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Nicole Häusler

Tourism Consultant &

Organizational Consultant

www.icrt-germany.org

www.mascontour.info

contact@icrt-germany.org

Stakeholder Dialogues in Tourism

- How to achieve

Fair Pro-Poor Tourism Partnerships -

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Content

1. The Need for Fair PPT Partnerships

2. Challenges of Stakeholder Dialogues

3a.Who are the Stakeholders?

b.Role of each Stakeholder

c. Overview of types of partnerships

4. Case Study in Sri Lanka

5. Recommendations

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Pro-Poor Tourism

� It has long been argued that there is a potential for tourism

to contribute more to reducing poverty, but there is still the

discussion going on:

� Who is actually a poor person?

� What are net benefits of the poor?

� How to measure the impacts of PPT?

� Should we focus in this context on the economic aspects

only?

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Pro-Poor Tourism

� Additionally little in-depth discussion and research have

been done on:

What can stakeholders themselves effectively do in order

to achieve poverty reduction through tourism?

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The Need for Fair PPT Partnerships

� The pro-poor tourism approach is complex, multi-faced,

and embraces a wide variety of stakeholders from the

public to private sector.

� To get these different stakeholders working towards

common goals and to achieve the best results in pro-poor

tourism, which means to minimize povery, collaboration is

needed.

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Who are the stakeholders?

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Who are the stakeholders?

= Communities

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Why talk?

� Collaboration between various stakeholders does allow for more

sucessfull tourism planning, management, marketing, product

development, training and eduction (search for win-wins).

� BUT: We need a greater understanding of what is happening

between tourism stakeholders.

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Challenges of Stakeholder Involvement

� The achievement of community involvement with private-

sector development has not come about easily.

� Until recently, the travel and tourism industry has been

hesitant to establish public or private partnerships,

because of the very competitive market within it operates.

Stakeholders may not be willing to work together with

previous opponents (or with unfamiliar partners); some

may be uninterested or inactive in working with others.

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Critical Aspects of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues (due to

former experiences)

� Collaboration can be found at different levels (national,

provincial or district, and village levels) > Linkage levels:

between national and lower levels still weak

� Experience in (pro-poor sustainable) tourism low:

especially in implementation and management

� Language: Limited language skills (either local or English) can

make communication difficult between stakeholders –

Southeast Asia

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Critical Aspects of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues

� Power relations dominate

� Lack of motivation, resources, and trust

� Too many different actors involved or only a limited number of

stakeholders

� Costly and time consuming

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Underestimated Aspect of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues

� Internal organisational culture of Stakeholder: lack of

organisational structure, operational procedures >

Traditionally, participatory approaches have focused

primarily on the communication process between

stakeholders and less on the institutional or organisational

culture (organisational culture encompasses the shared rituals,

routines, organizational structure, symbols, languages, stories

and myths, role of leadership, power, and control mechanisms of

a group).

> Do these different ‘organisational cultures’ fit together?

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Strenghts of Stakeholder Dialogues in Tourism

� Achievements: profile raised, implementation of activities,

reputation

� Contact/Involvement with private sector/government

� New Partnerships: creation of linkages, new relations

� Access: to resources and influential persons

� Linkages levels: working at or involving different levels (micro,

meso, macro)Source: Kruk et al, 2007:78, adapted by Nicole Häusler

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Talking to Whom?

� The first step in effective stakeholder dialogue is to identify

the important stakeholders.

� Failing to identify the key stakeholders is central to the

process > the project/enterprise agrees to continue an

important dialogue with the wrong people.

� Definition of Stakeholder: „Any group or individual who

have a ‚stake‘, or vested interest, in the

firm/organization/project.“ (Bendell, 2000:2)

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Role of private sector

� In general: In order to have more pro-poor impact, the

increased involvement of private sector in pro-poor

tourism activities are needed at all levels

… in order to develop commercially feasible, responsible

tourism products and to ensure promotion and marketing.

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Stakeholder Participation – Role of private sector

Differenty types of local linkages:

� Local staffing and wages (Mostly, the greatest cash flow

into a local community from a tourism business is in the

form of wages – pay a fair salary!)

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Types of local linkages

� Procurement from local

enterprises/suppliers

� Local culture and heritage

products: cultural and

heritage products make a

trip unique and memorable

for tourists. They are also

a key way for companies

to diversify their product

and stimilate the local

economy

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Role of private sector

� As consequence private sector investor interested in

community planning and involvement must invest time and

money in supporting capacity building within these

communities.

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Summary: Role of Private Sector

� Companies that develop local products, procurement, and

partnerships can benefit in many ways. They win local

recognition, community support for tourism development,

enhanced staff morale, greater customer satisfaction,

stronger branding, and even economic cost savings.

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Role of Government at different levels

� Political support of national ministries, as well as the

support of local, district, and provincial authorities, is

essential to make collaboration work within pro-poor-

tourism.

� Looking at innovative ways for local communities to come

in as concessionaires, (lodge owners), and equity holders

in tourism.

� Supporting communities with technical advice to build

partnerships.

� Overall: Concept of pro-poor tourism policy should be

integrated into national action plans for tourism.

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Role of Communities

� Local involvement is considered to be a necessary variable for the success of tourism development.

�No community needs a business partnershipthat flops!

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Stakeholder Participation – Benefits for communities

� PPT-Partnerships are a way for

communities to make productive use

of their land, skills and resources.

� Partnerships can also bring training

and expertise.

� The inclusion of professionals from

the community, who are familiar with

local culture, can be maybe essential

for an effective tourism marketing

campaign!

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Community Involvement -

Partnerships at different levels

� Joint Venture with private company (Lodge)

� Community-based tourismprojects (high ownership)

� Supply chain (Souvenirs, Handicraft, Food and beveragesetc.)

� Directly employment in tourismindustry under fair conditions

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Types of Stakeholder-Partnerships for Communities

_(Often) not a balanced

power relationship

_No business skills

_Good experiences as

community workes

_Can be good mediators

Community - NGOs

_(Not an equal

partnership)

_No skills as community

workers

_Business skills

_Connection to national

and international

tourism market

_Power Relationship is

clearly defined

Community –

Private Enterprise

_(Often) not a balanced

power relationship

_Bureaucratic

_Strong political

support

Community -

Government

Critical aspectsPositive aspectsPartnerships

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Types of Stakeholder-Partnerships for Communities

_Impacts of donations:

Be careful: „People can

easily become beggars“

_Intercultural exchange

_Donations

Community - Tourists

_Analysis of livelihood,

organisational culture

and monitoring are not

part of the programme

_Financial support: 1-2

years only

_Financial Support

_Expertise

Community – Donor

Agencies

Critical AspectsPositive AspectsPartnerships

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Role of national and international NGOs

Mediator / Facilitator:

� Providing linkages

� Organizing all the chain players

� Integrating/Link business and community goals

(Organisational culture)

� Providing alternative viewpoints

� Help to negotiate benefits and roles

� Supporting of a transparent process

� Offer Training to communities and other stakeholders in

this context

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Case Study - Luxury Ecoresort „Vil Uyana“ in Sri Lanka

� Creation of direct jobs, supply chain (Construction work,

food supply)

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Jetwing Youth Development Project, Vil Uyana

� Two major objectives:

� To face and provide solutions for the manpower shortage in

Jetwing Hotels and the Sri Lanka Hotel Industry, in general.

� To help resolve the problem of youth frustration by being

unemployed with the providing of gainful employment.

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Jetwing Youth Development Project, Vil Uyana

� The Jetwing Youth Development Project provided in 2006 training absoluty free to School leavers from

disadventaged farming families in the Sigiriya area.

� Duration: Six months

� Location of the Training: Buddhist Temples –

Strong cooperation with Chief Monks

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Jetwing Youth Development Project, Vil Uyana

� Focus of Training: English classes and Hotel

Operation Training but as well topics like Cultural

History of the region and Biodiversity.

� After six months, Jetwing held a passing-outceremony for sixty trainess; afterwards they moved

to the hotel for the final four months of preparation. 40 were employed.

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Hotel Vil Uyana, Sri Lanka

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Benefits for staff and communities

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Recommendations

STEP BY STEP

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Principles for meaningful exchange among

stakeholders include:

� Formulating together a „Memorandum of

Understanding“, especially in the case of Joint

Ventures, elaborating consensual terms of

reference, e.g. roles and responsibilities,

provision for funding and capacity building,

terms for information sharing – what is the

concept of this partnership.

� Commitment to joint reviews of the process‘

effectiveness at regular intervals.

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Principles for meaningful exchange among

stakeholders include:

� Cross-cultural education and exchanges for

involved NGOs, government, industry and

community representatives

� Allow stakeholders to assist in the identification

of other stakeholders

� Be a dialogue, not a one-way information feed

� Development of trust between business,

community (and other stakeholders) is the

foundation for co-operation > Open sharing of

information

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Tailor-made solutions

� More attention should be paid to solutions that are tailor-

made for the operating context of each collaborating

process.

� Contextual factors (like organizational cultures) should be

taken into account when setting up, supporting or

facilitating collaboration.

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Recommendations for a sucessfull partnerships

� Having appropriate time frames – a lack of adequate time

for dialogue before an agreement or decision is reached

can mean that an adequate level of trust will not be

established.

� Building realistic expectations – Adequate time and

resources must be invested in managing those

expectations and coming to mutual agreement with

stakeholders as to what is realistic and what is not, in the

short, medium and long term.

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Recommendations for sucessfull partnerships

� Essential Aspect: Having an understanding

between all partners that tourism development

must be sustainable economically, socially, and

environmentally.

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Effective stakeholder dialogue is a critical element of good

Pro-poor tourism policy.

Done well, with progressive intentions, it can underpin a

powerful change process that give benefits for all.

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Fair PPT Partnerships…

is a continuous and permanent process of communication and creativity!

Effective stakeholder dialogue is a critical element of good

pro-poor tourism policy.

Done well, with progressive intentions, it can underpin a

powerful change process that benefits all.

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Thank you for your kind attention!

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Sources

� Ashley, Caroline: Facilitating pro-ppor tourism with the private sector. Lessons learned from ‚Pro-Poor Tourism Pilots in Southern Africa‘. Pro-Poor Tourism report No.2, February 2006, www.odi.org.uk

� Bendell, Jem: Talking for Change? Reflections on Effective Stakeholder Dialogues. New Academy of Business Innovation Network. 20 October2000

� Ester Kruk, John Hummel, and Kamal Banskota: Facilitating SustainableMountain Tourism. Vol. 1: Resource Book. International Centre forIntegrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu/Nepal, October 2007, pp. 71-82

� Lothar Gündling, Horst Korn & Rudolf Specht (Eds.): International Workshop: Case Studies on Sustainable Tourism and Biological Diversity. BfN – Skripten 16, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn/Germany, 2000

� Overseas Development Institute – Business Linkages in Tourism (Eds.):How to…? Tips and tools for South African tourism companies on localprocurement, products and partnerships. Executive summary, September 2005