11 January 2011

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KYIV INITIATIVE REGIONAL PROGRAMME: WINE CULTURE TOURISM EXCHANGE (WCTE) in cooperation with SUSTAINABLE CULTURE AND TOURISM EXCHANGE (SCATE)

TOWARDS A POLITICS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM Cultural Policy Brief N 2 Establishing alternative tourism: innovative tourism products

Document established by the Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage

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Contents:

Background

Changing public and policy discourse of tourism industry Questions of values: towards genuine sustainability Alternative tourism creating values by taking value positions: going beyond old wine in new bottles Appendix of web site of examples of Maori indigenous businesses

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3 Towards a politics of sustainable tourism

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Cultural Policy Brief: ESTABLISHING ALTERNATIVE TOURISM: INNOVATIVE TOURISM PRODUCTS Dr Irena Ateljevic, Socio-Spatial Analysis, Wageningen University, the Netherlands Background The first decade of the twenty-first century was one of many perfect storms for the travel and tourism industry (Chiesa 2009); it began with the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and ended amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The decade saw war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the SARS and avian and swine flu outbreaks, and devastating natural and human-induced environmental disasters too many to list. The collapse of real estate and stock markets around the world has left consumer confidence low and unemployment high in the worlds more economically developed economies and as tourism growth rates are closely correlated with economic business cycles, the coming years promise to be tough ones for the industry. Characterised by the influential writer Richard Florida (2010) as The Great Reset, these are sharply transitional times, which may well prove to be a generational period of economic and social change during which individuals and places will need to find new ways of living and working. There does seem to be something hugely significant going on out there in the world. Whatever it is, weve been in the middle of it for a while, and the recently termed Great Recession has brought it into stark relief. Some say its the end of the capitalist industrial age in America and the West and the beginning of something else. Some call it the age of globalization, others the information age or the knowledge or experience economy. Yet others predict the dawning of a new transmodern age of planetary responsibility (Ghisi, 2008; Ateljevic, 2009). Many are describing our era one of regime change, system flip or paradigm shift (http://www.stockholmresilience.org) that demands creation of a more caring and spiritual global economy based on the powers of our hearts and social and environmental responsibility (Judith, 2006; Lubbers, 2009). While we may try to envision many different scenarios for our future we can perhaps be certain of only one thing: that the competition for relevance and resources will be fiercer than ever. Just take the world wide web. Today there are almost 250 million websites and 126 million blogs, whilst last year the worlds 1.7 billion internet users watched a billion YouTube videos and sent 247 million emails every single day. At the same time, the amount of spam in those emails had increased by a quarter on 2008 (royal.pingdom.com 2010). It is becoming harder to distinguish what is significant, authentic and worthy of our attention in our information-heavy but knowledge-light world. Ours has become a cluttered world of the long tail, where so many places position themselves as a great place to work, live and play and so many tourist destinations promise a multitude of experiences and products, that it becomes ever more important but harder to achieve stand-out. Too many destinations have in fact become anycountry communicated by marketing clich, they lack relevance or stand-out in our changing world. Changing public and policy discourse of tourism industry In this overwhelming context of a true urgency for human (economic, environmental and social) sustainability, the dominant interpretations of tourism as being nothing more than frivolous leisure activity or yet another form of economic development need to be seriously challenged. The creativity and originality of tourism products and places will reside in the full embrace and awareness that tourism has the potentialities to contribute to many local and

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global processes and problems at economic, political and socio-cultural level. Firstly, we need to recognise that changing market trends of special interest (eco) tourisms are not just forms of market and product diversification but rather key indicators that manifest the global shift in human aspirations for greater social and cultural empathy and environmental responsibility (Ray and Anderson, 2000; Ateljevic, 2009). If the contemporary tourism phenomenon indicates the new step in development of human global consciousness, one can easily see the enormous political power of such shift in the public discourse of tourism. Secondly, (and consequently) tourism has genuine powers to help the world in reaching higher level of consciousness and greater cultural understanding as it has been claimed that to travel is to discover that human beings in other lands and cultures are also people with whom we can share our laughter and our tears, and that what we have in common is a great deal more than the sum of all our differences (Silf, 2006). Therefore, if governments, civil society, tourism producers and consumers begin to recognise such deeper meanings of tourism potentialities, tourism can become a leader industry in the emerging concept of caring/spiritual global economy. A good example of promoting such potentialities is epthe initiative aiming to explore peace through tourism, hospitality and events (see web site http://www.epthe.net/ Another good example can be found in broader initiatives, which attempt to develop community resilience in the light of peak oil and climate change crisis. One that has been creating an increasing world-wide popularity is transition towns network established in 2006 and today involves around 655 towns and communities from over 30 countries. The network aims to create a way of living that's significantly more connected, more vibrant and more in touch with local environment than the oil-addicted treadmill that we find ourselves on today (see their web sites; http://transitiontowns.org/ http://transitionnetwork.org/ Tourism enterprises combined with rejuvenations of local (agri)culture often represent a significant part of economic resilience and transitional strategies in those communities and towns. Thirdly, tourism establishments can seriously challenge the assumed meaning of their essential business purpose. Good examples can be found in the hotel industry initiated by creative and visionary individuals. For example, Theodore Zeldin is an Oxford-based historian and public intellectual (e.g. a regular BBC speaker) who is interested in human development potential, and in doing so challenges the traditional ideas of work and human conversations. In his motivation to genuinely connect the human community, he has initiated numerous projects by creating the Oxford Muse Foundation. One of those Muse projects relates to his interest of raising the potentiality of tourism to help more open human dialogue at the global scale (Ateljevic, 2009). To that end, for example, he initiated the concept of socalled Muse hotels in order to redesign the very idea of a hotel, and create a model for how any business can rethink from scratch what it is doing. Zeldin argues that hotels (like corporations) have not changed their basic goals since the late 19th century, when Csar Ritz said that the purpose of his hotel was to teach you how to live. For him, that meant to be able to enjoy luxury and to live like royalty, with servants ministering to your every whim. But where can they go next, after they have fitted every kind of gold tap, electronic gadget and leisure facility? Zeldin asks and immediately replies that: they could become important cultural institutions, playing a significant part in the dialogue of civilizations, giving tourists a chance to do what conventional ambassadors cannot. Apparently, a number of hotels in Britain, France, Spain and the USA have expressed an interest in using some of the ideas of the Muse to enrich the experience of their guests and to make their hotels into a new sort of cultural centres (http://www.oxfordmuse.com/projects/projects.htm). Independent of Oxford Muse there has been a similar concept already put in practice by Suzanne Oxenaar, a Dutch woman who had a vision of combining her cultural curator/artist

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heart with the hospitality industry. To that objective in 2004 together with Otto Nam she turned local Amsterdam prison building into the first one to five star hotel of the world and cultural embassy, working together with Dutch artists, designers and architects. The establishment is organised into two units of a commercial enterprise (hotel) and the notfor-profit foundation (cultural embassy). The hotels Cultural Embassy offers various services in communal spaces. Situated above restaurant the Cultural Embassy informs guests and interested parties on topics such as art, culture and local cultural projects. In conjunction with the Lloyd Hotel the Cultural Embassy and its members organise projects and cultural activities: performances, small exhibitions and presentations. Admission is always free for everybody. Owners philosophy of promoting art, design, fashion, world cultures and importance of dreaming through the hotel industry has proved to be a very innovative and successful business strategy, hence further expanding the business into two recently opened new hotels (another in Amsterdam and one in Japan (see web site (http://www.lloydhotel.com/ http://www.lloydhotel.com/attachment-1603-en.html Questions of values: towards genuine sustainability The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. Albert Einstein (attributed), US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955) There is a prevalent belief that our social, environmental, and economic problems have arisen because of our current values. It has been said that we face a values crisis, that we need a mindset change, a shift in our beliefs, or that we have to evolve our social values. Hardin Tibbs (2002), futurist and consultant strategist for sustainability, claims that our fundamental beliefs form the very behaviours which threaten humanitys future well-being, even survival. His challenge to think and believe differently is a powerful path to bringing about the long-term change elucidated by the grand vision of sustainability. All of the exterior things that sustainable development (SDv) calls for - opportunities, health, and education for all; clean air, water, land, and food; poverty alleviation; industries with zero harmful emissions; culturally and environmentally sensitive development; zero population growth, etc. - are made possible by interior human motivators that make us voluntarily want to bring about these changes. If these motivators are not geared toward sustainability, behaviour will not be either. Unless these motivations are tapped, the exterior results we desire cannot come about with any degree of permanence. For individuals, there is no behaviour without the interior motivation that drives it; for collectives, there is no system without the interior culture that supports it. Therefore, if individual behaviour and societys systems in the exterior world need to change for SDv to arise, the greatest leverage for changing these behaviours and systems may lie in the interior world - in motivations and cultures. Alternative tourism creating values by taking value positions: going beyond old wine in new bottles The above outlined general discussion on importance of values and cultures has been given in the light of general recognition that greening and responsibilizing our unsustainable development (whereby mass tourism represents just one of its many expressions) is often old wine in new bottles, mostly created by smart marketing professionals and publicity studio (as noted by Russo in his general introduction) .Indeed tourism research shows that keys to genuine sustainability of alternative tourism lie in the deliberate rejection of the full

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market-driven paradigm in favour of reciprocity and lifestyle which then in itself creates its own niche market of consumers actively seeking products which convey these values and eco-social orientation (for New Zealand examples see Ateljevic and Doorne, 2000). In elaborating old market economy paradigm versus new responsible/caring economy paradigm 4 key areas can be defined as pertaining to different value positions: 1) 2) 3) 4) Organisational Cultural The market (tourist/visitor/guest) Industry

Broadly speaking, the relationships surrounding the organisation and the market can be expressed in terms of personal relations concerning interactions between individuals. Culture and industry activities are articulated via representative relations, including industry groups, community groups and wider economic structures. Further access can be identified between socio-environmental issues expressed in terms of organisational practice and cultural values, as distinct from purely tourism related issues affecting and influencing market and industry environments. This conceptualization of corresponding values as per alternative tourism paradigm (within the circle) versus. mainstream market paradigm (outside of the circle) is visually presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Perceived Value Positions

PERSONAL RELATIONS Strategy

ORGANISATION
Top-down Competitive Conformity Pyramidic Organisational Management Hierarchical Mainstream Outside Homogenous Identity Exclusivity Globalised Landscapes of Consumption Material value

Global (urban)

MARKET
Packaged/Pre-planned

Bottom-up Collaborative Individualistic

Spontaneity Educational Values aware

Hedonistic Value for money Compromised values Industry mediated Frivolity Tourist Market exchange Parasitic (Re)production (imitation) Integrated (Contracted, franchised)

OwnerOperator Personal interaction Flat management Counterpoint Inside

Uncompromising Personally mediated Meaningful Traveller Reciprocity Symbiotic Production (innovation) Autonomous /networked Quality of life Trust Business

Community Inclusive Sense of place Natural Environment Social worth

Profit maximisation Contractual

Corporate Ends

CULTURE

Capitalistic

INDUSTRY

REPRESENTATIVE RELATIONS

Source: Ateljevic and Doorne (2000).

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The importance of alternative tourism value positions in creating innovative products and unique experiences has been further established by recent research in New Zealand on Maori indigenous tourism business and their aspirations to create authentic and sustainable well-being for both Maori communities and their visitors (Spiller et al., 2010). This research demonstrates how ethics of care based on values of reciprocity, trust, uplift, respect, integrated goals, mutuality, resource preservation, cultural empathy, transparency and innovation are the key values in creating the value for producers and consumers of experiences. In other words, value-added approach is not a mechanical product-oriented thing, but it is a giving of oneself so that relationships have a healthy life force, as Spiller (2009: 241) describes the notion of enhanced value wherein people inject, as it were, something of your self, of your own life and energy of your personal Mauri (life force, life principle, bonding element of universe, awake, conscious) into your work. In doing so, proactive, optimistic and persistent engagement opens many business doors and creates network values based on the qualitative nature of relationships and long term outlook of shared goals. The preference for trust-based relationships that cohere around shared purpose appears to provide a distinct advantage for many Maori companies, in contrast to the usual arms-length approaches that typify many commercial transactions (Spiller et.al, 2010:15). To conclude from the policy point of view, it is absolutely essential to recognise the necessary recognition and promotion of those values that do not easily fit into the measurable indicators of the growth market philosophy, yet appear to be crucial ingredients for our long-term sustainability of humanity and development of alternative tourism in developing and transition regions for that matter. Ateljevic, I. (2009) Transmodernity remaking our (tourism) world? in Tribe, J. (ed) (2009) Philosophical Issues of Tourism. Bristol: Channel View Publications, chapter 16, pp. 278300. Ateljevic, I. and Doorne, S. 'Staying within the fence Lifestyle Entrepreneurship. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 8 (5), 378-392. Chiesa, T. (2009) Navigating yet another perfect storm: The promise of sustainable travel & tourism, in The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, pp. 97105. Florida (2010) The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post Crash Prosperity, Harper, New York, USA. Ghisi, L.M. (2008) The Knowledge Society: A Breakthrough Towards Genuine Sustainability. India: Stone Hill Foundation. Judith, A. (2006) Waking the Global Heart: Humanitys rite of passage from the love of power to the power of love, Santa Rosa, CA: Elite Books. Lubbers, R. (2009) former Dutch Prime-Minister (1982-1994), Minister of State and Earth Charter commissioner: Human unity, diversity, sustainability and spirituality, a keynote at the international conference: Leadership for a sustainable world, The Hague, June 5, Netherlands. Ray, H.P. and Anderson, S.R. (2000) The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World. New York: Harmony Books. Spiller, C. M. (2009) How Maori cultural tourism businesses create authentic and sustainable well-being. PhD thesis dissertation, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

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Spiller, C. M. Erakovic, Lj., Henare, M. and Pio, E. (2010) Relational Well-being and Wealth: Maori Businesses and an Ethic of Care, Journal of Business Ethics, 98(1), 153-169. Tibbs, H. (2002). Saving the world slowly: Impressions of the United Nations world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg, South Africa. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.hardintibbs.com/index.php/writing/global-prospects/ Appendix of web site of examples of Maori indigenous businesses http://www.navigatortours.co.nz/Menu.html Tena Koutou. Nau mai, haere mai ki Navigator Tours: Bringing You the World of the Maori People. At last a tourism company that understands and represents the indigenous view of Nature, Culture, People and Place in Aotearoa-New Zealand. The enjoyment of a visit is based on three key elements: Maori people, Maori places, and Maori hospitality http://www.footprintswaipoua.com The spiritual environment of the Waipoua Forest provides a natural stage for an unforgettable Footprints Waipoua encounter with some of the largest remaining kauri trees in the world. http://www.rainforest-treks.co.nz Whirinaki Rainforest Experiences. Our guiding staff are all Maori, whose whakapapa (ancestry) is traced to the iwi (tribes) of the Central North Island region. As such, you will be receiving a truly authentic indigenous cultural experience. http://www.maoritours.co.nz/ Voted Best Cultural Activity in New Zealand 2009 & 2010. Tena Koutou Katoa! Genuine New Zealand Maori hospitality with Maori Tours Kaikoura. 2010 awarded SUPREME Award for Overall Best Attraction in NZ by Rankers. http://www.whakarewarewa.com/ Set amidst a landscape of erupting geothermal activity, hot thermal springs and hot bubbling mud pools is the Living Maori village of Whakarewarewa situated in Rotorua, the heart of the North Island. http://www.wairakeiterraces.co.nz/home.htm The story of Wairakei Terraces, is the story of Ngatoroirangi, Ngati Tuwharetoa The terraces have been initially fashioned by mans hand. Mother Nature (Papatuanuku) must now take her course to perfect the production of colours and overlaying of silica to form magnificent terraces reminiscent of the Tarawera pink and white versions that were destroyed in 1886. http://www.waimaramaori.com/

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Waimarama Maori Tours at Hakikino - the 15th century Maori Heritage and Archaeological Site - A Boutique Maori Cultural Experience. Share our culture, get to know our people and feel the power of our sacred native landscape. http://www.potikiadventures.com/ Potiki Adventures is a boutique Maori owned and operated company based in Auckland City. We offer a range of small group tours where you will be introduced to contemporary Maori culture and beautiful local landscapes. You will gain a unique perspective as we introduce our Auckland and our Aotearoa (New Zealand) through local eyes. Most importantly as well as teaching about traditional life, we showcase Maori culture as alive, vibrant, evolving and relevant in mainstream society. http://www.ulva.co.nz/ Explore Ulva Island with Ulva's Guided Walks on Stewart Island, New Zealand. Ulva's Guided Walks was named by the owner, Ulva Goodwillie - who just happens to be named after the Island. Ulva is a direct descendant of the first Maori peoples of Stewart Island and is passionate and very knowledgeable about this special place. Ulva and her team of local guides would love to share this experience with you... we will provide you with a unique experience, learning about native flora and fauna from a Maori and local Stewart Island perspective. http://wakatours.com/ Awa Tours operate guided canoe trips on New Zealands spectacular Whanganui River providing a Maori Cultural and Environmental experience.