The World Tourism Organization (OMT), on the basis of the definition of sustainable development, affirms that the development of sustainable tourism responds to the needs of the tourists and the regional hosts both protecting and improving the future for new opportunities.
The Central American Tourism Chamber defines it as: a tourism activity which involves itself in the ecosystem and the utilization of renewable resources in order to benefit communities where the activity takes place.
This type of tourism focuses on the essential management of all resources in order to satisfy economic, social and aesthetic needs, while respecting cultural integrity, ecological processes, biological diversity and all systems that support life.
This is the way some countries have already begun to address this topic. Such has been the case of Costa Rica that with the objective of becoming the first 100% sustainable destination in the world, as well as the first country with zero carbon emissions by 2021.
The neighboring country will promote more hotels and tour operators in this respect to certify that their businesses are environmentally friendly through the Certificado de Sostenibilidad Turística (Tourism Certificate of Sustainability (CST)).
The program, created in 1999, tries to categorize and certify tourism related companies in agreement with the degree in which their operations come near a model of sustainability; nevertheless, the advance has been slow as the supply of evaluators is far lower than the demand of the companies.
The spokesman noted there is no doubt there are countries like Costa Rica that are further ahead on this matter, as they have been working with international organizations for the preservation of the planet for many years.
Actions have also been taken by trade associations, recently the Panamanian Association of Sustainable Tourism was created (APTSO), with more than 70 individual and corporate members to date.
Annie Young, President of APTSO indicated that Panamá has a new tourism master plan which, “propels sustainable tourist development through the improvement of the institutional capacity at a national and regional level (the development of human resources, investigation and better sector planning including the government), and locally (the development of the community which promotes it).
"In order for Panama to think about certification of sustainable tourism it’s very important to become aware of what sustainable tourism is; although the word is widely used, many of the practices are still unknown."
Among sustainable practices for tourism companies, as well as not touristic, are the maximum reduction of residual water, diminishing water consumption. When decisions related to nature are made, local plants and trees must be chosen, requiring less use of water, fertilizers and pesticides as well as biodegrading detergents. A program should be established in order to treat solid residues, based on the three “R’s”, reduce, re utilize, and recycle. Wild animals should not be kept in captivity, the use renewable energy sources, to name a few.
Annie Young explained that very few hotels and operators practice sustainable tourism in Panamá due to lack of knowledge. Some hotels and tourism companies in Panamá are recognized internationally for their practices of responsible tourism.
APTSO in conjunction with AviFauna, the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (Ancón) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), are working on the initiation of practical guides of sustainable tourism which are expected to become a tool for Panamanian tourism companies. Such guide is a manual for tour operators, hotels and communities. They are actions to be implemented in the short, mid and long term range.
In addition they are working on a sustainable tourism directory to be edited on CD, to be promoted internationally at fairs and tourist events and on a website.
For Scott Muller, vice-president of APTSO and one of the authors of the guides of sustainable tourism of the Agreement of Biological Diversity (CBD) which Panamá ratified through Law 2 of 1995, believes that the initiative of Costa Rica to become the first destination in the world with 100% sustainable tourism is a good intention and recognizes that “if there is a thing which make Ticos better than us, is their advertising and trade“.
To certify or not to certify
But do tourists value more a country with certification, over one which doesn’t Muller says that “the market in many cases is established when tourists discover it’s not sustainable, they disappear. But mainly, the monitoring of impacts from tourism is extremely important.“
He indicated in comparison to other countries of the region the process of sustainability in Panamá is “inclusive and there are many examples where it’s working in an excellent way“. For example, one practice of sustainable tourism in Panamá are the Canopy Tower tours, Eco-circuitos Panamá, the AviFauna operations, the “La Montaña y el Valle” Hotel, Tropical Expeditions and their aquatic paths, the town of Tigre in the Kuna Yala region, to name a few.
For instance, as far as tour operated Ecocircuitos Panamá is concerned, they train their guides and customers not to feed artificially wild animals, they provide bottled water to their employees and customers in order to responsibly use natural resources such as water. They recycle paper, plastic and ink; they are firm believers in responsible purchasing practices.
He also indicated it’s really difficult to certify sustainability practices since the concept is tied to the present reality and changes between cultures and times. There is not one single definition. We speak of sustainability when there is a “Co-evolution” between the players who participate in this change. In this sense, APTSO makes the co-evolution possible between the private sector, the tourists, the natural and cultural heritage, and the government.
The certification, according to Muller excludes people who do not have the means and frequently the use of non-government agencies. Nevertheless, the Panamanian tourism industry wants the players of this change to operate under an environmental, social and cultural umbrella. “It’s not necessary to certify oneself to be sustainable”, stated the spokesman.
Stocks
At the trade level, APTSO has begun a series of actions to motivate sustainable practices. For example, they have made forums of sustainable tourism through the exchange of experiences and successful examples. For instance in Panama we have: Canopy Tower tours, Tranquilo Bay, Punta Caracol and Cala Mia as hotels of success. These are companies that take advantage of their privileged location and understand that tourism today is very interrelated with an environmental and cultural experience. Although they are not registered they promote these practices.
APTSO has also carried out a diffusion of objectives, exchange of experiences with the local industry and the successful experiences of other countries. In addition they have created alliances with local nongovernmental organizations like Ancon and AviFauna and with international organizations such as The Travel Foundation of the United Kingdom.
The Organization doesn’t yet provide certification, but hopes to be an organization which recognizes local tourism companies which fulfill a worthy program in sustainable tourism.
At the moment it’s important for APTSO to finalize the sustainable practice guides which will be an excellent tool for companies wishing to start practicing sustainable tourism.
Carbon emissions free
In the case of Costa Rica their strategy looks for the tourism industry to incorporate practices to mitigate the climatic impact change, they set out as their goal to become a neutral destination in carbon emissions by 2021.
As of that date, all companies of the tourism sector will have to implement practical measurable practices for the mitigation and compensation of the greenhouse gas effect.
This strategy will be developed in two fundamental stages; first the transportation sector, which generates 80% of the greenhouse gas effect, and the hotel sector, making emphasis on the use of electrical energy.
With regard to the greenhouse gas effect, Panamá has a great challenge ahead, in this country in year 1990 the emissions reached the 3,134,180 tons of CO2, which was almost twice as much in 2005 with 5,894,020 tons of CO2.
From: The Panama Post
www.thepanamapost.com
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