of Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic
D: Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic
E: Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia
F: Fiji Finland France
G: Gabon Gambia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guinea Guyana
H: Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary
I: Iceland India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast
J: Jamaica Japan Jordan
K: Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan
L: Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Libya Lithuania Luxembourg
M: Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Martinique Mauritius Mexico Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar
N: Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway
O: Oman Other Oceania
P: Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico
Q: Qatar
R: Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda
S: Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria
T: Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey
U: Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay US Virgin Islands
V: Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam
Y: Yemen
Z: Zambia Zimbabwe

Follow this link to download WTTC individual country reports 2012.

About WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world’s leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries, supporting more than 258 million jobs and generating 9.1 per cent of world GDP.

About the research
Measuring the size and growth of the Travel & Tourism sector around the world is challenging, but it is critical for an understanding of its economic contribution. WTTC has developed a complex methodology for producing consistent, comprehensive and comparable estimates for Travel & Tourism’s economic impact across the world, incorporating and compatible with the Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework (TSA:RMF 2008) approved by the United Nations Statistics Division.
Over the past 20 years, and along with research partners Oxford Economics, WTTC has continually reviewed and enhanced its methodology, developing a system for producing estimates for the economic contribution of Travel & Tourism to 181 countries, 20 regions and the world overall.
These are not strictly Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSAs) – and are not intended to replace country TSAs – but the estimates are derived from official country TSA statistics, where available, as well as other published data, and are complemented by economic modelling, which allows for cross-country benchmarking. For those countries for which no relevant statistics are available, this research provides a starting point for understanding the direct and indirect economic impact of Travel & Tourism and, ultimately, for better long-term planning.

This article is quoted from WTTC .
This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.

The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria for Destinations has been designed to guide destination specialists, managers, communities, NGOs and businesses toward the steps that are needed to sustain the natural and cultural heritage of the destinations they serve, while attracting tourists and economically benefiting local communities and businesses. The draft version of the Destination Criteria is available for public consultation for the next two months.

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council and Sustainable Travel International invite all interested persons and organizations to comment on, suggest improvements to, and help to disseminate the Destination Criteria to as many stakeholders as possible.

The deadline for comments and suggested edits is June 2, 2012. Your considerations can be made here in English, French, Spanish and Mandarin. Click here for more information on the Criteria For Destinations.
Sustainable Travel International is proud to be the lead consultant on this exciting and timely initiative. Please feel free to forward this message to others who might be interested in participating.

About Sustainable Travel International
Sustainable Travel International’s innovative programs are designed to strengthen the positive impacts of tourism worldwide. A global nonprofit and thought leader in sustainable tourism since 2002, STI offers a portfolio of sustainability management solutions and tools for destinations and businesses of all sizes.
Visit our website to learn more about how we can work with you!

This article is quoted from the Sustainable Travel International (STI) Newsletter published April 2012 by STI.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.

Business travel has accounted for one third of growth in global trade over the past decade, improved global corporate productivity tenfold and created millions of jobs worldwide, according to this special study undertaken by Oxford Economics on behalf of WTTC.

The research, launched in May 2011 showed that:
• Growth in business travel from 2000 – 2007 helped create over 40 million jobs through increases in trade and productivity representing 20% of the growth in global employment over the same period.
• Global business travellers believe that 50% of their prospective customers are converted to new customers with an in-person meeting compared with 31% without such a meeting.
• If business travel were cut by 25% for two consecutive years, global GDP would be 5% lower than would otherwise be the case after a five-year period resulting in 30 million fewer jobs than forecast under baseline assumptions for the same period – an average loss of 1% of global employment.
• Business travel improves corporate productivity yielding a return on investment of 10:1.
• Business travel is integral to international trade and it is estimated that one third of global trade over the past decade has been driven by international business travel.

A special focus on Asia was launched in October 2011. This showed that Business Travel is even more important in terms of driving economic growth in Asia than in other regions of the world.

Download WTTC reports on business tourism
Business Travel: A Catalyst for Economic Performance
Business Travel: Executive Summary
Why Business Travel in Asia Matters (18 October 2011).

About WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world’s leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries, supporting more than 258 million jobs and generating 9.1 per cent of world GDP.

This article is quoted from WTTC .
Follow the links to read the original article .
This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.

The subject for this competition would be the natural beauty & culture of Bangladesh under Title ” Banglar Mukh Ami Dekhiyachi”

Honorable Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism will inaugurate the event.

Prize will be distributed amongst the first 10 winners and if desired we may highlight photographs in different events like BITF 2012 ( BITF 2012 /Sept 27-29,2012), road shows outside countries etc.

Interested candidates are requested to submit their respected 10 (ten) photographs along with title of the photographs for selection within 28th March 2012 to the following address: info.bftd@gmail.com or House # 25, Road # 4, Block # F, Banani, Dhaka-1213.

For more information please call : +88-01841-200632, +88-01712-200632, +88-01711521248.

You may kindly circulate above information among your society members, friend and colleagues.

Best Regards
Rezaul Ekram
Executive Director,BFTD
CEO, BITF
Bashati Condominium
Suite: C 11/12, House-15, Road-17, Banani.
Dhaka 1213 | Bangladesh
Phone: +88 02 986 2055, Cell: +88 01711521248
Email: info.bftd@gmail.com, info.bitf@gmail.com
web: BITF

Previously focused on just Asia Pacific, the latest survey extended its reach to ascertain the past and future travel plans of global travelers. The report collates information gleaned from interviews with 11,620 respondents from 23 countries and territories around the world, including Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Respondents in each market were aged 18 years and older, had travelled internationally for holidays in the past two years or had the intention to do so in the next two years.

The report, focused on results from a global perspective with country and segment highlights as appropriate, will dwell on the following key areas:
1. Travel and destination trends in the past two year and the next two year, and influences on the choice of destination.
2. Travel budgets and preferred modes of payments of travellers.
3. How travellers plan their holidays, their preferences and sources of information.
4. Affluent travelers’ preference.

VISA Intentions Survey 2011Published: 2012
PATA member price: FREE
Non-member price: FREE

Order your free electronic version of the report VISA Intentions Survey 2011 here

This article is quoted from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) newsletter February 16 2012.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.
If interested in sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh and South Asia please join the online Views On Tourism network and discussion group in order to achieve personal goals as well as encourage an active sustainable tourism movement. Read more about this group and how to become a member here.

So far, the process of public awareness rising has been successful: the debate on human rights in tourism is in full swing. NGO and representatives of the tourism industry and governments are hosting meetings to discuss the challenges and opportunities highlighting how the tourism industry, as one of the world´s largest services industries, has an obligation to engage more with human rights protection.

However, I wonder if the “normal” tourist, i.e. not the so called “conscious traveler”, does care at all about the human rights impact of her/his trip. Or, in other words, if that normal tourist does at all understand the possible connection between the all-inclusive-trip to the Maldives or Canary Islands and human rights violations that might happen to make this trip worth the money paid.

Obviously, this is a big step. Can we ask anybody to think beyond the fences of the holiday resort? That is, to think about how little the farmers earn who produce the food at the buffet; how water is redirected to the tourism location leaving local people without enough water; how many people might have been forcibly displaced for the construction of the hotel; how unfair hotel staff might be treated, how women employees might be harassed; how local people are denied access to the beach that has been occupied by the resort? Et cetera.

With those questions in mind we can – just as we did a decade ago when the issue of ecological friendly traveling was coming up – raise the question of whose responsibility it is to
a) make the tourist aware about human rights issues during travelling, and
b) to make the tourism industry aware to respect human rights in all its operations.

The media certainly do have a great possibility to inform their readers and make the topic of human-rights in tourism more accessible.
However, it is unknown if the interested reader incorporates the relevant information into his/her next travel decision.

If the information is properly presented and easily accessible that person might tend to look further and try to make an “informed choice”, but the current and future way of online travel booking presents a challenge of how to present the information to consumers. Selected websites claim that they do only or mostly offer eco-conscious trips. But there is no way of proving it.

In a travel agency, the sales clerk has a much higher chance to engage the consumer in a talk and provide information. This requires that the sales person is aware, trained and conscious to not only offer the trip that generates most profit for the travel agency but the one which is “fair” and fully respecting (and not violating) human rights.This would require a change in the sales pattern.

Christian Felber, an economic lecturer and activist of ATTAC Austria highlights this in his recently published book “The public welfare economy”: He argues that there needs to be a change in the values along which the global economy is working. Financial profit cannot be the only and ultimate goal anymore. The system needs to acknowledge what people “really” want: trust and happiness.

From a tourism perspective that happiness would have to comprise the tourists, providers AND local people. And again, which industry, if not the tourism industry, would have to take the leadership role to promote that everybody involved is enjoying “happiness”?

Within the realm of such “modern” economic ideas, some tour operators are taking the lead (or may they just follow the public pressure) to think about the impact of their operations in the respective destinations: not only the ecological impact but also the socio-cultural impact and, desirably, at one point the human rights impact.

Naturally, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is taking the leadership role in this debate with the World Committee on Tourism Ethics offering a high-profile platform for discussions.

When we talk about human rights and tourism: what do we need to look at? And why is it so “hot” these days?

Since 1990, ECPAT is challenging the industry to be aware and stop the sexual exploitation of children in tourism. The movement has been growing ever since as does child exploitation in tourism.

Of course, there might be some projects where the rights of children are protected. But the challenges seem greater than ever: world population growth in the global South; poor health situation; the deepening gap between the poor and the rich; the growing lack of public money for social and children care projects; and the growing demand for low-budget trips where cheap = child laborers are used.

Apart from children, other groups continue to suffer from discrimination in tourism: women in general (due to the known discrepancy and lack of equal rights) and particularly women of minority populations (e.g. indigenous) in many Southern countries.

When writing about tourism and human rights one also has to look at the “right to travel” – or the right to tourism, as it is understood. In my opinion, mixing these issues does meander far away from what “human rights in tourism” means. It is a completely different approach.

The right to travel, i.e. to be a tourist is by some seen as an international human right. This, actually, appears almost cynical to me: putting the right to travel (as a tourist) as an international human right fails to respect the dire straits of the poor majority of the seven billion people on this planet who either travel to find a new day job, a spot to beg, or to migrate: be it voluntarily or forced! Leisure trips do not even exist in their minds and lives.

On the other hand, there are those who can afford to travel for leisure but are limited due to a lack of accessibility/transportation. Their “right to travel” is defined as tourism without barriers or “inclusive tourism”, and they comprise an ever increasing and diversifying group of our societies. “Fairness” in tourism must ensure that those who have the means, interest and potential to travel for leisure can do so – a responsibility of local and national governments that needs a change of paradigm and a de-stigmatization of the respective persons. The latter is a responsibility of tour operators to create “tourism for all”.

Thinking further about human rights and tourism we have to look at the climate change tragedy. The current products and operations (including leisure and business tourism), which follow an ever rising luxury demand of consumers (“more is beautiful”) do consume immense quantities of fuel, energy, land, water, food. Only a complete eco-balance would show the true impact of a tourism product including its direct and indirect, internal and external cost.

In 2009, the ThirdWorldNetwork published Anita Pleumaron´s “Change Tourism, not Climate” stating that “unless tourism policymakers take drastic action to reverse the dominant “business-as-usual” attitude within the industry, tourism will become a key force of GHG emissions in the world, undermining the overall progress made to stem global climate change” .

Looking at the possible “reduction” of the industry´s threatening climate impact, the future doesn’t look promising: long-haul tourism is growing as is the number of people worldwide who can afford it, and consequently long-haul flights and carbon dioxide emissions are increasing.

Climate change does cause dramatic and life-destroying effects on people, nature and places in the southern hemisphere. Hurricanes, flooding and land slides cause the displacement of (coastal and mountainous) communities, the destruction of historic/traditional places and natural landscapes. Droughts, exorbitant rain falls, as well as logging, mining, contamination of water and regions are severely challenging the industry to find new “beautiful” places. The industry is forced to redesign its products with regards to the climate change challenge or create entirely new products, as is the case in the Alpine regions where the snow season is diminishing.

No problem! With some more wellness spas and adventure domes the industry will overcome that challenge! The tourism industry has an amazing capacity to deviate tourists away from the destruction and guide them to the most beautiful places – to fulfill the promise of harmony, beauty, relaxation. The truth is that industry and governments continue to maintain or expand tourism infrastructure and facilities, probably to “compensate” the “lost paradise” but failing to acknowledge that with the construction and operation of each new place, more energy, more land, more supplies, more cheap labor is needed. And ultimately, human rights are negatively impacted.

As long as the industry is offering its resource-consuming products: can we argue that the tourist should be more aware of climate change or human rights?

In the ecological discussion, it was a combination of both, tourists and providers, resulting in a higher awareness for environmental friendly products driven by the drive of the industry to “sustain” the environments of destinations, of the local civil society requesting eco-friendly operations, and of tourists asking for a greener product.

As in many industries, CSR is a much discussed topic in tourism, too. From its definition, however, CSR is not necessarily based on human rights protection as such. It is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. It is left often how far a company embraces its responsibility and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. Human rights, on the contrary, are not something that can be left up to a self-regulating mechanism! They are universal rights.

The TourCert initiative in Germany is trying to define a regulation mechanism for the industry. It is based on ISO 26000 stating that “the essential characteristic of social responsibility is the willingness of an organization to incorporate social and environmental considerations in its decision-making and be accountable for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment.” That initiative is most welcome and important as it might take the issue up to a higher level, legislation. There is hope that the human rights issue will grow into something more than a “luxury” debate.

Lets have a look at a destination where I was working last year Mindanao, the Southern most and largest of the Philippine islands, suffering from a harsh civil war in the west and south that has been prohibiting tourism for the last decades.

International Alert, a UK based NGO, took the initiative to engage the business sector in Mindanao and Manila (the capital) to discuss the opportunities and threats of the war and the potential to engage in peace building activities. Interestingly, the tourism sector was not even invited to the first sessions. Despite tourism continues to be one of the income generating sectors in the Philippines, except Mindanao, though.

Does it makes sense to think about the potential of tourism to engage in the peace process, not only to make more money but to take a leading role? As it claimed to have in the African Peace Park program? With the ongoing human rights violations on the one hand, and the tourism potential of Mindanao on the other hand, it will be interesting to see where tourism will go. Small scale project, such as in Palestine or the South African Fair Trade in Tourism initiative, do embrace human rights in peace building. They are ongoing for quite some years, and I wonder why not more similar projects mushroom in the world as there are so many in-country conflicts going on.

In the end, the prevalent system of economics is guided by competition and profit making in a capitalistic / money approach. As long as “more and more” is at the pinpoint of any industry, including the tourism industry, a true human rights approach won’t be incorporated.

The hybrid consumer of the industrialized world and the rising economies (China, India, Brazil..) will continue to be reminded that they have a “right” to enjoy time off as a tourist and traveler. This rights-notion will probably be able justify any and every type of vacation: even socially and ecologically harmful ones. Back at home, tourist will compensate and justify their holidays by buying more goods at fair trade and organic shops. Fair enough, isn´t it?

Being aware that the discussion on human rights in tourism is young, i.e. not even one generation “old” (taking ECPAT´s foundation as a starting date) it might take a few more decades to reach out in a truly “all stakeholder” approach on human rights. And desirably change the notion of tourism all in all. But we know that change is the most difficult thing for any human being.

With this in mind I leave you with a quote of the great Indian guru Rumi: “Beyond the right and wrong there is a field: I will meet you there.”

This article is written by Julia Schoenhaerl and published 2012.01.03.,

Julia has been working in the field of sustainable tourism development since the late 1990s. Starting in Europe she later gained expertise in development projects in Central America and Asia: Chile, Honduras, Sir Lanka, Thailand, Philippines. Her impact at ECOT (Thailand) from 2007-9 helped to revive that global civil-society network on humanrights and tourism.

Julia has a Masters´ degree in tourism and a sound working background in the global business world. However, she directed her career early on into the non-profit sector. Julia is currently in Germany and offered to write for “Vision on Sustainable Tourism” – while researching job opportunities. Contact: schonharl@gmx.net; You can find her on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Skype.

The article is quoted from TravelMole and published January 2012.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.

Read up on Global Code of Ethics for Tourism
The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism sets a frame of reference for the responsible and sustainable development of world tourism. It draws inspiration from many similar declarations and industry codes that have come before and it adds new thinking that reflects our changing society at the beginning of the 21st century.
With international tourism forecast to reach 1.6 billion arrivals by 2020, members of the World Tourism Organization believe that the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is needed to help minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and on cultural heritage while maximizing the benefits for residents of tourism destinations.
The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is intended to be a living document. Read it. Circulate it widely. Participate in its implementation. Only with your cooperation can we safeguard the future of the tourism industry and expand the sector’s contribution to economic prosperity, peace and understanding among all the nations of the world.

Read the 10 articles of Global Code of Ethics for Tourism here.

A poor man with a happy face by Muhammad Nahian Bin Khaled

We need your help! We’ve put together the top 100 photos from the Positive Light photography contest and now it’s your turn to help us choose a winner for the People’s Choice award.

The winner will receive a cash prize of Tk6,000 (or about US$75).

RULES:
1) Voters can “Like” as many photos as they choose, but we recommend choosing their top 10 photos.
2) The winner will be decided on which photo has the most ‘social reach’ by using a combination of Facebook “shares,” “Likes” or comments.
3) A winner and two runner ups will be selected on Friday 1 March 2012 by the Crowdsourced Travel team.

If you have any more questions about the contest please comment. Otherwise, check out the photos and place your votes, and then share with your friend and ask them to vote too!

Take a look at the fantastic pictures and vote here for the “People’s Choice Award” Positive Light

More information
Positive Light
Crowdsourced Travel is produced in partnership with the British Council Bangladesh
Gold Sponsor: Experience Bangladesh
Silver Sponsor: Classic Tours
Introduction initiator Mikey Leung

The article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’. Please join the online Views On Tourism network and discussion group in order to achieve personal goals as well as encourage a sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh and South Asia. Read more about this group and how to become a member here.

Greetings! Conserving endangered vertebrate species in fragmented tropical ecosystems in South Asia never become as urgent as it is now. This remain paramount important for charismatic species as such Bengal tigers in Bangladesh and other South Asian nations. Attached you folks will find the latest issue of ‘Conservation Review’ with my paper on ‘GIS based tiger conservation approach’ and other important research notes surrounding South Asian landscape.

Download Conservation Review-Vol 5

Saludos!
M Ashraf, Wildlife Biologist
E-mail: bromeliads-ecology@hotmail.com

There is enough on this planet for everyone’s needs, but not enough for everyone’s greed. Gandhi.

Dear Friends

It has been a great start into the new year for dolphins in Bangladesh: Three new wildlife sanctuaries have been declared in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest for the protection of our endangered freshwater dolphins, our research team recorded a new species for Bangladesh in the Swatch-of-No-Ground (false killer whales), and we are about to launch our third floating dolphin exhibition, the Shushuk Mela 2012.

We look forward to welcoming you on board.
Opening Invitation_Shushuk Mela 2012
Shushuk Mela 2012_Tourplan_english
Shushuk Mela 2012_Tourplan_bangla

With best regards,
Elisabeth Fahrni Mansur, Training and Educational Outreach Director
Wildlife Conservation Society’s
Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project (BCDP)

In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught. Baba Dioum.

The article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’. Please join the online Views On Tourism network and discussion group in order to achieve personal goals as well as encourage a sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh and South Asia. Read more about this group and how to become a member here.
Photos from Sundarbans by Majbritt Thomsen.

This information is quoted from Green World. The Green World Campaign is adopting new programs from Kenya, Mexico, Ethiopia, India and Philippines read more on the here

The article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’. Please join the online Views On Tourism network and discussion group in order to achieve personal goals as well as encourage a sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh and South Asia. Read more about this group and how to become a member here.

The increased desire for an ethical holiday, to give something back as well as to experience the real culture of the countries we visit has led to a burgeoning market for volunteer tourism. A 2008 study by Tourism and Research Marketing, which surveyed 300 organisations, estimated the market size to be 1.6 million volunteer tourists per year and put the value of the market at around £1.3 billion.

Often called “voluntourism”, this amalgamation of volunteering and travel has created a significant amount of debate but continues to grow unabated. The main issues arising from this sector include whether there is a need for the volunteer and the legitimacy of the projects they do; whether the volunteer brings the necessary skills to the project; whether they are displacing paid workers; are they a drain on local resources; the cost of the project and where the money goes; whether volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults should have background checks; how well prepared and briefed are volunteers for this kind of experience and the cultural sensitivities of volunteering in developing countries.

There are many stories of volunteers arriving at projects only to find there is little for them to do, no logistical support on the ground or they are unprepared or unskilled for the experience. The growth of the market and positioning within the mainstream travel sector will continue to raise and address these kind of issues. This could ultimately lead to a better experience for volunteers and increased benefit to the local communities they visit, with movement towards regulation of the industry.

The sheer choice of volunteering projects now available can also make it difficult to identify the right volunteer experience. A search on the responsibletravel.com website for “volunteer travel” brings up 377 results, including conservation projects, teaching and working with children and community based projects in developing countries.

There is some good advice available, for example the ethical volunteering guide by Dr Kate Simpson, which advises volunteers on choosing the right organisation, considering their own motivations for volunteering and what questions to ask. The Irish development organisation Comhlmh has developed a Volunteer Charter setting out seven principles for responsible volunteering and a website, Volunteering Options, to advise prospective volunteers on choosing a placement.

The best way to identify worthwhile projects is to do some research into the organisation. The first question to ask is for a breakdown of the cost of the project and how much goes to the host community. An organisation should be able to easily provide this information. The next thing to check is how the project was developed and understand why there is a need for a volunteer, the skills required and what volunteers will be doing. Another key thing to check is what level of preparation and support are offered by the organisation, both before and during the project. Speaking to a previous volunteer or searching for reviews online can help to separate the good from the bad.

There are at least 100 UK-based organisations operating volunteering projects overseas, some of which are not-for-profits or NGOs and others commercial profit-making companies. These include companies like i-to-i, Inspired Breaks (formerly Gap Year for Grown Ups) and Real Gap Experience, all part of the TUI group. They offer a mixture of volunteering projects, work abroad and adventure tours, primarily aimed at the gap year and career break market, however they also have two week holiday options. Their volunteer projects include conservation work, teaching, caring for children and volunteering in orphanages, sports coaching, building projects and medical volunteering. Inspired Breaks also offer family volunteering holidays, for example a trip to Swaziland to help care for vulnerable and orphaned children. The Adventure Company are also offering family “Hands On Adventures” which include wildlife conservation and community projects.

The acquisition of these companies by TUI demonstrates the multi-million pound value of the volunteering and gap year market. One of the main criticisms of volunteering projects offered by commercial organisations is that the company’s main interest is in profit rather than development. Projects are developed based on what the customer wants to do, what is marketable, rather than the needs of local communities. Some companies will send volunteers to do the same project repeatedly, with little benefit to the host community. The other concerns about the commercial organisations are that they don’t match volunteers to suitable placements or interview prospective volunteers to assess their suitability for projects and they offer minimal preparation or training.

Two organisations which stand out for their responsible credentials are Global Vision International (GVI) and people and places. GVI won the 2011 Responsible Tourism Award for best volunteering organisation and were praised for the scale of their impact on the ground. They operate long term, sustainable projects in 25 countries focusing on environmental research, conservation, education and community development. Projects are developed for the benefit of both the volunteer and local communities.

people and places, who also won the best volunteering organisation award in 2009, emphasise their commitment to both volunteers and communities and matching the right volunteer to the right placement. Their organisation was conceived out of concern over the “chasm between marketing and reality in a significant number of volunteer offers”. They work with local partners and develop volunteer placements based on their needs. This is very much the model used by international development volunteering organisations like VSO and 2Way Development. They provide detail about the project and local partner and are transparent about how the volunteer’s payment is spent. They are now working with companies like Tribes and ITC Classics to provide their volunteering trips.

What is particularly interesting is that people and places emphasise on their website that these kind of volunteering projects are not holidays – “Volunteering responsibly cannot and should not replace the traditional holiday. It will be emotionally exhausting and mentally challenging”.

So is the volunteer travel market growing? The number of organisations and projects available would indicate that it is. Despite the recession, there seems to be a demand for this sort of travel. The current job market and wave of redundancies could be seen as an opportunity to take time out and travel or volunteer, gain new skills and experience to add to CVs. The high cost of many of the projects could be the main barrier for growth in this market, only affordable to the more affluent. But with the rise of the career breaker and the growing conscience of mainstream tourism, perhaps 2012 really is the year of the volunteer tourist?

Sustainable Tourism Report Suite more info : HERE

This article is written by Natasha Stein, natashakstein@gmail.com has worked for VSO, Earthwatch and Thomson Holidays and specialises in best practice in overseas volunteering programmes and identifying the right placements for volunteers. Natasha developed an interest in responsible tourism whilst working at Thomson Holidays as a Product Manager for long-haul destinations. After 6 years with VSO’s volunteering team, she decided to combine her experience in tour operations and international development and pursue a career in responsible travel. She is currently studying for a Masters in Responsible Tourism Management at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism.
The article is quoted from TravelMole and published January 2012.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.