PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS IN ECOTOURISM

Tourism Ethics
Code of Ethics for Tourists

1. Travel in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to learn more about the
people of you host country. Be sensitively aware of the feelings of other people,
thus preventing what might be offensive behavior on your part. This applies very
much to photography.
2. Cultivate the habit of listening and observing, rather than merely hearing and
seeing.
3. Realize that often the people in the country you visit have time concepts and
thought patterns different from your own. This does not make them inferior, only
different.
4. Instead of looking for the "beach paradise", discover the enrichment of seeing a
different way of life, through other eyes.
5. Acquaint yourself with local customs. What is courteous in one country may be
quite the reverse in another -- people will be happy to help you.
6. Instead of the Western practice of "knowing all the answers", cultivate the habit
of asking questions.
7. Remember that you are only one of thousands of tourists visiting this country and
do not expect special privileges.
8. If you really want your experience to be a "home away from home", it is foolish to
waste money on traveling.
9. When you are shopping, remember that the "bargain" you obtained was possible
only because of the low wages paid to the maker.
10. Do not make promises to people in your host country unless you can carry them
through.
11. Spend time reflecting on your daily experience in an attempt to deepen your
understanding. It has been said that "what enriches you may rob and violate
others.

Ten Commandments on Eco-Tourism

1. Respect the frailty of the earth. Realize that unless all are willing to help in its
preservation, unique and beautiful destinations may not be here for future
generations to enjoy.
2. Leave only footprints. Take only photographs. No graffiti! No litter! Do not take
away souvenirs from historical sites and natural areas.
3. To make your travels more meaningful, educate yourself about the geography,
customs, manners and cultures of the region you visit. Take time to listen to the
people. Encourage local conservation efforts.
4. Respect the privacy and dignity of others. Inquire before photographing people.
 5. Do not buy products made from endangered plants or animals, such as ivory,
tortoise shell, animal skins, and feathers. Read Know Before You Go, the U. S.
Customs list of products which cannot be imported.
6. Always follow designated trails. Do not disturb animals, plants or their natural
habitats.
7. Learn about and support conservation-oriented programs and organizations
working to preserve the environment.
8. Whenever possible, walk or use environmentally-sound methods of
transportation. Encourage drivers of public vehicles to stop engines when
parked.
9. Patronize those (hotels, airlines, resorts, cruise lines, tour operators and
suppliers) who advance energy and environmental conservation; water and air
quality; recycling; safe management of waste and toxic materials; noise
abatement, community involvement; and which provide experienced, well-trained
staff dedicated to strong principles of conservation.
10. Encourage organizations to subscribe to environmental guidelines. ASTA urges
organizations to adopt their own environmental codes to cover special sties and
ecosystems.

Travel is a natural right of all people and is a crucial ingredient of world peace and
understanding. With that right, come responsibilities. ASTA encourages the growth of
peaceful tourism and environmentally responsible travel.

Global Codes of Ethics for Tourism

Tourism's contribution to mutual understanding and respect between

[Article 1]
peoples and societies

1. The understanding and promotion of the ethical values common to

humanity, with an attitude of tolerance and respect for the diversity of
religious, philosophical and moral beliefs, are both the foundation and the
consequence of responsible tourism; stakeholders in tourism development
and tourists themselves should observe the social and cultural traditions
and practices of all peoples, including those of minorities and indigenous
peoples and to recognize their worth;

2. Tourism activities should be conducted in harmony with the attributes and

traditions of the host regions and countries and in respect for their laws,
practices and customs;

3. The host communities, on the one hand, and local professionals, on the
other, should acquaint themselves with and respect the tourists who visit
them and find out about their lifestyles, tastes and expectations; the
education and training imparted to professionals contribute to a hospitable
welcome;
 4. It is the task of the public authorities to provide protection for tourists and
visitors and their belongings; they must pay particular attention to the
safety of foreign tourists owing to the particular vulnerability they may
have; they should facilitate the introduction of specific means of
information, prevention, security, insurance and assistance consistent with
their needs; any attacks, assaults, kidnappings or threats against tourists
or workers in the tourism industry, as well as the willful destruction of
tourism facilities or of elements of cultural or natural heritage should be
severely condemned and punished in accordance with their respective
national laws;

5. When travelling, tourists and visitors should not commit any criminal act or
any act considered criminal by the laws of the country visited and abstain
from any conduct felt to be offensive or injurious by the local populations,
or likely to damage the local environment; they should refrain from all
trafficking in illicit drugs, arms, antiques, protected species and products
and substances that are dangerous or prohibited by national regulations;

6. Tourists and visitors have the responsibility to acquaint themselves, even

before their departure, with the characteristics of the countries they are
preparing to visit; they must be aware of the health and security risks
inherent in any travel outside their usual environment and behave in such
a way as to minimize those risks;

[Article 2] Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfillment

1. Tourism, the activity most frequently associated with rest and relaxation, sport
and access to culture and nature, should be planned and practiced as a
privileged means of individual and collective fulfillment; when practiced with a
sufficiently open mind, it is an irreplaceable factor of self-education, mutual
tolerance and for learning about the legitimate differences between peoples and
cultures and their diversity;

2. Tourism activities should respect the equality of men and women; they should
promote human rights and, more particularly, the individual rights of the most
vulnerable groups, notably children, the elderly, the handicapped, ethnic
minorities and indigenous peoples;

3. The exploitation of human beings in any form, particularly sexual, especially

when applied to children, conflicts with the fundamental aims of tourism and is
the negation of tourism; as such, in accordance with international law, it should
be energetically combatted with the cooperation of all the States concerned and
penalized without concession by the national legislation of both the countries
visited and the countries of the perpetrators of these acts, even when they are
carried out abroad;
 4. Travel for purposes of religion, health, education and cultural or linguistic
exchanges are particularly beneficial forms of tourism, which deserve
encouragement;

5. The introduction into curricula of education about the value of tourist exchanges,
their economic, social and cultural benefits, and also their risks, should be
encouraged;

[Article 3] Tourism, a factor of sustainable development

1. All the stakeholders in tourism development should safeguard the natural

environment with a view to achieving sound, continuous and sustainable
economic growth geared to satisfying equitably the needs and aspirations of
present and future generations;

2. All forms of tourism development that are conducive to saving rare and precious
resources, in particular water and energy, as well as avoiding so far as possible
waste production, should be given priority and encouraged by national, regional
and local public authorities;

3. The staggering in time and space of tourist and visitor flows, particularly those
resulting from paid leave and school holidays, and a more even distribution of
holidays should be sought so as to reduce the pressure of tourism activity on the
environment and enhance its beneficial impact on the tourism industry and the
local economy;

4. Tourism infrastructure should be designed and tourism activities programmed in

such a way as to protect the natural heritage composed of ecosystems and
biodiversity and to preserve endangered species of wildlife; the stakeholders in
tourism development, and especially professionals, should agree to the
imposition of limitations or constraints on their activities when these are
exercised in particularly sensitive areas: desert, polar or high mountain regions,
coastal areas, tropical forests or wetlands, propitious to the creation of nature
reserves or protected areas;

5. Nature tourism and ecotourism are recognized as being particularly conducive to

enriching and enhancing the standing of tourism, provided they respect the
natural heritage and local populations and are in keeping with the carrying
capacity of the sites;

Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and contributor to its

[Article 4]
enhancement
 1. Tourism resources belong to the common heritage of mankind; the
communities in whose territories they are situated have particular rights
and obligations to them;

2. Tourism policies and activities should be conducted with respect for the
artistic, archaeological and cultural heritage, which they should protect
and pass on to future generations; particular care should be devoted to
preserving and upgrading monuments, shrines and museums as well as
archaeological and historic sites which must be widely open to tourist
visits; encouragement should be given to public access to privately-owned
cultural property and monuments, with respect for the rights of their
owners, as well as to religious buildings, without prejudice to normal
needs of worship;

3. Financial resources derived from visits to cultural sites and monuments

should, at least in part, be used for the upkeep, safeguard, development
and embellishment of this heritage;

4. Tourism activity should be planned in such a way as to allow traditional

cultural products, crafts and folklore to survive and flourish, rather than
causing them to degenerate and become standardized;

[Article 5] Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities

1. Local populations should be associated with tourism activities and share

equitably in the economic, social and cultural benefits they generate, and
particularly in the creation of direct and indirect jobs resulting from them;

2. Tourism policies should be applied in such a way as to help to raise the

standard of living of the populations of the regions visited and meet their
needs; the planning and architectural approach to and operation of
tourism resorts and accommodation should aim to integrate them, to the
extent possible, in the local economic and social fabric; where skills are
equal, priority should be given to local manpower;

3. Special attention should be paid to the specific problems of coastal areas

and island territories and to vulnerable rural or mountain regions, for which
tourism often represents a rare opportunity for development in the face of
the decline of traditional economic activities;

4. Tourism professionals, particularly investors, governed by the regulations

laid down by the public authorities, should carry out studies of the impact
of their development projects on the environment and natural
surroundings; they should also deliver, with the greatest transparency and
objectivity, information on their future programmes and their foreseeable
 repercussions and foster dialogue on their contents with the populations
concerned;

[Article 6] Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development

1. Tourism professionals have an obligation to provide tourists with objective

and honest information on their places of destination and on the conditions
of travel, hospitality and stays; they should ensure that the contractual
clauses proposed to their customers are readily understandable as to the
nature, price and quality of the services they commit themselves to
providing and the financial compensation payable by them in the event of
a unilateral breach of contract on their part;

2. Tourism professionals, insofar as it depends on them, should show

concern, in co-operation with the public authorities, for the security and
safety, accident prevention, health protection and food safety of those who
seek their services; likewise, they should ensure the existence of suitable
systems of insurance and assistance; they should accept the reporting
obligations prescribed by national regulations and pay fair compensation
in the event of failure to observe their contractual obligations

3. Tourism professionals, so far as this depends on them, should contribute

to the cultural and spiritual fulfilment of tourists and allow them, during
their travels, to practise their religions;

4. The public authorities of the generating States and the host countries, in
cooperation with the professionals concerned and their associations,
should ensure that the necessary mechanisms are in place for the
repatriation of tourists in the event of the bankruptcy of the enterprise that
organized their travel;

5. Governments have the right – and the duty - especially in a crisis, to

inform their nationals of the difficult circumstances, or even the dangers
they may encounter during their travels abroad; it is their responsibility
however to issue such information without prejudicing in an unjustified or
exaggerated manner the tourism industry of the host countries and the
interests of their own operators; the contents of travel advisories should
therefore be discussed beforehand with the authorities of the host
countries and the professionals concerned; recommendations formulated
should be strictly proportionate to the gravity of the situations encountered
and confined to the geographical areas where the insecurity has arisen;
such advisories should be qualified or cancelled as soon as a return to
normality permits;

6. The press, and particularly the specialized travel press and the other
media, including modern means of electronic communication, should issue
 honest and balanced information on events and situations that could
influence the flow of tourists; they should also provide accurate and
reliable information to the consumers of tourism services; the new
communication and electronic commerce technologies should also be
developed and used for this purpose; as is the case for the media, they
should not in any way promote sex tourism;

[Article 7] Right to tourism

1. The prospect of direct and personal access to the discovery and

enjoyment of the planet’s resources constitutes a right equally open to all
the world’s inhabitants; the increasingly extensive participation in national
and international tourism should be regarded as one of the best possible
expressions of the sustained growth of free time, and obstacles should not
be placed in its way;

2. The universal right to tourism must be regarded as the corollary of the

right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours
and periodic holidays with pay, guaranteed by Article 24 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7.d of the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
3. Social tourism, and in particular associative tourism, which facilitates
widespread access to leisure, travel and holidays, should be developed
with the support of the public authorities;

4. Family, youth, student and senior tourism and tourism for people with
disabilities, should be encouraged and facilitated;

[Article 8] Liberty of tourist movements

1. Tourists and visitors should benefit, in compliance with international law

and national legislation, from the liberty to move within their countries and
from one State to another, in accordance with Article 13 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights; they should have access to places of transit
and stay and to tourism and cultural sites without being subject to
excessive formalities or discrimination;

2. Tourists and visitors should have access to all available forms of

communication, internal or external; they should benefit from prompt and
easy access to local administrative, legal and health services; they should
be free to contact the consular representatives of their countries of origin
in compliance with the diplomatic conventions in force;

3. Tourists and visitors should benefit from the same rights as the citizens of
the country visited concerning the confidentiality of the personal data and
 information concerning them, especially when these are stored
electronically;

4. Administrative procedures relating to border crossings whether they fall

within the competence of States or result from international agreements,
such as visas or health and customs formalities, should be adapted, so far
as possible, so as to facilitate to the maximum freedom of travel and
widespread access to international tourism; agreements between groups
of countries to harmonize and simplify these procedures should be
encouraged; specific taxes and levies penalizing the tourism industry and
undermining its competitiveness should be gradually phased out or
corrected;

5. So far as the economic situation of the countries from which they come
permits, travelers should have access to allowances of convertible
currencies needed for their travels;

[Article 9] Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry

1. The fundamental rights of salaried and self-employed workers in the

tourism industry and related activities, should be guaranteed under the
supervision of the national and local administrations, both of their States of
origin and of the host countries with particular care, given the specific
constraints linked in particular to the seasonality of their activity, the global
dimension of their industry and the flexibility often required of them by the
nature of their work;

2. Salaried and self-employed workers in the tourism industry and related

activities have the right and the duty to acquire appropriate initial and
continuous training; they should be given adequate social protection; job
insecurity should be limited so far as possible; and a specific status, with
particular regard to their social welfare, should be offered to seasonal
workers in the sector;

3. Any natural or legal person, provided he, she or it has the necessary
abilities and skills, should be entitled to develop a professional activity in
the field of tourism under existing national laws; entrepreneurs and
investors - especially in the area of small and medium-sized enterprises -
should be entitled to free access to the tourism sector with a minimum of
legal or administrative restrictions;

4. Exchanges of experience offered to executives and workers, whether

salaried or not, from different countries, contributes to foster the
development of the world tourism industry; these movements should be
facilitated so far as possible in compliance with the applicable national
laws and international conventions;
 5. As an irreplaceable factor of solidarity in the development and dynamic
growth of international exchanges, multinational enterprises of the tourism
industry should not exploit the dominant positions they sometimes occupy;
they should avoid becoming the vehicles of cultural and social models
artificially imposed on the host communities; in exchange for their freedom
to invest and trade which should be fully recognized, they should involve
themselves in local development, avoiding, by the excessive repatriation
of their profits or their induced imports, a reduction of their contribution to
the economies in which they are established;

6. Partnership and the establishment of balanced relations between

enterprises of generating and receiving countries contribute to the
sustainable development of tourism and an equitable distribution of the
benefits of its growth;

[Article 10] Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for
Tourism

1. The public and private stakeholders in tourism development should

cooperate in the implementation of these principles and monitor their
effective application;

2. The stakeholders in tourism development should recognize the role of

international institutions, among which the World Tourism Organization
ranks first, and non-governmental organizations with competence in the
field of tourism promotion and development, the protection of human
rights, the environment or health, with due respect for the general
principles of international law;

3. The same stakeholders should demonstrate their intention to refer any

disputes concerning the application or interpretation of the Global Code of
Ethics for Tourism for conciliation to an impartial third body known as the
World Committee on Tourism Ethics.

Source: World Tourism Organization, 1999

Ecotourism Industry: "The businesses that directly interacts with the ecotourist to facilitate the
ecotourism experience from the planning stage through to completion" (Weaver, 2001, pg. 131)

Structure of the Ecotourism Industry

Specialized and non-specialized operations

Travel Agents / Retailers: sell air and land travel products.

Outbound Tour Operators: the primary sales and marketing organizations.

Inbound Tour Operators: companies that provide the daily services for tour operators in
a local destination or country.

Ecolodges / Accommodations: operate local nature dependent lodges, guides and

interpretive services.

Local Vendors: offer a wide variety of local services from ground transportation, guides,
equipment and activities.

Types of ecotourists trips:

 organized tours (formal packages): usually preferred by "soft" ecotourists

 free and independent traveler (FIT): usually preferred by "hard" ecotourists.

Examples of Specialized Operations

 ecolodges
 protected areas
 mediating attractions
 local tour operators

Examples of Non-Specialized Operations

 airlines
 transit busses

Business Participants

private sector
communities (NGO's and the public sector)

Business Planning - creating a business plan can reduce business failures by 60%

Mission statement
Situational analysis (SWOT)
Marketing
Financial analysis and operational strategies

Business Sectors

guidebooks and supplies

 travel agencies
tour wholesalers and operators (inbound and local)
Accommodation - ecolodges: "Nature-dependent tourist lodge that meets the
philosophy and principles of ecotourism." (Russell, Bottrill and Meredith, 1995, pg.
147).
trends
Protected areas
Mediating attractions

Ecotourism Building Types

 
Indigenous structures
Historical building
Prefabricated structure
Portable and low impact structures

Sustainable Design

When planning a new facility it is important that the size of the facility must not exceed
the ability of the environment to sustain it. The long-term objective of sustainable design
is the minimization of resource degradation and consumption on a global scale.

Environmental Designs

Architectural designs should be integrated into the environment in which they are
constructed. They should fulfill the visitor's expectations, often through a spectrum of
lodging options from minimum conveniences such as tents to individual rooms with
private baths and other amenities.

Facility designs should go beyond the basics of a shelter to mirror the setting and meet
the requirements for visitors’ needs and comfort

Interpretation

Interpretation is critical to any ecotourism business. Interpretation can enhance visitor

satisfaction; carrying capacity; and other consumer behavior.

Five Principles of Interpretation

 
Avoid fact oriented "academic" instruction style.
Interpretation should be enjoyable for visitors.
Interpretation should be relevant.
Interpretation should be organized and easy to follow.
Focus on themes rather than simple topics or subject matter.

Off-site Interpretation: guidebooks, Internet, promotional materials

On-site Interpretation: self-guided walks/cars, visitor guidelines and guided tours.

Quality Control

An on-going concern in the ecotourism industry is the variability of quality control in the
many businesses associated with the industry. With many new business start-ups every
year, quality control has been difficult to maintain.

Quality control relates to satisfying the tourist and conducting business in an

environmentally and socio-culturally sustainable way.
 

codes of conduct/practice
compliance to codes of conduct/practice
accreditation (NEAP)
quality system
certification

Codes of Conduct

Codes of conduct for visitors should be written in a friendly way to encourage the
visitors’ cooperation. It should be visually attractive, informative and educational.

Visitor Guidelines: are important tools in reducing visitor impacts. Guidelines are used to
inform and educate visitors about appropriate behavior to protect sensitive ecological
and cultural settings. Visitor guidelines are cost-effective and have a significant impact
on visitor management.

Types of Guidelines

Guidelines are targeted to specific audiences or visitor types.

 

Tour Groups
Boaters, snorkelers, divers
Unescorted day-use visitors
Souvenir hunters
Campers & backpackers
Bird watchers
Scientists
Bicyclists
Collectors
All terrain vehicle users
Photographers
Cross-country skiers
Filmmakers
 Snowmobilers
Tour guides
Hospitality workers
Shop employees
Information staff

Certification-based ecolabels

Ecolabels are methods to standardize the promotion of environmental claims by

meeting set criteria, developed by a third party with impartial verification.
 

Certification results from meeting standard professional criteria for a product or

service.
Accreditation is approval to continue certifying quality products and businesses.