Responsible Tourism and the Tourism Industry: A Demand and Supply Perspective - Responsible Tourism: Critical Issues for Conservation and Development - page 98

Table 5.3 Initiatives by various tourism industry associations

Responsible www.icrtourism.org/ Responsible tourism guidelines were developed

Tourism Manual sa/tourismhandbook.pdf in 2001 to meet the objectives set out in DEAT's

for South Africa 1996 White Paper 'Development and Promotion

(RTMSA) of Tourism in South Africa'.The Paper identified

the significant potential tourism in South Africa
has to address its socioeconomic challenges.The
first conference on Responsible Tourism was
hosted in Cape Town in 2002 prior to the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
held in Johannesburg.The conference led to the
Cape Town Declaration, which provided a
concrete definition of responsible tourism.The
RTMSA states that tourism development should
be 'government-led, private sector-driven,
community-based and labour conscious'
(Spenceley et al, 2002).The approach implies that
a broad spectrum of people must collaborate to
ensure a sustainable tourism industry, ensuring
that social, environmental and economic impacts
are managed.The guidelines recommend how
tourism businesses can manage their operations
more responsibly. Consequently the recommen-
dations show how management practices can be
adapted so that a company's operations remain
profitable, whilst taking social and environmental
considerations into account.

Heritage www.eco-web.com The Heritage Environmental Ratings Programme

Programme launched a responsible tourism guide in 2002.

Members are recognized and encouraged for
their environmentally conscious business
practices.

Fair Trade in www.fairtourismsa.org.za Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) is a

Tourism South non-profit marketing initiative that attempts to

Africa (FTTSA) promote and publicize fair and responsible

business practices by South African tourism
establishments. FTTSA has developed a set of
stringent criteria to measure the responsible
management of tourism companies. If companies
meet these benchmarks they are awarded the
FTTSA trademark.This independent symbol of
fairness in the tourism industry serves as a signal
to potential tourists and investors regarding the
fair operations of the business.The FTTSA trade-
mark has led to positive publicity, product
differentiation and improved consumer attitude
for the respective organizations.