Your detailed and thorough post due by Wednesday@MIDNIGHT for full credit (A). Partial credit (C) can be earned by posting late, which is better than a ZERO.
Remember, weekly blogging is worth 1/3 of your entire semester grade.
Be sure to communicate with Dr. W as needed - rob.williams@madriver.com.
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ECOTOURISM – WHO OWNS PARADISE?, Chapter 2 (The World Travel Industry – Going
‘Green’?)
1) THESIS: IYOW, post a single sentence that captures the thesis for EACH CHAPTER/ SECTION of our reading.
2) EVIDENCE: Post and number THREE specific observations from EACH CHAPTER/SECTION of our reading(s) that supports your thesis.
Use 2-3 sentences for each observation, and combine direct quotations from the text (AUTHOR's LAST NAME, 27), with IYOW analysis.
3) QUESTION: Include in your post a SINGLE SPECIFIC question you'd ask the class based on our readings.
Thesis: Although travelers are going to see the destinations that have been well preserved and are continuing to be preserved, there are countless aspects of the travel industry as well as the ecotourism industry that in the grand scheme of things, are hurting the planet that we’re realistically trying to heal.
ReplyDeleteFact #1: “Despite the environmental initiatives, there has been growing awareness of the impact of air transportation on climate change” (Honey, 43). Since air transportation is one of the largest ways people get to and from travel destinations, this is an issue. Air transportation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gases which means that even though we’re trying to get to locations to see how they’ve been preserved and help them stay that way, we’re slowly killing our planet.
Fact #2:“Cruise ship vacations are the fastest growing sector of the leisure travel industry - with ship size and numbers, passengers, ports, and profits all on the rise” (Honey, 48). This statement isn’t as surprising to me as I thought it may be. However, I’ve been on a cruise before and even though it was a long time ago, they are definitely not eco-friendly. The amount of food thrown out and contaminated water dumped into the ocean over the course of however long the cruise may be certainly doesn’t help our ecosystem and in my mind doesn’t qualify as ecotourism.
Fact #3: “Ecotourism lite is propelled by travel agents, tour operators, airlines, and cruise lines, large hotel and resort chains, and international tourism organizations which promote quick, superficially “green” visits within conventional packages” (Honey, 68). This to me isn’t really ecotourism. When I think of ecotourism, I think of people doing activities outdoors on their own and finding different places that typical tourists wouldn’t go to see or using different means of transportation to immerse themselves within the culture of where they are more.
Question: What small, everyday act can we each do to improve the way we treat the ground that we walk on?
Thesis: Global travel and tourism is an industry just like any other, and as such it has been affected by deregulated corporate expansion ("free trade") and globalization. The principles of ecotourism fly in the face of turnstile tourism, and could potentially offer a less impactful—and more decentralized—option for eco-conscious tourists.
ReplyDelete1) GATS, "will edge out small, independent enterprises as transnational corporations and their affiliates, with the advantage of financial resources and technology, muscle their way in to control the tourist trade in countries in the South" (35). Once again, we see the symptoms of global Mcdonaldization affecting not only the economy, but also individuals who want no part in it. Ecotourism, in part, can help counteract (or at least temporarily stave off) these effects. Ecotourism is partially based on the idea of decentralization of the economy, and bringing back local economies. As such it is a kind of vaccine for globalization (in small part).
2) “The tourism industry that funnels travelers to developing countries is a complex, multilayered maze” (37). This quote, I believe, is an understatement. The obscenely complicated web that keeps the tourism industry alive is something that needs to have the fat cut out. It’s propped up by massive governmental (and WB) subsidizations, and is essentially kept alive through a cloud of misinformation. Instead of putting this subsidy money into corporate airlines, travel agencies, or advertising companies, it should be put into the local economies of these developing countries.
3) ‘“the highest peak in Disney’s Florida mountain range—Expedition EVEREST. This new mountain addition at Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s land of Asia rises from the mists nearly 200 feet!”’ (69). No. Just no. This form of pseudo-ecotourism, or ecotourism lite, is infuriating. It flies of the ecotourism principles, and creates a false paradigm that misleads people. This sort of phenomenon is what has been so crushing for Nepal.
Discussion Question: How do we change the paradigm of travel to ecotourism, when turnstile tourism has become entrenched in Mother Culture?
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ReplyDeleteThesis: The ecotourism industry, like all industries, is a business and with that there are many factors in ecotourism that could be hurting our planet. There is also the aspect of, one of the pillars of ecotourism is that it benefits the local people, but is it actually.
ReplyDelete1. Tourism is controlled through international trade agreements because it is a global industry that covers the globe. In 1990 there was an agreement to have free trade in tourism and open up the borders to allow international companies to create markets in developments in oftentimes developing tourist countries. These companies coming in pushed the local people out of their local tourist industry. This led to very little money from tourism actually getting into the hands of the local people, who this agreement was supposed to benefit. “This document, which was endorsed by a number of the large international corporations, made it clear that the industry coupled sustainable development and environmental protection with free trade, privatization, and government deregulation.” (Honey, 34). This document was a response to the 1992 earth Summit Declaration on the Environment and Development. This was the major travel industries trying to make money through the concept of ecotourism, but without actually abiding by it.
2. Tourism today as a business takes place in two parts, in the country of departure and the host country. The departure country is usually a developed nation and the host often times is a developing country. Much of the money involved in tourism is spent on the outbound. This means that most of the money people are spending on tourism is going to the departure or developed country. The smallest amount of money is spent when in the host country. This means that the money and economic benefit of tourism is mostly not going to the host country. “...due to the nature of the tourism industry; substantial fund are spent on marketing, commission, and transport before the tourist even reach the destination” (Honey, 37). This once again goes against of the founding concepts of ecotourism, which is that there should be a major economic benefit to the host countries.
3. Green-washing is also a major concern when discussing the business side of ecotourism. There have been major companies that have market themselves as ecotourism, solely for marketing purposes. The tourism industry is aware that ecotourism is currently a buzzword and is becoming very popular. By marketing their resort as an ecotourism destination, they could receive more tourists. This however, will lead to more and more companies using ecotourism as a selling term which will eventually take the meaning out of the term entirely. This also leads to money going to resorts that are not truly ecotourism destinations. ‘There are as well, a growing number of ecotourism awards that received considerable press coverage and are used by the winning companies for marketing on their websites and in their promotional material” (Honey, 64). This shows how ecotourism can be used as a selling point instead of an actual measurement of tourism.
Question: How can we avoid the green-washing of ecotourism?
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ReplyDeleteTHESIS: There are many stakeholders within tourism, which makes it difficult to fully and easily implement true ecotourism within all the elements of travel.
ReplyDelete1. It is hard to overcome the fact that at the core of travel, every stakeholder is trying to profit. Unfortunately, more often than not, the easiest and highest profits come from traditional ecotourism. “Chain hotels, airlines, and other multidimensional tourism companies, even when they support environmental protection and sustainable development, generally favor open borders and free trade” (Honey 34). This is to say that free trade is often chosen over fair and local trade, because of the high yielding profits.
2. Cruise ships are a prime example of the fast and significant profits that can be taken in with traditional travel. “ Currently luxury liners can dump sewage once they are three miles offshore, and can release other wastewater almost anywhere except in Alaskan waters. Ships carrying upwards of three thousand passengers and crew each produce about thirty thousand gallons of raw sewage a day-as much as a small city” (Honey 50). This quote shows the significance of the issue, and brings up the disregard for the environment that travel corporations have when it comes to making a profit.
3. “Ecotourism lite” can also be an issue when it comes to travel. This is when companies or travel agencies may make it seem like a destination is practicing ecotourism principles, when it is really just a very watered-down version. “When poorly planned, unregulated, and overhyped, ecotourism lite, like mass tourism or even traditional nature tourism can bring only marginal financial benefits but serious environmental or social consequences” (Honey 69).
Question: How can we communicate the importance of choosing ecotourism options over traditional travel options like cruise ships or disney to the older generations?
Chapter 2 Thesis: Businesses in the conventional tourism industry are attempting to follow the environmental initiative by changing small things in their practices to make it more “green,” but this term is too loosely used and then interferes with the true meaning of ecotourism.
ReplyDelete1. The conventional tourism industry is dominated by transnational corporations which are powerful in the sense that they are wealthy and seen all over the world. Non tourism companies in industrialized countries get involved too through funding and recommendations.
2. "Marketing techniques often allow the industry appear “green” without making fundamental or costly reforms” (Honey, 61). This adds to the idea that companies are “greenwashing” their practices because they can put “green” in their initiatives just to bring in more customers due to the lack of defined standards for being green.
3. “Greenwashing” mainstream tourism and ecotourism “lite” remain far too common. Honey says that ecotourism lite "Can bring only marginal financial benefits but serious environmental and social consequences” (69). Disney making 500 acres an African Savannah that people can stay in the US for is not going to help the locals or conserve the environment.
Question: Would setting specific standards that a business has to meet before they can say they are trying to be “green” help get rid of the idea of “greenwashing”? If we decide conventional tourism businesses that say they are trying to be greener are just trying to get short-term profit, would that take away from any of the businesses that are genuinely trying to better their practices?
Thesis: Although it can be a powerful tool when practiced properly, ecotourism as a term and as a trade is enveloped in confusion and misinformation collected over the years, and is not always the best or most beneficial option for all parties involved (the environment, the traveler, the local culture, people, and economy).
ReplyDeleteEvidence #1: For a large portion of this chapter, author Martha Honey walked readers through the “complex, multi-layered maze” that is the world tourism industry, the many parties involved in both the departure and host countries, and where ecotourism both differs from the mainstream travel and the areas in which it can be more difficult to be the most responsible traveler. Although ecotourists aim to support the local culture, people, and economy of wherever they go, the best option for traveling there is often flight, many of which are not cheap. Ecotourism expert Kreg Lindberg states that “much of the trip cost, and thus the economic benefit, remains with outbound operators and source country airlines” (Honey 37), in regards to the tradeoffs of overseas travel. Honey then brings up the point that one of the goals of ecotourism is for the money earned to go directly to the local/host country or community. Later on, Honey claims that traditionally, the “biggest-ticket item in an overseas holiday” has gone to the airlines, who are included in what Honey considers to be the part of the tourism industry the “least infused with ecotourism principles or practices”(Honey 40).
Evidence #2: “Travel industry leaders will argue the toss on whether ‘eco’ and ‘tourism’ can ever live happily together, but there will be shockingly little debate on whether there is any point in having the greenest of “green” eco-resorts in deepest Peru if all the wealthy, sandalled ‘ecotourists’ each burn six tonnes of carbon dioxide getting there and back” (Honey 43). This goes back to a question the chapter last week had me thinking about of whether or not the value of what you do once you arrive balances out or (hopefully) improves upon the impact of your travel to/from and presence in the destination. In this chapter, Honey offers an opinion on the topic, stating that “ecotourism is an increasingly important development tool for poor countries and communities as well as for biodiversity conservation” (Honey 43). She goes on to stress the importance of focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and possibilities for doing so not only in your travels, but in your daily life as a responsible earth citizen.
Evidence #3: Towards the end of the chapter, Honey describes the trend of essentially “dumbing down” of ecotourist destinations. “Increasing numbers of older, wealthier, and “softer” travelers have begun opting for comfort over conservation” (Honey 69). Not only does this subscription to an ecotourism-lite experience enable the broken cycle of benefits involved in a system that historically favors growth, profit, and environmental degradation, it encourages the mentality of being “entertained by nature, but not unduly concerned with its preservation” (Honey 69) as David Western stated.
QUESTION:
Do you think the term, “ecotourism” still has some life in it, or has it been exhausted by the buzz around it? Martha Honey thinks it would be silly to “abandon the concept because of its misuse or confusion” (Honey 70).
ECO-tourists, UNITE!
ReplyDeleteWonderful posts here.
ALL posts below this line = C/LATE.
#FightTurnstileT,
Dr. W
Thesis: Ecotourism has become hard for the common traveler to distinguish do to all the buss around the word and companies using it to promote regular tourism that just happens to be located in location of ecological interest.
ReplyDelete1. Much of the regular turnstile tourism is dominated by multi national industries. This lets them to have high control over what the general population knows about tourism. They have instilled in us the idea of what tourism is supposed to be. This makes it so we don't look at ecotourism in the same way as normal.
2. Companies are also using the idea of ecotourism to promote other kinds of tourism. Now that people are getting into the mindset of doing tours for ecological reasons big companies want to cash in. Creating green washed programs that result in funds being diverted from real projects.
3. Even programs that promote actual ecotourism can do more harm then good if not properly planed. They often take place in locations of fragile ecosystems so if done poorly can result in a net negative.
Q.how much are we willing to risk in order to promote education on the environment?
Thesis: There are many threats to Ecotourism, from within and without. Many of the old world institutions are corrupting ecotourism by trying to mask their unsustainable actions behind a mask of calling themselves eco-tourist. This is why we need to ensure that REAL eco-tourism takes hold and is kept in check and held to some standards.
ReplyDelete1) “The tourism industry has been dominated by transnational corporations that are, on one hand, becoming increasingly interlinked and consolidated and, on the other, spreading around the world and penetrating new markets,” (Honey, 38) I very much am satisfied with this snapshot of the tourism industry. On one hand it is such a driver for globalization and interconnection between different cultures and creeds, but it also links our trade, and facilitates the flow of good from areas of supply to regions of demand. Historically tourism was only for trade, look at Marco Polo and the Silk Road: we created supply lines and eventually shared our cultures, our histories and our values with each-other. Ecotourism is going to be the future of this travel, picking up the slack created by profit-based businesses.
2) “Given these realities, fan trips are imperative but the obvious danger is of travel writers losing their independence,” (Honey, 57) this is something I have seen first hand in Jamaica: the reviewers and the information that the hotels give you is actually misinformed and biased to the all-inclusive resorts favor. This is extremely dangerous, especially for a place like Jamaica, where you have people working on the resorts or a lot of low-income rural jobs. When these resorts push you to stay on their area because its inclusive, you end up not really ever supporting the local peoples. The money barely goes to the workers, or the community. Furthermore, only when you leave the resorts do you really enter a country.
3) “When poorly planned, unregulated, and overhyped, ecotourism lite, like mass tourism or even traditional nature tourism, can bring only marginal financial benefits but serious environmental and social consequences,” (Honey, 69) so before I agree with the main point, I’m going to nitpick: there is NO way that ecotourism lite provides ‘marginal financial benefits’, I’m sorry Ms. Honey, but you are biased. Disney world is a massive source of revenue, same with many of the other ecotourism lite places she mentioned. To negate their financial benefits seems like a lie to me, she's just trying to make them seem less attractive. To be fair I agree that ecotourism lite is a very dangerous beast, those who think they are bing sustainable may just assume that what they are doing is right while they are really causing harm. I hope that when we are in Nepal we don’t see the dark side of ecotourism.