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Economic growth and sustainable development of tourism
Francesco FRANGIALLI - General Secretary of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), Madrid, Spain
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, allow me to express my satisfaction at being here for the second time at these «Tourism Summits - Chamonix-Mont Blanc».Unlike last year, I will not attempt to follow the tracks of de Saussure and Balmat, and while I have remained faithful to the banks of the Arve, this year I will wisely confine myself to the gentle and flat landscape of Geneva.
Right from the start, the «Tourism Summits» have steadfastly conformed to the notion of sustainable tourism development. Last year, I dealt more specifically with the subject of mountain activities and winter sports; on this occasion I would like to tackle the problem of sustainable tourism development overall, as did the Tourism Ministers of the European Union at the meeting held in Lille two weeks ago on the initiative of the French Presidency.
* * * It now seems obvious that the concept of sustainable development is applicable to the tourism industry. But its application was not a foregone conclusion at the outset and did not always appear to be well understood by those referring to it, because the concept itself is complex. Unless new words are coined, the term sustainability is difficult to render in other languages. The word «durabilité» used in the French language is therefore inevitably a poor translation of the English.
Before going any farther, it therefore, seems necessary to return to the sources, namely the report entitled «Our common future», prepared in 1987, at the request of the General Assembly of the United Nations, by the Commission chaired by Mrs Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and today Director-General of the World Health Organization.
preparatory work for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, during which, on 14 June 1992, the 182 countries gathered at Rio de Janeiro adopted the now famous Agenda 21.
* * * As established by the Earth Summit, the concept of sustainable development is extremely broad, making it difficult to do it full justice here. It is however summarized in the report I just mentioned as follows: «In essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are ail in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations».
We can see from this definition that sustainable development is a concept that extends to a number of issues - from balance in development, moderation in the use of natural resources, the importance of their renewal and the process of growth over time, to respect for the general interest and to fulfilment of mankind's basic needs thanks to a fairer distribution of global financial resources.
The quest for sustainability therefore stands at the crossroads of three concerns: first, the pursuit of continuous economic development without which nothing is possible; second, the pursuit of greater social justice worldwide; and, third, the need to protect and renew the environmental heritage in a world of finite resources and a population whose expansion is, for the most part, boundless. It is therefore a concept that reflects both a reaction against the waste inherent in unbridled growth and the dynamic vision of a process of quantitative and qualitative change that will result from that growth once it has been controlled. This is clearly expressed in another passage of the report: «Sustainable development involves more than growth. It requires a change in the content of growth, to make it less material- and energy-intensive and more equitable in its impact. These changes are required in ait countries as part of a package of measures to maintain the stock of ecological capital, to improve the distribution of income, and to reduce the degree of vulnerability to economic crises. »
One final remark. The concept of sustainable development is global by definition. The «future» is inevitably «common» because neither development nor environmental or demographic problems stop at countries' borders.
I quote from the report one last time: «... the ability of a government to control its national economy is reduced by growing international economic interactions. For example, foreign trade in commodities makes issues of carrying capacities and resource scarcities an international concern. If economic power and the benefits of trade were more equally distributed, common interests would be generally recognized. But the gains from trade are unequally distributed, and patterns of trade in, say, sugar affect not merely a local sugar-producing sector but the economies and ecologies of the many developing countries that depend heavily on this product.»
If we replace the word «sugar» by «tourism» in this quotation, it stands to reason that the concept of sustainable development applies fully to it as a sector that is, in essence, international.
Amazing though it may seem, however, the tourism industry barely gets a mention in the report «Our common future». It appears neither in Chapter II where the concept of «sustainable development» is defined, nor in the second part of the report where the major sectoral activities are reviewed.
Though the leader in international trade, tourism, it seems, was not among the chief concerns of those who masterminded the sustainability initiative, whereas the report dwelt at length elsewhere on such industries as aquaculture or charcoal production which, albeit interesting, are perhaps less important for the global economy. This glaring omission, at a time when tourism's effects, both positive and negative, on society and natural environments are becoming increasingly evident, shows just how much ground has still to be covered to ensure that tourism is appreciated for what it is. It was to set the record straight that WTO became involved in the preparations for the «Earth Summit» of 1992. I remember the difficult meetings where, as Deputy Secretary-General of our Organization, I explained to the incredulous representatives of the various United Nations agencies the economic and ecological importance of tourism.
Our efforts were crowned with success, for my predecessor, Mr Antonio Enriquez Savignac, who attended the Rio Summit, managed to secure tourism's inclusion in Agenda 21.
To be sure, the references to it are brief and do not, by a long chalk, reflect the extent - and, in some respects, the acuteness - of the problem, but the important thing is that a foothold has been gained. Among other developments, this is what led to this Conference today.
* * * I should add that, ever since Rio, the World Tourism Organization has endeavoured to be at the centre of the mechanism for implementing Agenda 21 so far as tourism is concerned.
In this connection, I reported to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1997, deliberately held five years after Rio, not only on the progress made but also on the missed opportunities and the tremendous difficulties that had still to be overcome.
In April 1999 our Deputy Secretary-General, Dawid de Villiers, led a delegation of tourism ministers and private sector leaders to New York for the seventh session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), specifically devoted to tourism. On that occasion, WTO was acknowledged as having a central role in implementing the CSD's recommendations.
It was, in fact, the principle of sustainable development that largely inspired the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, adopted by WTO's General Assembly at Santiago, Chile in October 1999. This Code is unquestionably a milestone in the history of international tourism and I welcome the examples set by countries such as France, which has implemented it in partnership with the major branches of the tourism industry, and Argentina, where it has been solemnly approved by Parliament. It is in the spirit of the Global Code of Ethics that WTO is preparing to take over from the European Union, which has decided to provide us with financial backing in our fight against the sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry.
* * * Today sustainable development is seen as a necessary concern; tomorrow it will be an inescapable requirement.
In the past fifty years tourism, international and domestic alike, has grown exponentially all over the world. Though not always immediately recognized as such, it has been a powerful factor of economic development in the countries of Europe and North America with a long industrial tradition. The developing countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America have, in turn, felt the benefits; they have discovered that where tourism advances poverty retreats.
In Europe in particular tourism has become an important source of new jobs at a time when, in spite of recent improvements, the level of unemployment is still worrying. In some regions whose development is lagging behind tourism has opened up new opportunities for entrepreneurship and human fulfilment.
As one of the rare activities capable of replacing traditional farming, which is fast disappearing, or a changing manufacturing industry, tourism provides ample scope for reviving the economy, maintaining commercial facilities and public utilities and redirecting manpower in areas threatened with decline. On the other hand, many countries or regions in Europe and the world have come to realize, often a little late in the day and after allowing some of their most vulnerable areas to become spoiled, that, if unplanned and disorganized, tourism can have harmful effects on the environment and sites, and they are beginning to count the cost.
* * * Between 1960 and 1999 international tourist arrivals rose from 70 to 664 millions worldwide and from 50 to 394 millions in Europe. Is this set to continue? Should we expect the indefinite advance, clearly beneficial but unbridled, of world tourism? As things stand at present, this is undoubtedly the most likely scenario, given that the democratization of transport is so attractive and in view of people's strong inclinations towards leisure activities and their appetite for discovery, whetted by the enticements of modern means of communication.
But such a form of exponential growth would surely be unacceptable to many. Already international air transport, transformed by global alliances between airlines, is affected by crowded skies and airport infrastructure, as a result not only of the vertiginous increase in traffic but also of poorly controlled deregulation. The physical environment and host communities are already suffering from the anarchic development of sites, the overstretched carrying capacity of certain monuments, the unrestrained expansion of certain destinations and unreasonable building densities. While the pressure is mounting, there are obvious signs of rejection, as seen, for instance, in the Balearic Islands in 1999. The World Tourism Organization has denounced these excesses on a great many occasions, but perhaps not
* * * Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is easy to imagine the consequences - for the most part intolerable that a tripling of flows woridwide in the space of a generation (1995-2020) and their doubling in Europe, as predicted by WTO, would bring in their wake if not properly managed : unbearable pressure on natural environments, fragile areas, coastlines and mountains; serious congestion in city centres and at the most popular sites and monuments ; inadequate transport infrastructure, public facilities and utilities ; mounting demands, competing with those of local populations, on water and energy resources ; outmoded training systems ; and local cultures and traditions under threat.
What will happen in 2020 when international visitor arrivais exceed 1.5 billion and those of national tourists are even more numerous? What will happen in Europe when, by the same year, arrivais (excluding nationals travelling within their countries) increase from last year's figure of 394 millions to 730 millions and the number of short breaks continues to rise, with ensuing constraints on movements ?
* * * The pressing need to advance in applying the principles of sustainability to tourism is therefore plain. That is why the World Tourism Organization has embarked in recent years on a large-scale awareness campaign, in particular by adopting the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. Both before and after the Seattle Conference of WTO/OMC, it argued the case with the World Trade Organization for the inclusion of a specific text in the General Agreement on Trade in Services of 1994 - the GATS - applying its principles to tourism. At the beginning of next year, the World Trade Organization in liaison with WTO will organize a seminar here in Geneva for the purpose of preparing this document. This text would make reference to the need for sustainable development and observance of the rules laid down in the Global Code of Ethics. Ali in ail, WTO has redoubled its awareness-building efforts and its endeavours not only to spread the word but also, and above ail, to disseminate practical methods of action.
This strategy is reflected in several works recently published by the World Tourism Organization, with a view in particular to the seventh session of the CSD or as a follow-up to it. Four documents in particular are of specific interest to developers of tourism areas and site managers.
The first of these is Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industry, published in association with the World Travel and Tourism Council and the Earth Council. It is a world first, no other economic sector having prepared its own Agenda 21 based on the general one adopted at the Earth Summit. The second such publication, issued in 1997, is a technical manual specially intended for tourism managers, which describes the main indicators relevant to the sustainable management of destinations (impact indicators, measurement of carrying capacity and so forth). Similarly, in 1999 the Organization issued a guide for local authorities and administrations, a modified version of a 1993 publication. This time, the core document is accompanied by three supplementary regional volumes. Lastly, just a few weeks ago WTO published a new title which reviews fifty tourism projects considered exemplary from the point of view of their economic, environmental and social sustainability. The success factors were identified for each case selected. The dissemination of good practices, such as those described in this work, appears to be essential in a multidisciplinary sector where the decision-makers, public and private alike, are many and large multinationals coexist with a wide range of small and medium-sized enterprises.
I would add that WTO, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), will shortly publish a complete guide to the sustainable planning and management of tourism in national parks and protected areas and that its collaborators and experts on more specialized subjects will contribute to many technical journais and international conferences.
But action should not be confined to publications and the dissemination of information and good practices. WTO is carrying out a number of other activities to ensure that there is a real transfer of know-how between the Organization and its member States, and between the most touristically advanced and the least developed countries in particular, with VVTO as the vehicle. In this respect, WTO has endeavoured, not without difficulty, in cooperation with UNEP, to promote the «Blue Flag» policy for the quality of bathing water and beaches outside Europe. Likewise, with the technical support of both UNDP and certain governments (those of Spain, France and the Netherlands, for instance), our Organization carries out various projects and technical missions for Third World countries eager to develop their tourism sectors in a balanced and responsible manner from the outset.
These activities include regional workshops for the application of sustainability indicators to tourism, of which four have so far been held with the participation of some thirty countries. Another is scheduled to take place in Croatia next January. Our courses on sustainable tourism planning for local authorities in developing countries have so far attracted more than 300 mayors and local elected officiais. WTO also held, in San Marino in 1995 and at Heidelberg in 1996, technical seminars devoted specifically to the problems posed by the enormous numbers of visitors to Europe's historic city centres. Lastly, two international conferences - one in Lanzarote in 1998 and the other in Capri in 2000 - examined the requirements for securing the sustainable development of tourism in islands and small island States, with particular reference to the relations between tourism sustainability and competitiveness in the Mediterranean islands that attract a considerable number of tourists. A conference of the saure kind is due to be held this December at Hainan, China for the Asia-Pacific region, which is where I will be going this afternoon immediately after leaving you.
Because of the expected increase in flows (the effects of which will be exacerbated by the steep rise in the number of departures and short breaks), WTO plans to pay particular attention in its programme of work for 2002-2003 to the problems of overcrowding affecting natural sites, monuments and museums, as well as to seasonality and remedial policies. Use of the new information technologies as a partial solution to overcrowding and the congestion of transport and destination infrastructures should therefore be one of WTO's new concerns in its programme for 2002-2003.
* * * All activities in favour of sustainable development present a dilemma: in seeking sustainability and environmental quality do we undermine competitiveness? The very notion of competitiveness is however changing. It increasingly encompasses such considerations as the quality of tourism products and services rather than just comparative prices. This trend is observed among customers from the leading generating markets, including those of the European Union and Japan. Quality in tourism is determined by many factors, among them environmental sustainability and the cultural authenticity of tourist destinations, which are fast becoming fundamental demands and often make ail the difference to the consumer. A survey by a major German bank revealed that one out of every two travellers attached importance to environmental quality in choosing a holiday destination.
If this trend were to persist it would be good news. It would prove that legislation and regulations protecting the environment and tourist sites are by no means passé and that, to some extent, the quest for sustainability is beginning to work with the market and not against it. Encouraged by their customers, the big operators, instead of pushing for ail-out development, are now putting pressure on destinations to offer more attractive urban landscapes, acceptable building densities, clean beaches and bathing water, protected wildlife, preserved natural areas and products based on nature and ecotourism.
WTO, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO, has been working with the leading European tour operators for the past two years to foster this trend. To the same end, it will coordinate, with UNEP, the activities of the International Year of Ecotourism declared for 2002 by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, in parallel with the International Year of Mountains, for which FAO is the lead agency.
A series of thematic or regional events, devoted to the various ecotourism aspects and products, will be held either to prepare or to implement the policy guidelines that will be drawn up at the Summit to be held in Quebec in May 2002, at the invitation of the Government of Canada and provincial and local authorities. On the initiative of Austria, mountain ecotourism products should be well placed on the agenda of the Quebec Conference.
* * * Ladies and Gentlemen,
The majority of the participants here today are Europeans. This is why I wish to stress that, to my mind, Europe has a twofold responsibility in the implementation of a policy for the sustainable development of tourism.
First, because it is incumbent on Europe to apply such a policy within its borders as a priority.
This year, the European countries will record more than 400 million international tourist arrivals, that is to say, about 60 per cent of the world total. The number of people travelling within their countries will be more appreciable still. Intraregional, international and domestic movements will therefore still account for the largest share of total arrivals in Europe. Since it is within the continent that European tourists mainly choose to travel, it is in Europe that precedence should be given to implementing sustainable development strategies for the sake of the European consumers themselves.
Such strategies should obviously include numerous elements: creation of transport infrastructure and systems; control of water and energy consumption in tourist establishments; management of the waste generated by those establishments; creation of «soft» products linked with ecotourism, nature tourism and rural tourism, and local planning policies and regulations to ensure that heavily-visited sites and fragile areas are protected. They should focus on these real issues and not on spurious solutions.
One such supposed solution is to curb the number of tourist trips in an authoritarian way, in particular by imposing levies on air travel and financial disincentives on use of the private motor car for leisure purposes, in order to reduce energy consumption and attenuate the impact on the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. Let us get things straight: such proposed initiatives would be unworkable, largely ineffectual and at least uncertain in terms of their economic impacts.
Unworkable because if they were to consist of «fixing» departures, they would be unacceptable to the public at large and wholly incompatible with one of the elementary freedoms in a modern society like that of Europe - the right of individuals to travel whenever and wherever they wish.
Ineffectual, because the extra consumption, especially of energy, that tourism entails is by no means comparable to that of other sectors, air transport accounting for less than 1.5 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming. As confirmed during the recent discussions at The Hague and despite the failure of the Conference organized by the United Nations, it is by redefining energy policies so as to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, developing new farming methods and effectively controlling industrial emissions that it will be possible to meet the aims of the Kyoto Convention and not by compulsorily limiting tourist movements. As WTO pointed out at the Rio Summit, tourism, a "smokeless industry", equals other human activities in production of value added but causes far less pollution.
Uncertain in terms of the foreseeable economic impacts, particularly at a time when oil prices are high. More particularly, because the proposed levy on long-haut air travel would both distort the competition between destinations and penalize those, more often than not in the poorest developing countries, that are farthest from the principal generating markets. Hence the need for a close examination of the real impacts on tourism of taxing jet fuel as proposed, for example, by the European Union in the name of the «polluter pays» principle.
In implementing a strategy for the sustainable development of tourism, it is therefore essential to tackle the real issues - for instance, the development of energy-efficient technologies for accommodation establishments and means of passenger transport capable of using cleaner fuels - instead of barking up the wrong tree.
* * * Europe's second responsibility is towards the outside.
As a generating market accounting for 58 per cent of total world departures, Europe is duty bound to set an example.
In providing assistance to the developing countries, it should use its resources in a way that is consistent with the vision of sustainable development it intends to promote.
In this respect, it is odd that the European Union should do much more to develop tourism beyond its borders that within them. But since the appropriate tool exists, that is to say, tourism development assistance for certain third countries with which cooperation has been institutionalized, we should use it in a positive way.
By means of successive Lomé conventions for the ACP countries, the assistance it provides to certain countries of South and East Asia, the resources brought into play in the Mediterranean since 1995 as part of the Barcelona Process and recently confirmed at the Marseilles meeting with the adoption of the MEDA Il programme, as well as the activities intended specifically for central and eastern Europe under the PHARE and TACTS programmes, Europe rightly makes appreciable contributions to the emerging countries and economies in transition, which are keen to develop their tourism industries.
Assistance of this kind could doubtless provide a strong incentive for sustainable tourism development in the beneficiary countries.
The focus should be on longer-term structural interventions in terms of, say, development planning on the basis of Master Tourism Plans, staff training or infrastructure, actions that are all decisive in promoting quality tourism development. UNDP has already made inroads in this respect and the Worid Bank has started to commit itself to taking this kind of action since signing an agreement in this respect with WTO last year.
Such a shift of emphasis would enable the European Union to implement the principles proclaimed last month in Lille at the meeting of its Tourism Ministers, and champion a strategy for the sustainable development of tourism both within and beyond its borders. It could start by redefining the recently announced development aid policy, which should centre around a few major fields of action.
«Europe offers the developing countries a partnership for sustainable development» said the President of France, Mr Jacques Chirac, in the narre of the European Union at the Hague Conference on Climate Change. It is up to us to ensure that this partnership is meaningful in the field of tourism.
Thank you.
