Newsletter April 2011

Overview

1. Heading to the 5th edition of the fair for sustainable, ethical and fair tourism.
2. Modern human zoos
3. Novelty: the sustainable world is alive, Albania destination 2011, China – an airport in a natural area
4. Short interview: Sébastien Hamende, Travel Union

Prepare your vacations with the help of Tourisme autrement!
Check out the section “nice places” at www.tourisme-autrement.be

1. Heading to the 5th edition of the salon for sustainable, ethical and fair tourism!

Open your diary if you haven’t done it yet! The Sustainable tourism Fair takes place on 14, 15 and 16 October 2011 at Brussels (Tour&Taxis). This year we are going to focus on the eco-tourism while its interest is increasing. Contact exhibitors: fabienne@tourisme-autrement.be

2. Article

The modern human zoos : the Birman Karenni Tribe

Did you ever heard about the human zoos? They flourished in Europe in the second half of the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. The concept: Exhibit “exotic” tribes (Samoa, Sami people, Nubians…) to visitors that eager for sensation. And this worked! In 1877 a record number of one million paying visitors was achieved in Paris. Does this interest you? Visit our website www.deshumanisation.com which tells you more about the conditions of life of these people who were considered freaks for many times.
   
Nowadays, these human zoos don’t exist anymore in Europe but the concept has changed and it has developed in many touristic countries. Hereunder you can find an example of a modern human zoo:

It’s about the Birman “Karenni” tribe (also known as Padung), where women wear a lot of necklaces of gilded brass to stretch out their neck. They are also known as “giraffe women”. This garment might shock you but most of the Westerners’ are very intrigued … bringing a kind of voyeurism. The Karennis, passionate opponents of the Birman Junta since 50 years, were forced to flee massively to Thailand where they were stuffed in refugee camps (the main camp has more than 30 000 people since the eighties). Due to this context, the small village Noi Soi, or “human zoo” were created. Tourists can admire here the most spectacular representatives of the Karenni tribe (like they are watching animals). What to think about this? It might just be the culture of this tribe but is that a reason to exhibit the tribe members to tourists?
  
The term “exploiting” might sound a little bit harsh, however… With the excuse that they live in poverty, the authorities and tour operators take advantage of it to organize original excursions. They do this in good conscience arguing the following statement: “We don’t force the tribe members to come to this village and without us, they would die of starvation”. Wouldn’t it be time to worry about this poverty and to limit this kind of tourism?
 
Since 2009, luckily their case is taken into account. New-Zeeland and Australia opened their doors for women who don’t want to be exhibited anymore. In 2009, 19 families moved to these countries. This is of course a positive sign but these families are getting confronted with a move for the second time: the first time because of the Birman repression and the second time due to sorrow and tourism…
It’s time for every one of us to think about the impact of the tourism on the host population. There are of course also organizations that want to combat this kind of tourism. Like for instance ICRA, the international commission for the rights of the indigenous population. This organization has founded two help programs for this population: Akassa (help program for self-reliance of food, education, medical aid and sanitary fittings) and FMCA (World fund for the protection of the indigenous population). So ICRA doesn’t only act in tourism. It is thanks to these organizations that the patrimony of these populations can survive. You, such as Tourisme autrement, can also help ICRA by supporting them financially or by buying the magazine Ikewan: www.icrainternational.org.
 

3. Sustainable tourism is alive

The new Petit Futé Wallonia: a goldmine to discover the Walloon activities

This book is a real goldmine to discover the Walloon activities. This new edition consists of 3 parts: “the discovery” (presentation of Wallonia), “from place to place” (all activities) and “Practical section” (practical information).
Discover them in the library in your neighborhood or at www.petitfute.com

Focus on Albania: a trendy destination for 2011

Albania is one of the trendy travel destinations for 2011. It is situated at the shores of the Adriatic coast and the Ionic Sea. Albania hides also a lot of curiosities in the area of history, archeology, culture, nature, gastronomy… A land to discover before it is taken by mass tourism. More information at http://www.albaniantourism.com/ (English) or http://www.petitfute.com/voyage/385-albanie
 

Tourism, but for which price? A programmed disaster in the natural area of “Shennongjia”

Chinese authorities are going to build an airport in the natural area of “Shennongjia” to encourage tourism. Nowadays, this natural area is only accessible via a 9 hour road trip, starting at Whuan, the capital of the province Hubei. If this airport is build here because of the huge time-saving, it will affect all of us:  this policy shows a total disrespect for the environment. What will eventually happen for this natural area? Will the different endemic animal and plant species, be strong enough to survive the intruders (the tourists), often not aware of their negative impact? Wouldn’t it be time to focus our attention to the quality improvement of the visited placed instead of the quantity? More info at http://www.chine-informations.com/actualtie/une-reserve-naturelle-va-construire-un-aeroport-pour-developper-le_28341.html

4. Express interview

Sébastien Hamende, secretary-general of Travel Union, strives for sustainable tourism.

Travel Union, representative of travel agents, strives for sustainable tourism.

A long stride forward in the world of travel agencies: Travel Union supports the sustainable and responsible tourism in cooperation with Tourisme autrement. We’ve met the secretary-general Sébastien Hamende.

• Why such a step?

“We took ??this decision for two main reasons. First of all: there is a higher consciousness factor by the consumers nowadays. Travel agents, however, are also consumers regarding sustainability (food, ecological products, CO2 emissions…). On the other hand, we have to be realistic. The internet is taking a very important place regarding travel bookings, so we have to give added value to travel agencies. That is what Travel Union wants to do by integrating the ideas about sustainability and responsibility into the travel agencies."

• How to combine commercial and responsible?

“Uniting travel agencies and the principle of responsibility is a major challenge. The customer desires a dream vacation because he often has to work an entire year long to pay for it. The hardest part is to give him a sense of responsibility without blaming him. The travel agencies have to position themselves between two extremes: the tour operator that is selling without thinking of the consequences, the purely commercial travel agents, and those who offer hiking trips with a backpack. We think that the mass tourist can be responsible but we have to convince him.”
 

• What is Travel Union going to do concretely?

“We are going to act two different ways”. The first is the face-to-face communication with the client. Therefore we have approached Tourisme autrement, ECPAT and CO2logic, which provided us with information regarding the social and ecological aspects. The second way is to change the habits of the travel agencies (a better resources management, carbon neutrality…) but at the same time they need to carry on their business. To reach these goals we are going to organize different things: trainings for travel agents, a website and helping customers.”

The project will be completed and distributed during the “Sustainable, Ethical and Fair Tourism” exhibition organized by Tourisme autrement."