By Kevin Fuchs
2 min read
While it is apparent that some progress has been made on making tourism more sustainable or responsible, the reality is that things are not changing quickly enough in most parts of the world. The British environmental activist and explorer, Robert Swan says that “the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”. In the present era, sustainable development is gradually becoming a primary objective in hospitality and tourism development. To change the relationship between stakeholders and elements that positively impact sustainable tourism development, it is critical to understand their perspectives from small business owners in Phuket, Thailand.
Phuket depends heavily on international tourism and generates most of its income from tourism receipts. Some of the obstacles towards a more sustainable tourism development in the island relate to the lack of accountability and coherent leadership. "Sustainable tourism is recognized amongst Phuket’s industry experts, but a high failure rate of initiatives to boost sustainable tourism is one of the major drawbacks" says Kris Sincharoenkul. When there is accelerated economic growth that resulted from increasing tourism arrivals, the problems will grow exponentially if not managed properly. Similarly, Phuket developed quickly into a mass-tourism destination with its set of associated challenges. Mass tourism generates an overall volume of income that promotes economic growth, but its impact on the host economy is not without negative consequences to the local environment.
Insufficient Governance
One of the major hurdles to achieving effective governance to support sustainable hospitality & tourism development in Phuket is multi-stakeholder agreement. That is, getting consent from the public sector, private sector as well as NGO’s and media. Similarly, the insufficient governance and the absence of financial incentive from the government to adopt better practices has been a concern and hurdle. There are representative indicators that small local businesses are ready to contribute towards sustainable tourism development, but they are in need of a common direction and better regulations and control. Therefore, they are waiting for the public sector (i.e. at the municipality or local government level) to initiate and lead the way.
Lack of Education
There is also a lack of education and awareness towards sustainable tourism. A local business owner indicated “the concept is quite abstract and sounds very scientific and that sustainability should be easier to understand for every business owner. Another business owner stated that there is a general level of awareness, but not on all levels of the business or the business community, “How can we blame the labor and hospitality workers if no one educated them about proper practices?”. In Phuket, the emphasis is placed on economic development at the expense of socio-cultural and environmental pillars. A lack of partially uneducated stakeholders paired with an increasing influx of tourists can potentially worsen the situation and increase the gap. Tourism is often only seen as important for the economic benefits it can provide to the involved stakeholders. However, an increase in education and knowledge is important to address these issues and improve socio-cultural sustainability.
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