Network for Environmentally- & Socially-Sustainable Tourism (Thailand)

A core extension programme, Greening Tourism's aim is to support moves towards more sustainable practices in the tourism industry. NESSThai and friends (including volunteers from environmental consultancies) will provide technical support, information and research results to any and all interested tourism operators.� NESSThai will also help tourism operators to assess their impact on the environment and to develop means to minimise adverse impacts. Tourism operators will be encouraged to work with local communities (where this is not already happening) and to explore opportunities to provide direct benefits from tourism to those communities affected by tourism.

Greening Tourism Project

In the long-term, it is the goal of NESSThai to support changes in behaviour among tourists and tourism operators to reduce the impact of tourism on the environment and local communities. Our Greening Tourism project is non-exclusive. We want to work with all tourism operators of every kind. The reasoning behind this is simple, if the environmental effects of the tourism industry are to be addressed, there is no aspect of the tourism industry which will not have to make an effort to be "greener" and "more sustainable".

Nonetheless we recognise that there are some operators who are making a very real effort to minimise adverse impacts and to ensure that the positive benefits of tourism are felt in conservation, by the tourists, and by local communities. Wherever possible, we would like to work with these operators to develop a core (or even chore) of committed individuals who have made "sustainable tourism" practices work on the ground. These operations can offer ideas and examples to other operators who are less than convinced of the merits of adopting more sustainable practices.

Benefits to Greening

As discussed above, it is quite clear that environmental quality is part of the tourism product. Hotels spend enormous amounts of money on interior decorations, gardens, etc., and can charge extra prices for rooms with pleasant views etc. Hotels with a reputation for an exclusive and pristine location can afford to invest in a small number of rooms for which they can charge large room rates. Hotels in less salubrious or beautiful areas may have additional operating and investment costs in creating a pleasant environment for their guests. Tourism operators near the sea need the sea to be clean, as well as the beaches, if they are to continue to attract visitors. Tour operators would prefer the hill-tribe villages they visit to present "authentic" hill tribe culture, and not be over-crowded by swarms of tourists from other groups.

The rest of the world is not within the direct control of the tourism operator. However, by making an effort to reduce tourism's adverse effects on the environment and culture, tourism operators can benefit through reduced operating costs as consumption is reduced, and through enhancing their market position, as their efforts to sustain environmental quality and community spirit are recognised and appreciated by discerning visitors. Tourism operators and their staff will also be provided with additional information on the environment and on their business (and how important the environment and culture of the area is to their business). Staff will be trained in nature and cultural interpretation to offer better service to the operations' guests. We hope that guests will gain more from their vacation experiences and perhaps learn to respect the local culture and environment more profoundly as a result of their greater knowledge.

Participating in the Project

For tourism operators interested in working with us, basically we will work with you in the following way: first, we will undertake a brief environmental review of your facility. We will review the activities at or during your hotel, resort or tour, and provide you with feedback on how this may affect the environment adversely. Afterwards, we will work with you to discuss all these impacts on the environment, and try to understand how they may affect your business in the long run. We will then work with you to identify where there may be benefits to changes in behaviour to reduce adverse impacts, and to develop some goals. We will then work with you to prioritise these goals, and to develop a programme to achieve them. We will also provide you support in developing programmes to monitor and review whether the goals you have set yourselves are being achieved. The amount of work you need to put in will vary depending on how well organised your operation already is, what kind of operation it is, how much support you need, and how big an operation you have.

Check Back in a While and See....

On-Line Forms to Submit:

Examples of model operators - Visitors, this is your chance to choose the operators you think are doing the best job at making tourism more sustainable.

Tourism operators interested in working with us - Tourism operators, if you think you might be interested in working with us, and you believe either that you are doing so well you would like to share your experiences and expertise with others, or that you know you need to improve, but you're not sure how, this is your chance to tell us about yourselves.

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