日本財団 図書館


Harsh Varma
 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is indeed a pleasure for me to be in Japan once again, and more importantly, in Osaka, a city which I regard as my home in Japan. I am further pleased to represent the World Tourism Organization at this important seminar for two reasons. Firstly, the Seminar is on a subject which is of great relevance not only to the World Tourism Organization but to the changing global tourism scenario. But more significantly, the Seminar is being organized by APTEC, an organization with which WTO has very close and strong ties. APTEC has been one of the strongest collaborators of WTO and our Regional Support Office, and we in WTO are extremely grateful and honored to have developed an exemplary relationship with APTEC, which is based on cooperation, mutual benefits, and above all, friendship.
 Before I commence my presentation, I would like to take an opportunity to express the significance of Japan in general, and the Kansai area in particular, in WTO affairs. The Asia Pacific region is becoming a driving force in global tourism. Northeast Asia is the most successful sub-region in terms of tourism development in the Asia Pacific region. However, the importance that WTO has given the Northeast Asia as a priority zone for tourism development and promotion can be best exemplified by the fact that Japan is the only country where WTO has established a Regional Support Office. This Office is in a very strong position to carry out an assessment of the status of tourism in the region, thus enabling us in WTO to focus our technical assistance. This Office was established in June 1995 and has just celebrated its sixth anniversary. This Office has been in operation, thanks to the generous support extended to us by the Government of Japan, the local government and the private sector. And since its establishment, the Office has focused on a wide range of activities from human resource development to natural and cultural heritage and the promotion and development of the Silk Road tourism product in the region.
 Ladies and gentlemen, the world of tourism in all its diversity is changing, and changing very fast. Information and communication technologies are reshaping the face of the industry. Liberalization and globalization are gaining momentum, new players are appearing, new balances are being struck, and new configurations are emerging. Privatization, public private sector partnership, and decentralization in favor of local and regional authorities, and the increasingly prominent role of local communities will be the cutting edge in the modern-day tourism industry.
 In these circumstances, the illusion that governments alone are committed to representing the economic world and civil society as a whole is simply untenable in the field of tourism where partners are powerful and diversified and responsibilities decentralized. Gone are the days when tourism was confined primarily to central governments and the private sector with peripheral linkages with non-governmental organizations, regional authorities, local communities and professional associations.
 In WTO as well as country level, the search for new working partnerships between enterprises, professional associations and trade unions universities, NGOs and administrations, local authorities and communities, and central or federal governments, has become an inescapable obligation.
 Although it is generally recognized that tourism is an economic activity predominantly sustained by the private sector, traditionally, tourism development has been shared by two major partners, the central government and the private sector, as shown in the slide. Central governments have played a key role in the development and promotion of tourism, particularly in countries where tourism is still in a nascent stage and government's support is crucial to quickly start the industry. It is also a fact that in countries which are at an advanced level of development there is a much lesser need for public sector involvement and support to the tourism industry. However, I must say there is no denying the fact that for tourism to grow in a sustainable manner, an appropriate framework, physical, regulatory, fiscal, social, and environmental, is indeed needed, which of course can only be provided by governments. They are also expected to provide the basic infrastructure for the tourism industry such as roads, water supply, electricity, communications, airports, and so on, and to create a legal framework within which this sector operates.
 As tourism has started to grow, and its economic and social significance enhanced over the past thirty years or so, its potential commercial value also increased rapidly. The private sector became increasingly interested in the business opportunities this sector offered, and this resulted in a boom in a hotel and resort development and rapid expansion of travel agency and tour operations. Apart from giant multinationals, the sector also saw the growth of a small and medium business enterprises that assumed the role of providers of tourist services and facilities, albeit at the local level.
 The modern day tourism development has now changed. As I said earlier, there is a growing trend towards decentralization wherein central governments are now relinquishing the control of the industry in favor of regional and local authorities. A stage has now been reached where more and more governments are reconsidering their role in the direct operation and management of the industry. Today, notably in the Western countries, some central governments have adopted a laissez-faire approach to tourism development and promotion. Instead of being a direct investor in the industry, governments view their role more as a facilitator or a stimulator of private sector investment through fiscal and monetary incentives. In a number of countries, governments have either divested themselves, or are in the process of divesting themselves, of their direct interest in tourism plant and services. Though industry legislation and regulations are enforced, they are less and less common except where they relate to consumer protection or to national heritage and environmental conservation. Governments' gradual withdrawal and disengagement have shouldered the private sector with more and more responsibilities. Above all, there is more and more devolution to regional authorities as well as to local communities, the idea being that these are the entities which are at the ground level and therefore they should play a more prominent role in the entire planning and development process.
 Let us take a brief look at some figures which I hope would give you a better understanding of the importance and impact of the tourism industry. In the year 2000, there were 698 million international tourists worldwide, who generated a total of 476 billion U.S. dollars in receipt, making tourism the world's largest and the fastest growing industry far ahead of petroleum products, IT industries, telecommunication and the automobile industry. And this has made the tourism industry at the turn of the millennium one of the most dynamic industries of the world. It is therefore no wonder that a number of nations have identified tourism as a vehicle for socioeconomic development and for poverty alleviation.
 East Asia and the Pacific is the third most visited destination of the world with 112 million arrivals in the year 2000, And we predict that within the next few years, this region would outpace the Americas and become the second most important destination in the world after Europe. The region possesses perhaps the widest variety of natural and cultural resources to be found in any continent, from majestic mountains, rivers, exotic beaches, vast deserts, to heritage sites of architectural, religious and cultural values, folklore, handicrafts, and a rich cuisine. It lends East Asia and the Pacific with the potential to attract tourists from all markets and segments within these markets.
 Now, this is the situation today. Let us take a look at the future. There is no doubt that tourism is one sector which is fast entering an age of global interaction. At the rapid pace with which tourism is expanding, international arrivals are expected to touch 1.6 billion by the year 2020, And these massive numbers would no doubt raise expectations from tourism more than ever before; in the sector's contribution to the economies of different countries, employment generation, fostering of regional development, and last but not the least, provision of significant inputs to the globalization of our societies. It goes without saying that the only form of tourism that would survive and succeed is the one which is based on the basic principles of sustainable development, a development which can be sustained by the society, the economy, and the environment.
 Essentially, tourism can have a profound impact on the society, economy and environment of nations. Socially, one of the most immediate benefits of the tourism industry is the ability to create employment, and in the case of tourism, an added benefit is that it caters to both skilled and unskilled employment. As a labor intensive industry, tourism has the potential to create more jobs per unit of investment than any other industry, and tourism can be a useful source of employment for women and ethnic minority groups. And tourism is frequently the leader in bringing infrastructure and social facilities to the local people. Environmentally, the tourism industry is frequently the leader in improving the local environment situation.
 The reasons for this are that, firstly, I would say, tourists are keen to see a good environment. And secondly, tourism managers nowadays have considerable environmental expertise and often lead the way in making environmental improvements. Tourism, when properly developed and managed, can serve as a mechanism for protecting natural environments, preserving historical, archaeological and religious monuments, and is stimulating the practice of local cultures, folklore, religions, arts and crafts and cuisine.
 In economic terms, tourism brings many benefits to the central government, local authorities, as well as the private sector. And if the industry is well managed, particularly in the maintenance of a balanced demand and supply, financial returns on investments can be very high. Governments can directly tax the industry, and the revenues can be used for further social development such as education, medical facilities and other community services. Tourism can also stimulate the expansion of other economic activities such as agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and crafts production.
 However, as I said earlier, the success of the industry depends totally on its sustainability. Nowadays, we cannot talk about tourism development without mentioning the sustainable tourism development. And we in WTO believe that sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future.
 It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems.
 In view of the social, economic and environmental considerations within tourism planning, modern-day tourism planning has shifted from being tourism-oriented to more community-oriented. Tourism, as we all know, is a people's industry where people are the essence of tourism activity. People constitute the market, require services from other people, and generate the social, cultural and economic interactions, which has made tourism such an important activity. By shifting the focus of tourism planning towards local community, the focus of tourism dwells sharply on the local people themselves, and not on the industry. The investment becomes the local community, and not the natural or cultural attraction. Local people play a central role in not only planning but in also having the ownership of tourism development within their communities.
 As I mentioned earlier, a number of governments have identified tourism not only as an industry for socioeconomic development but have delegated the development of the industry to the provincial, district, and mayoral levels. In this context, governments view tourism-based community development as one of the main vectors to deliver autonomy at the local level. This would ensure that the economic benefits of tourism pass on directly to the grassroots levels where there would be a greater multiplier effect of tourism on the communities through the encouragement of community and regionally owned micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises to provide goods and services to the tourism sector.
 Tourism is thus seen to serve as an engine for equity development and provide the basis for adopting and applying the principles of good governments' participation, transparency, equity and accountability at local and provincial levels.
 Local communities can play a fundamental role in ensuring the sustainability of the industry, because it is the local community which bears both negative and positive impacts of tourism on a day-to-day basis. It is the local community which has the most interface with tourists. It is the local community that has first -hand knowledge of the attractions being visited by tourists. It is the local community itself which directly serves the tourists and is thus better aware of their needs. And it is the local community itself which could best evaluate its environmental and social carrying capacity. It is therefore imperative that any tourism development process will have to take into account the role of local communities instead of relying solely on tourism-oriented planning and development.
 Tourism-based community development is essentially a small scale, highly localized, and extremely sensitive development. Building a successful and sustainable destination takes time, anything between five and ten years, and that has been the experience in most European countries. Communities that set up unrealistic targets have not been successful. Slow study, achievable progress faced year by year is the route to success. Local communities can develop, implement and monitor tourism policies and strategies over a continued period of time, and given their personal interest and stakes, will provide constant attention and dedication to the industry. Cooperation and partnership between private and public agencies is essential as is good day-to-day management.
 We all know, ladies and gentlemen, that tourism can bring both benefits and problems to a local community. If well planned, developed and managed, tourism can generate local jobs and income, provide opportunities to local entrepreneurs to set up small and medium sized enterprises, stimulate the practice of local cultures and traditions. All these factors contribute directly towards improving the living conditions of the local communities. In economically depressed areas, jobs produced by tourism may reduce out-migration of youths seeking employment elsewhere. Tourism employees learn new skills and technologies including information technology, which enhances local human resources. And some of these skills and technologies are transferable to other economic activities within the community.
 Tax revenues from tourism can be deployed to raise the standard of community facilities and services while improving tourism infrastructure as well. In addition, through backward linkages, tourism can promote other local economic activities such as agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, and arts and crafts. And tourism, of course, can also provide the justification for conservation of local natural and cultural areas and overall improvement of environmental quality, because these are the prime attractions for tourists.
 Tourism development can stimulate the establishment of local tourism enterprises, which in turn provide opportunities for local capital investment, jobs, incomes, profits made from enterprises, and more generally, developing a sense of entrepreneurship that may not have existed previously in the community. Tourism stimulates the development of new and improved retail recreation and cultural facilities such as the specialty shops and improved shopping districts, parks, cultural centers, theaters, which local residents and tourists can use equally. Tourism often helps pay for cultural facilities and its activities, which local communities could not afford without tourism.
 For tourism-based community development to be successful, and in order to ensure full commitment by the local residents in this initiative, awareness must be created of the benefits that accrue from sustainable tourism development by holding open meetings to give people the opportunity to express their views, concerns and interests. The local media should be invited to report on these meetings to broaden the area of awareness; similarly, NGOs, local and national government agencies, as many relevant sectors as possible, in order to achieve a more integrated development process.
 Tourism is not all roses. If not well planned and developed, it can bring a score of problems, uncontrolled use of natural and cultural sites may lead to their deterioration. Over-commercialization can lead to the degradation of cultural heritage, and there may be loss of economic benefits to the local communities, particularly through leakages, if the communities are not involved in the entire development process. In this regard, it is important that local residents be aware of the potential negative impacts of tourism on the community and environment before deciding whether to go ahead with tourism development, and if so, to what extent.
 If tourism employs people who are not local residents, then economic benefits can be lost through remittances of wages to home basis outside the community. Similarly, the degree of importation, rather than the use of local products, may lead to leakages of revenues out of the local communities' economy. Therefore, through careful planning, systematic implementation of that planning process, and continuous effective management and monitoring of the industry, the benefits of tourism can be maximized and the disadvantages minimized. However, we all realize that trade-offs are inevitable, and it is the community itself which will decide what benefits to maximize, which problems to minimize, and to accept that there will be tradeoffs between the two.
 We in WTO believe that it is the local host community which acts as an intermediary between the visitors and the local tourism resources. And it is m this context that we believe that tourism-based community development will be the order of the day in the new millennium. The tourism-based community development is primarily the result of profound changes which the communities have undergone in recent times, which required new development to be pursued through diversification of activities. It is also a manifestation of the wishes and desires of the local communities to not only participate in a process which has long-term socioeconomic benefits but also contribute, in their own way, to the enhancement of the appeal of local tourism resources.
 The benefits of tourism-based community development are innumerable. First and foremost, this kind of development unites a community for a common cause, and it provides the community with a sense of direction. It inculcates a feeling of pride for the tourism resources that a community possesses. There are many in the community, especially elders, who are keen to share their knowledge and experiences with tourists, and therefore, for them it is a source of immense self-satisfaction. And it develops, particularly in the young people, the sense of ownership for their natural and cultural environment. It is a well known fact that tourism contributes directly in revitalizing regional development. Bali in Indonesia provides an excellent example in this regard. Before being developed as a tourist destination, most of the treasures of the Island, beaches, temples, arts and crafts, went virtually unnoticed. Now a majority of the local communities on the island are directly or indirectly involved in tourism, ranging from small businesses to, let's say, tour guiding.
 In planning tourism-based community development, tourism should be viewed as an integrated system in the socioeconomic sector. Each area or community that is considering developing tourism or expanding an existing tourism sector, they should carefully evaluate their resources for tourism. This evaluation will help decide whether the area has potential for developing or expanding tourism, and what is the most appropriate type of tourism to develop. And this type of assessment would include a number of factors: Attractions and activities related to the natural environment; attractions and activities related to the cultural environment; attractions and activities related to economic environment; urban tourism environment including museums, theater performance, night-clubs, sport events, restaurants and shopping, even meetings and conference facilities; attractions and activities related to health, rest, and medical treatment of mineral springs, healthy desert and mountain climates, religious and pilgrimage tourism, visiting roots in ancestral home lands; and assessment of the overall environmental quality of the area, hygiene, safety, cleanliness, existing tourist facilities and services, the availability of skilled manpower. What are the existing markets? What can be the potential markets? What kind of tourists do we want to attract? Do we simply want numbers, or do we want tourists who provide quality, quality in terms of their knowledge, quality in terms of their per capita expenditure, or quality when they respect the local traditions and cultures, and so on and so forth. And based on this evaluation, ultimately formulate some kind of a plan which will provide directions for future development.
 While these factors have been reviewed and evaluated, the local community is in an excellent position to judge the degree of tourism needed to develop, which could ultimately stimulate the community development.
 For this presentation, ladies and gentlemen, I have identified four major issues, which I would like very briefly to develop on.
 The first is balance and harmony in any community development. And this is probably the key factor, because the need we feel is to strike a fine balance between the requirements of the host community and the guests, since at times the requirements may be totally different and result in conflicts. Conventional tourism used to place a priority on the numbers of incoming tourists, creating resource conflicts with the local community. On the other hand, for the industry to be successful, visitor satisfaction must be met and an approach should be adopted to meet visitor needs. Therefore, harmony is required between the needs of a visitor, the destination, and the local community. But we must not lose sight of the fact that individual villages and some communities are essentially very small units, incapable of achieving the critical mass of accommodation and other tourism products, including funding for marketing. And all these are necessary to develop a sustainable tourism destination.
 Therefore, we feel that communities, while retaining their unique characteristic, need to address this problem by expanding the destination to an administrative or geographic area which might include several communities of holding them an opportunity to work together, to pool their resources, through which they can create a greater impact in the marketplace. In this regard I would like to give you the example of Malaysia where the World Tourism Organization is currently involved in the development of a Master Plan for rural tourism. And there we have experimented with the formation of local tourism association or cooperatives, where 3 or 4 local communities have joined hands to share their experiences, to have very frequent interaction between them to discuss their problems and to come up with common solutions. And this has proved to be extremely successful. And therefore, we say that leadership and partnerships are vital.
 All concerned parties must work together to achieve maximum synergy and avoid unnecessary duplication or contradiction. Cooperation between local attractions, businesses and tourism operators is essential, given that one business or operation can be directly affected by the performance or the quality of others. And similar ability is extremely important to establish effective networking between the communities. For various parties to work together in integrated tourism based-community development, information must be shared between municipal government, residents, and tourism industries, and sharing of information would serve as the basis for collaborative efforts. Modes of cultural tourism partnerships must be explored in the areas of planning, management, marketing, and funding of tourism ventures. And local financial institutions can also play a role in cultural tourism partnerships by working with local entrepreneurs to help provide businesses with necessary startup funds.
 The second issue is the quality of the environment. One must ensure that a sound and quality environment is available to the community at all times and that tourism does not leave any negative impacts. Primarily, attention must be focused on the monitoring of environmental and ecological impacts of tourism operations over the long term reviewing cumulative effects and not only short term impacts. In this regard, we feel that audits of the natural and manmade resources of the area should be carried out on a regular basis as well as an identification of environmental constraints which are likely to inhibit development. Tourism development plans must distinguish between mass tourism and quality tourism. Guidelines must be established for tourism operations including requirements of impact assessment. There should be codes of practice established for tourism at all levels, national, regional, and local. And tourism development should be compatible with the physical, natural, social and cultural carrying capacities in order to protect the very resources that form the basis of the tourism product. Protection and monitoring strategies should be defined to protect tourism resources from misuse and abuse, particularly in the use of public goods such as water, air, and common lands. Indicators should be developed and limits set for the measurement of impacts on the establishment of all kinds of tour operations. The scale and type of tourism facilities must reflect the limits of acceptable use that resources can tolerate, and therefore, small scale, low impact facilities and services should be encouraged through financing and other incentives.
 Tourism, as we know, is a highly competitive industry and quality is the hallmark of the industry, and thus it is vital to provide a high level of guest satisfaction, particularly with regard to satisfaction in the quality of tourism resources and value for money which, needless to say, would encourage repeat visitations and promotion by word of mouth to families and friends of the visitors to visit the destination.
 To achieve a quality tourism destination, education and training programs in tourism, hotel management and other relevant topics must be established in order to ensure quality services to tourists. On-going training for all operators of tourism products is essential if the standards and awareness of changing market needs are to be maintained. Local residents must be involved in the industries such as construction of tourism facilities, restaurants, shops, and agriculture. Not only it is important to guarantee the quality experience to tourists, it is equally important to obtain the social acceptance of tourism by a local community, and that the industry provide quality employment opportunity for local residents. By educating and training local residents and encouraging local enterprises, quality employment is guaranteed at both skilled and unskilled levels.
 Tourism development should promote activities that reinforce landscape character, sense of place and community identity. Increasingly, visitors are demanding the choice of a variety of accommodation serviced and self-catering, modern and traditional design, ranging from farm-houses to small hotels, simply shelters to exclusive cottages, caravans, camping sites, youth hotels. All these need to provide quality standards in terms of the physical infrastructure, the facilities and attitude of staff and owners to their needs. And to meet these needs, I will say that equal priority should be given to improving both the quality and the expansion of the accommodation base, and all accommodation should essentially meet the requirements of the national licensing authority.
 The last issue, ladies and gentlemen, and I would never tire of emphasizing on this, is sustainable tourism development. All planning efforts at the local level should be focused on the long-term sustainability of the local tourism resources. Of equal importance is the review, monitoring and subsequent control of the tourism industry and its impacts on the society. And this can only be carried out by the local community itself. The residents of a community must maintain control of tourism development by being involved in setting a community tourism vision, identifying the resources to be developed, maintained and enhanced, developing tourism goals and implementing tourism strategies. The sustainability of the industry is dependent on the broad-based distribution of the benefits generated by tourism. By establishing linkages among the local businesses in the industry, leakages from tourism revenue can be decreased and a more equitable disbursement of benefits will occur amongst residents, visitors, and service providers. A long-term planning horizon needs to be adopted by both business and destination tourism organizations to encourage the use of proactive strategies to ensure destination sustainability and the establishment of local linkages over time. The tourism process must also ensure that heritage and natural resources are maintained and enhanced using internationally acceptable criteria and standards.
 To conclude, ladies and gentlemen, I must say that all these aspects related to sustainable tourism-based community development can only be achieved through comprehensive planning for tourism-based community development, in which the community itself should be the lead decision-maker. It is the community which should decide the nature and the scope of tourism development, how this development should take place, and how economic benefits for tourism can be ploughed back into the community for achieving its own development objectives.
 Community tourism, as I said earlier, is a small-scale and very diverse segment of tourism, therefore extremely difficult to sell to either the travel trade or to independent travelers unless there is an effective organization in place at a regional and national level. Integrated quality management is required to ensure the delivery of a consistently high standard of all components of the overall product. Each community must retain its own individuality and exploit its characteristic features. And national strategy ensures that there is neither gaps in the product or duplication of development. On-going training and market research are essential to keep a competitive edge and to keep abreast of market demands. A balance is needed, and with the tourism interest we seek, a healthy business environment with financial security, a trained and responsible work force, attractions of sufficient quality to ensure a steady flow of visitors who will stay longer and come back for repeat visits, and of course the protection of the natural and cultural environments. The community, on the other hand, seeks a healthy place to live with good food, adequate and clean water, health care, rewarding employment for the equitable pay, education and recreation, respect for local traditions, and opportunities to make decisions for the future.
 Thank you very much.








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