Sustainable Tourism




 * Sustainability is often perceived as a complex concept to understand and it can be hard for businesses to discover the benefits it offers. In essence, sustainability is about meeting the needs of today, without adversely impacting on the needs of tomorrow. As a term it can be applied across a range of areas, such as the environment, society and the economy. Ministry of Environment

This 15 credit course will introduce you to, or build upon your knowledge of, sustainability within a tourism business (practices) context. It will look at the responses of New Zealand tourism businesses to the global and domestic sustainable challenges the industry of tourism is facing.

The School of Applied Business will be running this course from 13 February 2012. If you would like to join this course, please contact Hillary Jenkins. {| class="infobox" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 rules=rows align="right" font="3" style="font-size:90%; width:400px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border: solid 1px darkgrey;" ! Course Blog
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Sustainable Business Practice weblog
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People enrolled with Otago Polytechnic as students of this course have access to learning support services such as the libraries, the Community Learning Centres, regular contact with learning facilitators and lecturers, assessment services and certification.

The weblog (access to the right) will be used for readings and course information - it is expected you will make comments on the material posted on the blog, especially the readings (this will form part of your assessment).

Read the course guide to gain a better understanding of the requirements of the course - the learning outcomes are listed below.

People enrolled with Otago Polytechnic as students of this course have access to learning support services such as the libraries, the Community Learning Centres, regular contact with learning facilitators and lecturers, assessment services and certification.

=Learning Objectives=

1. Introduction to sustainability in a tourism context

2. Identify and analyse existing practices of sustainability within the tourism industry

3. Using a systems approach to introduce and maintain sustainable tourism concepts into a tourism business

=Introduction to Sustainability=

“Every human has a fundamental right to an environment of quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being” United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm

Toitü he whenua, whatungarongaro he tangata. Translation: Land is permanent, man disappears.

So what is it we're trying to sustain? The land? The economy? Our species?

To do

What is sustainability? In this step we will find out what each other thinks sustainability is and see if we can discover some new ideas among us.
 * In pairs brainstorm ideas on what sustainability is. In a brainstorm everything is written down, everyone’s ideas are valid, nothing is right or wrong, it’s simply a brainstorm used to explore and generate ideas.


 * Create your own definition of sustainability - do this in your pairs, then come together as a full class to agree on a class definition. The following slide show that also contains some well known, often quoted definitions of terms used in conjunction with sustainability



Sustainability is a popular yet complex word that is often banded around freely, but what does it actually mean? Probably the most frequently quoted definition of sustainability is:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland, 1987)

Now watch the Story of StuffDiscuss this on your blog. What really hit home for you? What do you question about the movie? Does it make you want to explore the area further?

Look at Otago Polytechnic's sustainable practice policies on Education for Sustainability. One of your assessments for this course will be to suggest, plan, design and run a sustainable programme which we in turn can post to this blog.

Sustainable Tourism
What is sustainable tourism? How does it work? Here are some termsclosely related to sustainable tourism.

Just what is a sustainabletourism strategy for New Zealand? What are some of the identified challenges facing tourism globally and nationally?

Changes at the global level include:

• growing concern about the impact of travel on climate change

• greater use of the internet and online bookings

• higher fuel prices

At the domestic level, the industry faces challenges in:

• recruiting appropriately skilled staff

• becoming more environmentally sustainable

• the provision of appropriate, high quality infrastructure

Stakeholders response to these challenges has been to create a strategy (vision and framework) which will focus on the value of tourism in New Zealand - the economic value, the value of visitor experience, the value of the communities that host them and the value of the tourism environment.

From this vision to 2015 have come four outcomes:

1. New Zealand delivers a world-class visitor experience

2. New Zealand tourism sector is prosperous and attracts ongoing investment

3. The tourism sector takes a leading role in protecting and enhancing New Zealand's environment

4. The tourism sector and communities work together for mutual benefit

The New Zealand Tourism 2015 Strategy

Our focus for Sustainable Tourism within New Zealand for this course will centre around how tourism businesses and organisations are changing and engaging with tourists in an effort to move towards more responsible and sustainable business practices.

Why is this (from a business perspective) important? - maybe for survival and future success. Whay is important from a student perspective? You will need to prepare for the future as a proficient and success sustainable practitioner/manager/leader in the tourism sector. Because is doesn't matter where you start out or end up this issue is here to stay.

Partnerships

How do businesses use sustainable practice?In New Zealand three tourism organisations - Tourism New Zealand, Tourism Industry Association (TIA - tourism stakeholders) and Qualmark are working towards creating a sustainable tourism industry.

"Being a responsible business means having a balanced approach to economic, environmental and social priorities. For tourism businesses, we refer to this balanced approach as Responsible Tourism" - Qualmark Responsible Tourism Guide and checklist

How do we apply this to sustainable business practice?

Understanding the effect of business practices on the wider community and natural environment, creating sustainable practice and applying a team approach are part of Qualmark's Responsible Tourism initiative:


 * Energy efficiency
 * Waste management
 * Water conservation
 * Conservation
 * Community

''" In a business sense, the key messages of sustainability actually tie in with what are generally considered to be 'sound' business practices, such as building efficiency, minimising waste and maximising resources. It is not a fad and is essential for businesses to adopt in order to be successful in the emerging markets. Sustainable business practices are a new way to direct your business and can be applied across every aspect of your business - from strategy to waste disposal." Simply Sustainable Business Model

Proven benefits - Businesses that have adopted sustainable business practices have reported the following benefits:


 * Reduction in operating costs
 * Improved identification and management of risks
 * Created value through enhance and positive customer response
 * Increased ability to attract and retain employees
 * Increased learning and innovation
 * Reduced Government intervention

Ministry for the Environment

Administration

 * Activities
 * Resources

This course is used in the following programme

 * Travel and Tourism