Center for Responsible Travel Transforming the Way the World Travels

Stanford University & Washington, DC www.responsibletravel.org

1333 H St NW, Suite 300 East Tower Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202-347-9203 Fax: 202-775-0819 450 Serra Mall, Building 50, Room 51D Stanford, CA 94305 Tel: 650-723-0894 Fax: 650-725-0605

Email: staff@responsibletravel.org Website: www.responsibletravel.org

Market Trends Series:

Responsible Travel: Global Trends & Statistics

Tourism

“The practice of traveling for recreation.” i

“The activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.” ii

Tourism’s Economic Impact

In 2009, international tourism receipts reached US $852 billion.iii

In 2010, travel & tourism is projected to account for 9.2%, US $5,751 billion, of world GDP and provide a total of 235 million jobs.iv

In 4 out of 5 countries (over 150) tourism is one of five top export earners.v

In 60 countries tourism is the number one export.vi

Consumer Demand for Ecotourism

96% of Condé Nast Traveler readers think hotels and resorts should be responsible for protecting the environment they operate in. With 74.5% saying a hotels’ environmental policies influence their decision to stay there.vii

A 2005 analysis found that more than two-thirds of U.S. and Australian travelers, and 90% of British tourists, consider active protection of the environment, including support of local communities, to be part of a hotel’s responsibility.viii

Ecotourism

“Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people” (TIES, 1990)

"The tourism sector is the largest common area of export income and foreign direct investment

across the world's poorest countries. Tourism to these countries is growing at twice the rate of industrialized markets. No sector spreads wealth and jobs across poor economies in the

same way as tourism." United Nations World Tourism Organization

secretary general Francesco Frangialli ix

Ecotourism’s Economic Impact

Captures $77 billion of the global market and experiencing double-digit gains that are likely to accelerate as concern about global warming rises.x

The United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO) estimates that in 2007 ecotourism captured 7 percent of the international market.xi

According to Travel Weekly, sustainable tourism could grow to 25% of the world’s travel market by 2012, taking the value of the sector to approximately $473 billion a year.xii

Global Growth in Tourism

1950: 25 million tourist arrivals. 2004: 760 million tourism arrivals. 2007: 903 million tourist arrivals. 2020 Forecast: 1.6 billion intl. arrivals.xiii

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Importance to Developing Countries

International tourism in emerging & developing markets has grown at an average rate of 6-8% over the past decade – or twice the rate of growth in industrialized countries.xiv

Between 1996 and 2006, international tourism in developing countries expanded by 6% as a whole, by 9% for Least Developed Countries, and 8% for other low and lower-middle income economies. Against this backdrop, the sector will be more and more recognized as a key agent in national poverty reduction strategies and in development financing.xv

Tourism is one of the major export sectors of developing countries, and is the primary source of foreign exchange earnings in 46 of the 49 Least Developed Countries.xvi

Tourism is a crucial contributor to these countries’ income - up to 70% for the world’s poorest countries.xvii

Tourism is included in the Poverty Reduction Strategies of more than 80% of low income countries.xviii

Green and Environmental Trends in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

“There are three prime reasons for putting effort into sustainability: first, it preserves our environment for future generations; second, it adds that extra dimension to guest satisfaction, which in turn makes us a more attractive company; and third, it saves costs and improves profitability.”

Jan Peter Bergkvist, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Scandic xix “The Rezidor Hotel Group considerably increases the number of eco-labeled hotels and strengthens its proactive, long term orientated commitment to the environment. By the end of this year [2008] 50 more hotels will be certified by acknowledged third party labels. We see strong demands from the markets itself and from our hotels for eco-certifications, and do believe that these labels are a more and more important part within our overall Responsible Business Programme.”

Catherine Rubbens, Director Responsible Business of Rezidor xx “To meet the growing demand of increased travel around the world, we must be able to do so in a sustainable fashion while still delivering unsurpassed levels of hospitality, including a better night’s sleep, an enhanced dining experience and a more productive meeting. We must operate our business in ways that provide for our current needs while allowing future generations to meet their own needs. This is the essence of sustainability and the path we must follow. Not only is it the right thing to do as responsible global citizens, it's the right thing to do for our business.” By 2014, goals for the Hilton Family of Hotels are to: reduce energy consumption from direct operations by 20%, reduce Co2 emissions by 20%, reduce output of waste by 20% and reduce water consumption by 10%. Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton Hotels Corporation xxi

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Travel Typology

Prior to the late 1970s, all definitions of tourism described the tourist’s activities, without evaluating the impacts on the environment or host community. In the late 1970s, the concept of ecotourism emerged as part of the new global environmental movement. By the early 1990s, ecotourism was the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry. Unlike earlier tourism definitions, ecotourism describes the impacts of tourism on nature and communities, and posits that, done well, the impact could be positive. As such, ecotourism was more than simply a niche market within the tourism industry. It was also a set of principles and good practices, closely aligned with the concept of sustainable development.xxii Over the last two decades, other value-based tourism terms have emerged, all based on principles and practices closely associated with sustainable development. The chart below includes, in the first column, tourism definitions that describe the travel activities without evaluating impact, while the second column includes newer tourism terms that describe the social and environmental impacts.xxiii

Tourism Terminology Definitions describing activities Definitions describing impacts Tourism The practice of traveling for

recreation. Ecotourism Responsible travel to natural

areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.

Nature Tourism

Travel to unspoiled places to experience and enjoy nature.

Responsible Tourism

Tourism that maximizes the benefits to local communities, minimizes negative social or environmental impacts, and helps local people conserve fragile cultures and habitats or species.

Mass Tourism

Large-scale tourism – typically associated with ‘sea, sand, sun’ resorts and characteristics such as transnational ownership, minimal direct economic benefit to destination communities, seasonality, and package tours.xxiv

Sustainable Tourism

Tourism that meets the needs of present tourist and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future.xxv

Adventure Tourism

Nature travel which involves physical skills, endurance & degree of risk-taking.

Geotourism Tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place-its environment, heritage, aesthetics, and culture and the well-being of its residents.

Cultural Tourism

The movement of persons for essentially cultural motivations.xxvi

Pro-poor Tourism

Tourism that results in increased net benefit for the poor people.xxvii

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i "tourism." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online. 29 July 2008 <http://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/tourism> ii United Nations World Tourism Organization. <http://www.unwto.org/facts/menu.html>

iii United Nations World Tourism Organization. “World Tourism Barometer”. Interim Update. April 2010.

iv World Travel and Tourism Council. “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact”. 2010.

<http://www.wttc.org/bin/pdf/original_pdf_file/exec_summary_final.pdf> v World Tourism Organization, “Tourism, a Force for Sustainable Development,” 19

th OSCE Economic Forum,

Prague, Czech Republic, June 2, 2004. vi World Travel and Tourism Council. “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact”. 2010..

vii Condé Nast Traveler. “The Ethical Traveler Index”. 2007.

<http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/10771?pageNumber=11>. viii

Zoe Chafe, “Consumer Demand and Operator Support for Socially and Environmentally Responsible Tourism,” Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, Working Paper No. 104

ix Manila Standard. `Travel Sector Key To Reducing Poverty'. January 10, 2007.

x The Kiplinger Letter. “Ecotourism is Booming”. Vol. 84, No. 17 April 27, 2007.

<www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/Kletter/letter070427.html> xi The Globe and Mail. “Green to Go; Everyone is Getting on the Green-travel Bandwagon, but Which Choices Truly

Make a Difference?”. June 23, 2007. xii

LOHAS “Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability”. “Green Travel: Trends in Ecotourism”. <http://www.lohas.com/journal/ecotourism.htm>

xiii United Nations World Tourism Organization. “2020 Vision”. <http://www.unwto.org/facts/menu.html>

xiv United Nations World Tourism Organization. “Emerging Tourism Markets – The Coming Economic Boom”. June

24, 2008. <http://www.unwto.org/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=2462&idioma=E> xv

Ibid. xvi

United Nations World Tourism Organization. STEP Program – Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty. http://www.unwto.org/step/about/en/step.php?op=1

xvii United Nations World Tourism Organization. “Emerging Tourism Markets – The Coming Economic Boom”. June

24, 2008. <http://www.unwto.org/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=2462&idioma=E> xviii

Overseas Development Institute. “Can Tourism Offer Pro-Poor Pathways to Prosperity?”. June 2007. <http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/briefing/bp_june07_tourism_ptp.pdf >

xix International Tourism Partnership. < http://www.tourismpartnership.org/pages07/Leadership.html>

xx Rezidor Hotel Group. “Rezidor goes even greener and almost triples number of eco-labelled hotels until end of

2008” June 26, 2008. < http://www.rezidor.com/cs/Satellite/Page/Rezidor/Page/MCrezidor/1165588170011/en/extra--364095>

xxi “Hilton Hotel Corporation Announces Global Sustainability Goals”. June 4, 2008. <http://phx.corporate-

ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=88577&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1162505&highlight=> xxii

Brundtland Commission, “Our Common Future”. 1987. < http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/d/d7/Our-common-future.pdf> xxiii Honey, Martha. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development Second Edition. Island Press. 2008. xxiv TIES. TIES Global Ecotourism Fact Sheet. Sept 2006. < http://www.ecotourism.org/atf/cf/%7B82a87c8d-0b56-

4149-8b0a-c4aaced1cd38%7D/TIES%20GLOBAL%20ECOTOURISM%20FACT%20SHEET.PDF> xxv

Zoe Chafe, “Interest in Responsible Travel Grows, Vital Signs 2005 (The Worldwatch Institute,) p 101. which sources: Merriam-Webster Dictionary, National Geographic Traveler, TIES, World Tourism Organization, Pro-Poor Tourism, Encyclopedia of Ecotourism, and Responsibletravel.com

xxvi SNV, CREST. The Market for Responsible tourism Products with a Special Focus on Latin America and Nepal.

March 2010. xxvii TIES. TIES Global Ecotourism Fact Sheet. Sept 2006. < http://www.ecotourism.org/atf/cf/%7B82a87c8d-0b56-

4149-8b0a-c4aaced1cd38%7D/TIES%20GLOBAL%20ECOTOURISM%20FACT%20SHEET.PDF>