Asian Ecotourism Network Chairperson, Masaru Takayama€¦ · Forming partnership in the tourism...

Asian Ecotourism Network Chairperson, Masaru Takayama

GLOBAL AND SUB-GLOBAL ECOTOURISM NETWORK MAP

WHY GEN?

The GEN MissionThe Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) brings the world’s regional and national ecotourism associations, networks and destinations, together with indigenous and rural peoples, global operators, professionals and academics, to grow the industry, provide advocacy, encourage thought leadership and innovation, and add greater authenticity to ecotourism.

AEN offices in Asia

www.asianecotourism.org Join International Ecotourism Travel Mart Sept. 2020

Members and AEN Stakeholders

Committees members

Different responsibilities28 members from 17 countries and a

province10 Thai board members

Strategic Planning/ Board Development/ Final decision-making

Executive Committee

International Advisory

Board

Training and

Education

Standards and

CertificationMarketing

Thai Legal Board

Administration

and

Membership

Members

GEN

AEN 2 tier-board structure






Sharing and cross-learning on experiences, challenges, and opportunities by;

1. Forming partnership in the tourism sector2. Promoting and building technical capacity3. Strengthening networks of stakeholders

toward authentic ECOTOURISM!

WHY AEN?


Forming partnership in the tourism sector


• Public Sectors:

– Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), Thailand

– Tourism ministries, Lao PDR, Philippines, Mongolia, South Korea, etc.

– 10YFP (UNWTO, UNEP)

– ASEAN, APEC, MTO, etc.

• Tourism Associations and MICE

– Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), USA

– Tourism Development Society, Nepal

– ITB Berlin and Asia

– On demand PATA, WTTC



• Academic Institutions:

– Silver Mountain Group, Nepal

– Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH), Laos

– The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

– Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia

– University of the Philippines

• MOU/Agreements

– Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

– Green Destinations

– Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA)



• Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Associations

– Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA) |

– Ecotourism Japan, Setonaikai Ecotourism Association

– Indonesian Ecotourism Network (INDECON)

– Ecotourism & Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY)

– Society for Sustainable Tourism & Development Inc., Philippines

– Ecotourism Taiwan, Sustainable Travel Taiwan, Taiwan Ecotourism Association

– Ecotourism Australia

– Bhutan Sustainable Tourism Society (BSTS)

– Global Ecotourism Network (GEN)

– Cambodia Bird Guide Association (CBGA)


Promoting and building technical capacity


• Setting the global ecotourism standard

for Asia by Asians

– Partnership MOU with GSTC and working with

Green Destinations

– GSTC ST Training Program

– Global initiative with APEC

– Asian Ecotourism Standard for Accommodations (AESA)

Promoting and building technical capacity


The 1st GSTC ST training June, 2016

www.asianecotourism.org Join and engage with AEN from just USD20 a year

• Learning about who we are, what we do, what we want to accomplish

• Sharing country-specific issues that can be replicated elsewhere

• Collecting good practices in the region

• Planning to disseminate the concepts Asia-wide

The 2nd GSTC ST training June, 2018


The 3rd GSTC ST training June, 2019


Creating b2b marketing opportunities


• Participating at trade shows

• ITBs

• Green Destinations/Travelife

• national ecotourism events

• Social media

• AEN conferences in Asia

• Creating a portal site

Bruno Maia/Naturezafotos.org Bruno Maia/Naturezafotos.org

• Global Ecotourism Network: AEN is the regional parter of this regionalization

• IUCN: motion 65 – improving standards in ecotourism

• UNWTO, UNEnvironment, ASEAN, APEC, etc.

B2B ecotravel site to be open soon!

wｗw.asianecotravel.com

Thailand’s media & Bloggers club on boardwent through GSTC training

NEWSLETTER until March 2018


http://www.asianecotourism.org/ecotourism-e-news

The new electronic version is coming soon by the end of this year.


Challenges we face in Asia Pacific


• Establish stronger public-private relationships• Make all types of tourism more sustainable• Green washing/false claims/SDGs washing• Lack of reliable, evidence-based information• On-the-ground exchange of experience• Unclear legal information• Human and financial resources

Challenge 01:

Join and engage with AEN from just USD20 a year

Establish stronger public-private relationships

Action 01:

Many conscious businesses and destinations are happy to work with public sector, the industry needs a one stop window. Top-down and down-up approaches. i.e. UNWTO, UNEP, APEC, ASEAN, DASTA


Challenge 02:


Make all types of tourism more sustainable

Action 02:

Influence all value chain and industries. We conduct ecotourism training. In addition with GSTC, AEN will offer more trainings to bottom-up the industry starting with countries where AEN presence is stronger.


Challenge 03:

Green washing/false claims

Image credit: True Goods


Challenge 03:


Labeling an ecotourism product as environmentally friendly based on a small set of attributes (e.g., planting trees during the trip but not offsetting carbon of the air travel) when other attributes not addressed might make a bigger impact on the eco-friendliness of a product as a whole.

Hidden Trade-Off:


Challenge 03:


Making an environmental claim without providing easily accessible evidence on either the label or the product website (e.g., solar panels and electric cars are fit as energy efficient with no supporting data).

No Proof:


Challenge 03:


Using terms that are too broad or poorly defined to be properly understood (e.g., a “all natural detergent used in a nature resort" may still impact the environment when they use a chlorinated pool that is discharged naturally).

Vagueness:


Challenge 03:


Stating something that is technically true but not a distinguishing factor when looking for eco-friendly products (e.g., advertised as "CFC-Free," but since CFCs are banned by law this is unremarkable).

Irrelevance:


Challenge 03:


Claiming to be greener than other products in its category when the category as a whole may be environmentally unfriendly (e.g., a less-plastic PET bottles used on a tour, but, you know, it's still plastic).

Lesser of Two Evils:


Challenge 03:


Advertising something that just isn't true (e.g., claims to be following the ecotourism principles, but isn't).

Fibbing:


Challenge 03:



Implying that a product has a third-party endorsement or certification that doesn't actually exist, often through the use of fake certification labels. (e.g. The International Ecotourism Society is no longer active legally and now the source of greenwashing)

Worshipping False Labels:


Challenge 03:


Action 03:Working with the policy makers and international organizations, AEN will help identify the ‘good guys’ by setting the industry standards for Asians by Asians integrating public inputs. The process will be transparent and ensure to reflect the voices of many.


Challenge 04:

Lack of reliable information

Action 04:First identify and list the departments in the governments of all sizes that oversee ecotourism/responsible and sustainable tourism. The on-going projects and institutions that support them also need to be identified to collect information.


Challenge 05:

On-the-ground exchange of experience

Action 05:

B2B exchanges can happen overnight. Organize workshops with discussions help facilitate the process. e.g.) Need more places for networking and gathering. ITB-Berlin, WTM, WTTC, ATF

Challenge 06:

Unclear legal information

Action 06:

Only a handful of experts know the legality of ecotourism. If it is already set on the policy level, they need to be showcased and studied how they are practiced and managed.

Legal Implementation examples


• Philippines: Executive Order No. 111, s. 1999, by the President of the Republic of the Philippines - Establishing the Guidelines for Ecotourism Development in the SINCE 1999

• Indonesia 1. Law 9/2010 on Tourism; not specifically mentioned as ecotourism but principles are embraced: sustainability must encompass the environment, cultural, social and economy 2. Home Affair Ministerial Decree no 33/2009 on guidelines for ecotourism development at local level

• Japan: Ecotourism Promotion Act enacted in June 27, 2007

Challenge 07:

Human and financial resources

Action 07:

The training and education for the next generations can be achieved with centuries of experience AEN has, including site visits that reflect the true industry and are up to date. The finance will always be challenging…unless the policy-makers change the order of priorities.

REQUEST TO JOIN AEN FACEBOOK GROUP


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Australia Number 14 with 66 members, New Zealand Number 40 with 9 members

2020 AEN Ecotourism ForumIn collaboration with

Xiling Snow Mountain Scenic AreaJANUARY 6-9, 2020

Asian Ecotourism Network CONTACT

MASARU TAKAYAMA:

[email protected]

AEN Secretariat: [email protected]

or website contact form/facebook

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Asian Ecotourism Network Chairperson, Masaru Takayama€¦ · Forming partnership in the tourism...

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