Inclusive Destination Management

To the extent that destination management includes the realization that Universal Design is necessary for social sustainability and geotourism's commitment to inclusion is succeeds in approaching an Inclusive Destination development approach. The following reports on progress in the area of coordinating sustainable corporate social responsibility in the tourism industry.

 Destination Stewardship, Deliberated

Leaders in the tourism industry convened last month for a Destination Stewardship Think Tank -- co-convened by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) and Sustainable Travel International (STI), and facilitated by Tony Charters and Associates.

The two-day Think Tank was held aboard RCCL's flagship Oasis of the Sea cruise ship, with participants focusing on how the tourism industry can and should support destination stewardship, including ways to coordinate efforts and make practical and proven tools and methodologies available to leaders in the public and private sector world-wide. 

The group identified the cultural, political, and market barriers to widespread adoption of sustainability initiatives at a destination level.  Looking at the big picture, the group noted that decentralized communication among different sectors of the travel and tourism industry and a lack of cohesive dialogue or leadership to help galvanize the movement is a huge barrier. The need for a long-term strategy and developing a clear industry plan to move forward were identified as immediate needs to help bring destination stewardship into the mainstream.

Think Tank participants then looked at several case studies, reviewing examples of effective destination stewardship examples, models and methodologies. Presented by select Think Tank attendees, these included STI and the Geotourism and travelers' philanthropy projects it's helped to implement in the Americas and Africa, Elperwood International's efforts in El Salvador, Solimar International's destination stewardship initiatives in Jordan, Conservation International's holistic approach in the Riviera Maya, and the Green Team's work to promote responsible tourism in Ecuador, among others. 

The group discussed the challenges and possibilities of scaling sustainability initiatives, including the need for establishing both universal and sector specific methodologies and frameworks that can be applied at the destination level. It was decided that the group would proactively address this need by working collectively to create a blueprint for destination stewardship. The Think Tank defined a Knowledge Management System for Sustainable Development of destinations to facilitate the implementation process.

In moving forward with making destination stewardship a priority in the tourism industry, participants plan to formally establish the Think Tank working group, define the long term role, membership composition, governance, meeting frequency, etc. Important next steps were assigned to members of the group. And can look forward to seeing progress made toward destination stewardship as a widespread and attainable reality in the coming months.

To learn more about how you can support destination stewardship, please contact Brian T. Mullis via email or call +503-488-5500.

Source:
http://sustainabletravelinternational.qm4.net/members/ViewMailing.aspx?MailingID=122073#title4