The Lowe Down
'ECOTOURISM'
What began in the late 1980's with rustic lodges in Central America, where jungle trekking, wildlife viewing and interaction with indigenous communities replaced stilted cultural shows and canned excursions, has now expanded into the multi-million dollar ecotourism industry.
Also known as ecological tourism, it has become the fastest growing sector of the hospitality industry. While many believe it is the answer to decades of insensitivity and cultural imperialism on behalf of hotels and tour operators that have long been accused of funneling most of its profits overseas with minimal benefit to the local communities. Others feel it is merely green washing, an elaborate effort to divert guests’ attention away from the destructive effect their visit has on the local environment.
Over the preceding decade, Vietnam's tourism industry has been recording double-digit growth, yet the local ecotourism industry is the exception, as yet it has not coalesced into a critical mass of lodging choices for inbound travelers.
Where is Vietnam's fledgling ecotourism industry heading and is it a solution to solve the ills of mass tourism?
Ecotourism in the Region
Southeast Asia is a region of staggering cultural and ecological richness. Vietnam’s neighbors are better known as ecotourism destinations.
‘Vietnam is not yet known as an eco destination, like Laos,’ says Maeve Nolan, the Travel Agency Marketing manager for Exotissimo. ‘Even Cambodia has more of an image as an ‘eco’ destination than Vietnam, where mass tourism is more the norm.’
Laos’ Bokeo province features the Gibbon Experience, where guests can see rare black cheeked crested gibbons. Bird watching is popular on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, and Thailand’s northern provincial capital of Chiang Mai features plenty of jungle lodges with soft adventure activities that benefit the local communities.
Vietnam has yet to develop a ‘niche’ ecotourist product like those available in neighboring countries: type in the words 'ecolodge in Vietnam' in a search engine like google.com, and very few names appear.
The Topas Eco Lodge, situated near Sapa, is one of them. As an initiative of a Danish travel company of the same name, it is the only hotel in the Tonkinese Alps with a completely ecological
approach to both its construction and relationship to the local community. Constructed with locally sourced materials (the walls are made of white granite gathered from a nearby quarry, and the roofs are fabricated with natural palm thatch) Topas is staffed with local residents, ensuring the benefits of the income generated is returned to the community.
‘Most of our clients are from northern Europe, and Scandinavia,’ says Peter Michaelsen, general manager at Topas, ‘where the ecotourism concept is well understood, and in high demand.’
Trekking and organized visits to the nearby markets are the most popular activities for guests, attracted to this remote corner of Vietnam.
Initiative, but Lack of Regulation
The International EcoTourism Society or TIES as it is also known, (www.ecotourism.org) was established in 1990, at the world’s first conference dedicated to ecotourism in US state of Florida.
With the publication of Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners and Managers and the Ecotourism Guidelines for Nature Tour Operators pamphlet, TIES has remained the globe’s largest and most proactive advocate for this fast growing industry. With a core focus on the construction of ecolodges and implementing steps to preserve the fragile rainforest environment, TIES has also produced guidelines for marine ecotourism.
However, as strictly a member organization, available for institutions, professionals, organizations and individual travelers, the guidelines put forth by TIES may be comprehensive, but do not push for certification of all industry players at an international or local level, leaving the door open for misunderstanding, and in rare cases, abuse.
‘The concept and definition of ‘ecotourism’ in Vietnam is not generally understood by private tour operators and the industry in general here,’ laments Duyen Anh Pham, of the Dutch Development Organization, SNV that currently manages projects in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan and Nepal with other projects further afield in Africa and South America. ‘More needs to be done on the governmental level to educate travel industry professionals to the definition of this concept, so it is correctly implemented and followed.’
Peter Michaelsen agrees. ‘The lack of understanding is more of an issue in Vietnam than deliberate misinformation of guests about operators’ ecological efforts.’
With tour operators and hotels able to choose joining organizations like the Ecotourism Society, rather than be audited by national or international regulations, as they are for taxation and health and safety, widespread change in attitude and practice is difficult to be expected in an industry that is one of the world’s largest employers, and one of the largest polluters. This situation has forced some operators to enforce their eco commitment themselves.
Self-Imposed Eco Commitment
The lack of regulation and certification has left some tour operators in Vietnam no choice but to take the issue of environmentalism into the own hands, creating self imposed guidelines to protect the earth.
I Travel, an agency based in Hanoi, offers home stays in the village of Ta Phin, near Sapa, to international travelers. Brighe Reed, one of I Travel’s founders, explains how their unique Positive Impact of Tourism rules were developed.
‘I looked at many sources as I compiled this list, and put it all together. I also added a lot of extra ideas to make the document.’
(include selected terms from the Positive Impact Tourism in article)
When questioned about her opinion of the ecotourism slant in the industry, Brighe says, ‘Of course, one person's perception of what is green can be very different to another, and to be completely green is nearly impossible especially when traveling…. and there is no doubt ecotourism is a marketing strategy for some operators.’
With several groundbreaking projects in Vietnam, Flora Fauna International (FFI) is making a difference through primate, gibbon and forest protection across the country, including one located in the Hoang Lien mountains, where the balance of needs between locals and the forest’s protection are balanced.
Perhaps the most interesting project spearheaded by FFI is the Eco Boat that takes local Vietnamese teenagers out onto Halong Bay to better understand the complex ecosystem there and the pressures of ecological degradation that threaten it.
Functioning as a floating classroom, the EcoBoat takes groups of up to thirty students onto the World Heritage listed site on a full day, hands-on experience encounter, that includes the exploration of hidden caves, kayak excursions, interviews with local fishermen, and replanting mangrove forests.
‘The biggest issue of the 21st century is man's stewardship of the planet,’ says David Brown, manager of the Eco Boat. ‘Vietnam is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity, but this natural wealth is not self-sustaining in the face of an ethic (much like ours in the West not so many years ago) that resources are there to be used and are from the perspective of the individual, infinite.’
In less than two years, over 2,000 students have taken a trip aboard the Eco Boat. With a leadership a mixture of Vietnamese and foreigners, the aim of the project is to ensure all activities are up to an international standard. Through FFI’s own publication, Lessons from the EcoBoat, and numerous magazine articles and TV programs, the word is getting out of the importance to protect the environment.
Voluntourism
A trend that is in even more of an infant stage in Vietnam is voluntourism. Taking ecotourism one step further, voluntourism connects travelers with projects ranging from tagging whale sharks in Honduras to turtle nesting projects in Malaysia to rural development initiatives in India. Incorporating these activities within a traditional vacation, it is a fast growing sub niche of ecotourism.
While Cambodia is better known for voluntourism, Vietnam has hosted groups from the UK based Charity Challenge, where income from treks in the mountains north of Sapa has helped support local projects.
Critics of Ecotourism
With the lack of international standards defining what qualifies a property as ‘eco’ make for a pretty confusing situation for guests eager to patronize hotels that have gone the extra step to protect the environment. This is worsened by an almost complete lack of enforcement, on the local, national or international level, giving plenty an unscrupulous hotel the chance to stretch their ecological commitment.
Visit an international travel trade show like WTM in London or ITB in Berlin, and plenty of hotels claim to be green. When pressed for more information, the hotel often has little proof to back up their claim. So lucrative is the 'ecotourism' tag that critics claim the term ‘ecotourism’ is merely green washing by an industry long associated with cultural and environmental degradation.
Further weakened by a lack of concrete definition and international regulation, virtually any hotel can claim ecolodge status, misleading guests as they hide their lack of recycling facilities and initiatives to help the local population.
‘Most of what is advertised in Vietnam as "green" or 'ecotourism' is in fact not,’ says David Brown. ‘Simply visiting a 'green' setting (arriving in an SUV, leaving behind the trash) is not “ecotourism.’ There are a handful of operators genuinely intent on 'small footprint' encounters with nature -- they can be identified by a few minutes casual conversation.’
The Future
Many of those pushing for change in the tourism industry believe it is sustainable tourism, rather than ecotourism, that better supports and even improves cultural practices, functioning less as a fad and more as a way of life. Even the International EcoTourism Society’s motto reads, ‘Uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel.’
But critics claim both expose isolated indigenous peoples to economic shocks their rural communities could never have imagined: when widespread violence erupted in Kenya due to the disputed results in recent elections, everyone from drivers to cooks to Masai villagers were suddenly out of work, as tourists cancelled their vacations in droves.
With the lack of regulation and enforcement, perhaps the real push for change lies in the hands of the consumers, the visitors themselves who should be asking more questions from their suppliers to ensure the environment and community they visit are harmed as little as possible. In fact, a recent Lonely Planet poll revealed that 79% of travelers want more ecological initiatives to reduce the impact of their visit.
‘Tourists should ask their hotels about their eco-commitment, and for any kind of certification they have earned through their efforts,’ remarks Peter Michaelsen from Topas Eco Lodge. ‘With a lack of an international framework, these will vary from country to country.’ After three years in Vietnam, the Topas is intending to expand the number of rooms offered to accommodate families, a key demographic in the ecotourist industry.
His beliefs are supported by colleagues within the travel industry.
‘At the moment ecotourism in Vietnam is in its infancy, but I think travelers will insist on higher environmental and social standards and as such we will have to conform to these, ‘ says Brighe Reed. ‘Vietnam has many stunning areas which have yet to be put on the traveler’s map. Managed correctly, it could be a win-win situation for the travelers and the local people.’
As all sectors of Vietnam’s tourism industry grow at some of the fastest rates in the world, there is no doubt that this tremendous change will have a negative impact on the environment.
‘The future is definitely bright for the Vietnamese ecotourism industry,’ remarks Pham Duyen Anh of SNV. ‘However, much more needs to be done in terms of education to assure a solid foundation is created for it to grow.’
Duyen Anh continues, ‘it is the responsibility of the tourist businesses and local authorities to see eco tourism as a way to ensure local communities benefit along with the environment.’
Industry leaders also believe it is up to the consumer to create critical mass of pressure on suppliers to bring real change, by asking the right questions, and based on the answers, voting with their dollars.
‘Until we have a way that tours can be assessed to reach a set level of green-ness, it is up to the customer to ask the right questions, to do the research and give feedback to the operators, agents and other travelers so the good stuff stays and the bad stuff gets pushed out.’
Web Resources
www.ecotourism.org
www.snvworld.org
www.itravel-online.com
www.topas-eco-lodge.com
www.fauna-flora.org
www.ecoboat.org