1. PRESENTATION TO HONG KONG COMMITTEE FOR PEC SUSTAINABLE TOURISM SEMINAR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT MODEL FOR HONG KONG By Ian Kean, Executive Director of AICST
FRIDAY 15TH APRIL 2005

3. THE BIRTH OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Tourism grew from developments in ships & aeroplanes
International tourism commenced in early seventies
Countries welcomed tourism without understanding the opportunities & impacts – started their own airlines
Hong Kong has a history of visiting traders
During the 70s & 80s tourism & travel grew dramatically
Governments & Industry played catch-up to try to keep up
A tourism industry was born
Today 22 million visitors to HK – 25% from the mainland
Visitor impacts led to push for “sustainable tourism”

4. THE EARLY DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Early 90s:
A lack of awareness of benefits & impacts from tourism (positive & negative)
A lack of systems for monitoring & measurement & regulations & policies for management
Today:
35 years of outstanding growth in tourism
Planning, legislation, regulations, management lacking

5. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM TODAY
Strong growth in tourism will continue
Benefits & negative impacts from visitors will increase
Management practices to avoid or reduce impacts must improve – and quickly
WTO - “Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life support systems”.

6. TOURISM MISUNDERSTOOD
Often seen as just hotels, restaurants & tour operators
Not seen as being a real industry or complex/important
Lack of appreciation of the breadth of tourism – to indirect benefits to all other industries
Not seen as a force for developing communities
Not appreciated as a force for peace & understanding of different races & cultures
Lack of awareness of tourism’s ability to improve human capacities & improve quality of peoples’ lives

7. BENEFITS FROM TOURISM Economic Objectives industry growth
business Profitability
increased employment opportunities
benefits spread across destination
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
preserve culture & heritage protect natural assets
secure community involvement manage useage & impacts
improve services & infrastructure inform & educate people
improve quality of life build strong partnerships
Social Objectives Environmental Objectives

8. BENEFITS FROM TOURISM Economic Objectives industry growth
business Profitability
increased employment opportunities
benefits spread across destination
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
preserve culture & heritage protect natural assets
secure community involvement manage useage & impacts
improve services & infrastructure inform & educate people
improve quality of life build strong partnerships
Social Objectives Environmental Objectives

9. BENEFITS FROM TOURISM Economic Objectives industry growth
business Profitability
increased employment opportunities
benefits spread across destination
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
preserve culture & heritage protect natural assets
secure community involvement manage useage & impacts
improve services & infrastructure inform & educate people
improve quality of life build strong partnerships
Social Objectives Environmental Objectives

10. A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT
Preparation:
A whole-of-government commitment – almost every Government Ministry has responsibility for some aspect of tourism
Industry commitment and involvement – sectors that are direct & indirect beneficiaries of visitor expenditure
A sustainable tourism management strategy is more than a document
Human & financial resources are required
Leadership from the top – in government & industry

11. A MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT
Implementation:
Benchmark the destination to assess current levels of sustainability
Identify what’s working; what’s not; what needs to be done
Set priorities – budgets & timeframes
Form a National Task Force – government, industry & academia
Form specific Working Groups to deal with specific issues
Transparency, monitoring, reporting & updating

12. EXAMPLES OF ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED INCLUDE……..
Measuring economic impacts–expenditure/employment
Improving businesses, service standards & quality
Training programs
Risk management strategies – government & operators
Community involvement in planning & operations
Maintenance of local arts, crafts, music, languages
Preservation of heritage, culture & history
New infrastructure & services
Partnerships to improve conservation/carrying capacities
Coastal areas & marine environments
Water, power, waste treatment, etc.

13. APEC INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Established by the Tourism Ministers from the 21 APEC Economies in July 2002 to provide information and assistance and assistance to improve sustainable tourism in the Asia Pacific Region.
AICST is a network of governments, tourism industry associations/councils and universities.

14. TOTAL TOURISM MANAGEMENT TTM

15. TOTAL TOURISM MANAGEMENT TTM
2 main objectives:
To assist a country or destination in applying improved sustainable tourism management practices
To increase the knowledge, skills & experience of the local people
TTM is helping local people to plan & implement sustainable tourism management practices for themselves

16. A TTM MODEL FOR HONG KONG
Government commitment in place:
Assist in selecting a Task Force to plan & implement
Assist with a benchmark study of current sustainability
Assist to set priorities for work to be undertaken
Assist to establish Working Groups to undertake work
Provide information, systems, options to address issues
Provide experienced people to assist & guide
Work with Task Force over time to manage the improvements and new initiatives
Increase the knowledge, skills & experience of the local Task Force and Working Group members

17. HONG KONG TODAY
“East meets West” culture: Modern & traditional architecture: Traditional artistic performances

18. A Different: Culture; Heritage; Lifestyle
HONG KONG TODAY
A Different: Culture; Heritage; Lifestyle

19. HONG KONG TODAY
A desire to involve local communities in cultural tourism developments & to improve their quality of life

20. HONG KONG TODAY
A recognition that tourism should benefit poorer people
A desire to balance conservation & development

21. HONG KONG TODAY Questions to be asked:
Are these desires & recognition translated into actions
Is there a whole-of-government commitment
Is there a partnership between government, industry & academia
Has there been an analysis of what’s working; what’s not & what more needs to be done
Are there sufficient resources available to be successful
YES?? YES, BUT..?? MAYBE…?? NO??

22. SUMMARY Tourism really wasn’t planned – it just happened
We were unaware of the benefits & impacts
We didn’t have the knowledge to deal with problems
Visitor numbers will double in the next 20 years
We now know about benefits & impacts, & we have the knowledge to address most problems
Playing catch-up is no longer a responsible option

24. A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MODEL FOR HONG KONG
THANK YOU
THE APEC INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM