ETHICAL TRAVELLER:FOUR YEARS ago I watched a Masai warrior stand in front of a roomful of tourism executives and academics and say, very politely: "All we want is a voice." This was in response to endless PowerPoint presentations on sustainable tourism, ethical policies and community-empowerment strategies. The elder was making the point that we can have all the strategies in the world, but it's only through talking to the locals in tourism destinations that we can make tourism responsible. There was silence in the room. This wasn't in anyone's script, and nobody was able to give an adequate response or offer of support.
Which is why I was overjoyed to see so many indigenous communities, or organisations committed to sustaining them, being recognised at Wednesday’s Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards, in London.
One was Village Ways (villageways.com), which was named best tour operator for cultural engagement. This community-owned Indian company has brought previously vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the Dalit community back into their society by making them porters and guides; they now lead guests around sites of cultural interest.
The best small hotel was Rivertime Resort and Ecolodge (rivertimelaos.com), in Laos. It’s a role model, as it has signed contracts with its three local villages, setting out the responsibilities of the company to maximise benefits for the communities around it.
More inspirational community involvement came from Adventure Alternative (adventurealternative.com), a holiday company that provides long-term employment to communities in Nepal, Kenya and Tanzania. According to the judges, its founder, Gavin Bate, “works round the clock to keep local individuals at the heart of what they do”, and in so doing he won the personal- contribution award.
In Mongolia, Selena Travel (selenatravel.com) has worked with the nomadic community in the Tuv region to found a nomadic cultural festival that now receives hundreds of visitors a year and is recognised by the Mongolian ministry of nature, environment and tourism. It was given an award for conserving cultural heritage.
The Maori communities really showed how it can be done. The marine-environment and overall winner, Whale Watch Kaikoura (whalewatch. co.nz) is a Maori-owned company in the New Zealand town of Kaikoura. Set up by four families in 1987, it now takes a million people whale watching every year. Its chairman, Wally Stone, told me: “Our own legends of the whales, which represent the migration of our ancestors, inspired us. This is my blood line, our story, and we are now able to pass it on from generation to generation.”
One of the most inspiring aspects of this community-led organisation is that it has spread into mainstream tourism – Stone also became chairman of Tourism New Zealand and is proud that “we evolved together”.
I couldn’t help thinking of an Irish tourism executive who balked at the notion of community-based tourism at another conference I attended, saying: “I just don’t want to know about it. Our job here is to make money, and community tourism just doesn’t do that.”
The proof that nothing could be farther from the truth was written all over this awards ceremony. Many community- tourism projects are fighting strong. Thankfully, they no longer have to shout from the wings but have moved centre stage. And, compared with four years ago, people are really starting to listen to them.
ethicaltraveller.net and twitter.com/catherinemack