John Swarbrook

John Swarbrooke Professor of Tourism Manchester Metropolitan University

 WHAT

ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ETHICAL CHALLENGES WE FACE IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY,TODAY?

 The

carbon footprint of tourists  Over – development and environmental degradation  Local people not benefitting from tourism revenue  Salaries  Discrimination in employment  Dishonest marketing practices  Tipping or gratuities  Sex tourism  Dark tourism  Ecotourism  - and so on …

 Investigative

journalism and the rise of the global media  Pressure groups such as Tourism Concern  The work of the WTO and national governments.  Tourism

and Hospitality are also being affected by factors that are operating in the business world as a whole …

 Business  Loss

scandals – examples?

of confidence by investors.

 Fear

of government or supra – government regulation

 Risk

of losing consumers who want to trust the organisations they buy goods and services from.

 Little

overt direct consumer interest in these issues.

 Ethical

issues have traditionally been seen as a threat by tourism and hospitality organisations

 Most

have reacted defensively…

 Problem

denial  Responsibility denial  Putting the other side of the case  Taking action if it will save money  Tokenistic gestures  Legal compliance.  All

are defensive responses to a perceived threat.  But this attitude is changing …

 The

rise of Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR  Examples from other industries eg the Body Shop  A growing segment of consumers who want to buy more ethical products  Investors want to invest in sound businesses  Most of the best staff want to work for decent , moral enterprises

 Hotel

`greening´ and the International Hotels Environmental Initiative

 The

Green Tourism Business Scheme

 Tourism

Industry Carbon Offsetting Scheme or TICOS

 The

Tour Operators Initiative

 Accor

Earth Guest policy

 The

Association of Independendent Tour Operators in the UK

 What

they do – Responsible Tourism committee , star scheme , awards , workshops for members

 Why

do they do it ?

 Customer

loyalty

 Attract

satisfaction and brand

new market segments

 Differentiation  Positive

from competitors

image

 Retain

good staff

 Easier

to attract investment

 However

doing the `right thing´ is not always easy.

 Lets

have a look at a hypothetical scenario.

 What

would you do in these situations?

 Why

would you act in this way?

 You

are a specialist tour operator

 The

government of a very large island with an unspoilt rain forest ecosystem invites you to start offering tours there

 What

do you do?

 You

decide to start offering the tours

 A

major newspaper in your own country criticises your decision

 What

do you do?

 You

stop offering the tours.

 Because

of this loss of business you have to make two longserving loyal staff redundant

 What

do you do?

 You

re-start the tours

 Then

a guest dies from a tropical disease

 What

do you do?

 Inspite

of this you continue to offer the tours.

 Then

a competitor sets up a similar product at a lower price

 What

do you do?

 Family

 Investors  Staff

 Customers  Suppliers

 Intermediaries  Local

communities  Society  Etc etc etc  The

Hierearchy of Responsibility

 CSR

is about trying to be more ethical than you are now  For it to work in business terms you have to be seen to be more ethical or responsible than your competitors  And you have to communicate what you are doing  But it must be reality not hype or you will suffer competitive disadvantage  Thank

you !

 J.Swarbrooke@mmu.ac.uk