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Individual assessment minor Responsible Travel
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Individual assessment made at the end of the minor Responsible Travel. Figure: 7.7
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RESPONSIBLE TOURISM PRACTICESINDIVIDUAL REPORT
VERA SCHILDER
616261@STUDENT.INHOLLAND.NL
Inholland University of Applied Sciences
11th of January 2021, Vlaardingen
,Table of Contents
Good Practices........................................................................................................................................3
Summary of the selected responsible tourism practices....................................................................3
Difficulties and challenges in responsible and sustainable tourism..................................................12
Two interesting discussion points.....................................................................................................13
Experiences..........................................................................................................................................14
Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................17
Appendices...........................................................................................................................................18
A. Interview Barbara Somers – Kairoh Garden.................................................................................18
B. Interview Fleur transcribed part 2................................................................................................25
VERA SCHILDER
,Good Practices
Summary of the selected responsible tourism practices
1. Movie: Framing the other
Framing the other portrays the complex relationship between tourism and indigenous communities
by revealing the intimate and intriguing thoughts of a Mursi woman from Southern Ethiopia and a
Dutch tourist as they prepare to meet each other. This humorous, yet simultaneously chilling film
shows the destructive impact tourism had on traditional communities. The Mursi tribe resides in the
east African state of Ethiopia. Mursi women are known for placing large plates in their lower lips and
wearing enormous, richly decorated earrings, which had become a subject of tourist attraction in
recent years. However, there is no authenticity anymore but fake elements are added to the culture
that are attractive for tourists and will make more money. Each year, hundreds of Western tourist
come to see the unusually adorned natives posing for camera-toting visitors had become the main
source of income for the Mursi. The movie shows that the Dutch lady doesn’t seem to really care
about the tribe and their wealth, all the cares about is that she gets the best pictures for the
cheapest price. The people of the tribe seem to would like to learn more about the tourists like their
names and culture, but the tourists doesn’t care about that. They didn’t even say goodbye to the
host lady and the host lady did not feel comfortable with that. The Dutch tourist turned out to find
this meeting unpleasant and burst into tears on the way back. She seems to realize that her way of
dealing with the Mursi tribe was not the correct way, but she is happy with the photos and will hang
them in her home as a memento. It is painful to see that there is some awareness, but nothing is
done about this by the tourists. I believe that a tour operator could certainly make a difference and
ensure that this encounter is a positive experience for both the tourists and the indigenous people. In
addition, this excursion can easily be made sustainable, for example by adding workshops to make
the lip plates and share knowledge about why they wear those plates. Cooking workshops could also
be given by the tribe to show which meals they prepare daily. Finally, a guide could act as a translator
between the tribe and the tourists and to ensure that this excursion actually delivers a positive
experience for all parties.
2. ‘Abang Africa Travel / GAP Africa’ – Judith, from Cape Town, South Africa
Abang Africa Travel is an ethical in-bound tour operator based in Cape Town, South Africa. The
organisation is driven by the love of Southern Africa and their dedication to providing unique and
unforgettable sustainable travel itineraries. Travel with heart and soul and create lifelong memories
and stories is what they stand for. They specialise in providing responsible travel options for tourists
and visitors who prefer that their contributions help to build and improve the countries and
communities they visit. The organization will share the lesser known, but insanely beautiful
destinations with the traveller and they will take the traveller into the heart of local communities and
ensure that the traveller meets real and authentic people. The organization works together with
certified companies such as Travelife, Fair Trade Tourism and Responsible Tourism Cape Town.
Before this guest lecture I had never heard of this tour company. During the guest lecture and while
Judith told a lot about the tour operator, I got a positive impression from the tour operator because I
really got the impression that they want to get the best out of sustainable travel, both for the
destination and the residents there and for the tourists. Cape Town is still on my list of destinations I
would like to travel to, so I will keep this organization in my mind if I ever actually want to book a trip
to this city.
VERA SCHILDER
, 3. Orphanage tourism – Celine Verheijen, Defence for Children
Defence for Children is an organization that stands up for the rights of all children in the Netherlands
and abroad. Via the Children's Rights Helpdesk they provide legal support to children whose rights
are at risk of being violated. The topic of this guest lecture is orphanage tourism. According to Celine
Verheijen, a lot of children zoos exist all over the world. In many cases parents bring their child to an
orphanage if they have not enough money, so poverty is the main reason of orphanage instead of
losing parents and children living alone. Worldwide 8 million children live in “orphanages”. Due to
the fact that the children are left behind by their own parents or one of their parents, children are
traumatised. Within the orphanages, children are not able to live their own lives. Tourists are able to
visit those orphanages and the children have to stop what they are doing in that case. When the
tourists arrive, the children have to sing a song, which makes the orphanages a human zoo. In many
cases the tourists don’t know about the situation in these orphanages. There is really a lack of
knowledge. To give some examples, tourist don’t know that the traditional dances are difficult and
the children practice many hours a day to be able to present the dances to tourists. Children have
“shows” during day and night which affects school. It could be seen as child labour and the children
don’t have a choice, they have to do the show. The money often doesn’t reach the children and lastly
most children still have 1 or 2 parents. It is very important that the volunteers don’t attach to the
children and that they don’t participate in the day to day care. What this does is that the children get
attached to the volunteers but their heart will get rippd apart when they already have to lave after a
short period of time. This happens every day or every week and will traumatise the children even
more. What I learned from this guest lecture myself is not to visit an orphanage during a trip I make,
regardless of which country it is. In addition, I believe that a short period of volunteering in an
orphanage will not have a positive effect on the children in the longer term. As described earlier, the
children will become attached to me and before they know it I will have to say goodbye to them.
What seems like a better option to me is to have volunteer work done on a regular basis by people
who live in the area. This allows the children to see the same people and to actually create a bond
with these people. I also think that certain authorities should check whether the orphanage puts tthe
children first, or whether there are people who earn money with this and put the winnings above the
children. In that case, the orphanage would have to close and an alternative would have to be found
for the children, such as hist families and preverably adoption. The overall conclusion of this lecture
is that there shouldn’t be institutions for these childrens, but family based care where they can grow
up and be themselves.
4. CBT & Travelife – Anne de Jong, Fair Sayari/Good Tourism Institute
Anne talked about communicating sustainability in the customer journey and how to develop a
customer journey for a responsible tourism itinerary. According to her, the first steps are to
understand the concept of good tourism, to ensure it’s implemented in the company and lastly to
know what to communicate to customers. The tourism industry has great impact on local economies,
and it leaves a large footprint on the environment. Tourism can cause significant negative impact on
destinations, nature and local communities. This is why good tourism is important and needed. Good
tourism includes creating an experience that has a positive impact on the destination and that is
minimising the negative effects. Therefore, good tourism should include social responsibility,
environmental protection and economic successes. Tourism is a sensitive industry that can bring both
benefits as problems to a destination. If tour operators don’t consider the well-being of local
communities or the pressure on the environment, it will most likely have disadvantages at the
destination. But if it is done right, tourism is in the position to create a better life for everyone at the
destination, the traveller included. To implement good tourism, a few things should be kept in mind:
travel off the beaten track, support the local economy, create local employment opportunities,
VERA SCHILDER
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