Hello Stephen, Thanks for the note and support for the event on 11th NOV at Abacus. If I had a chance I would have responded earlier, but was travelling and just managed to see your note.
As I had explained in the facebook group as well as in our newsletter, the reason for the networking event was to make sure that small tour operators, grass-root organisations also get a chance to interact and discuss their experience with like-minded people and stake holders from originating markets including the Media, and the Trade buyers. Both the 13th Nov 2007 meeting as well as the 11th Nov 2008 meeting was a proof that there was indeed a demand for this.
However, I have difference of opinion in the way you have presented WTM WRTD of last two years. This was certainly an amazing initiative of ICRT and WTM which was endorsed by UNWTO by becoming a partner. The last two years event has certainly brought in attention of the world into Responsible Tourism and a bigger chunk of the industry is now taking initiative to move towards that way. The efforts need to be enough , but my personal interaction with many big players in the last 2-3 years is that there are certainly positive initiatives that are happening which are measurable.
This was proven beyond doubt after attending the 'Business Case for Responsible Tourism" (as a paid delegate), hearing from representatives of FTO, Intrepid and Tui, on what they are doing and the agenda they have for the coming years to make Responsible Tourism as a way forward to sustain the travel and trade industry they are engaged with.
Yes, we could certainly debate on the fee charged for the seminar. One reason I would support this seminar was for the reason that at least 1/3 of the delegates where not familiar faces of RT,but new players and even mainstream conventional companies. This I think is a positive age as until now, we used to get a feeling that we were always "preaching to the converts". This once again points to my reason for organising the networking which got labelled as a "Fringe" event.
WTM is a larger / bigger platform and I don't think there is nothing wrong in WTM keeping their focus on the bigger players and the industry as a whole. Actually, I think that is the way to do it because they have better out-reach and influences and convincing power to show the RT path for companies like Tui, and FTO whose stake holders literally run the travel industry in the originating market. But at the same time, this should not constrain any small players to show case their work and provide opportunities for big players to source RT 'products' from them. This was what TBY was doing by bringing together the market and service providers at the 11th evening.
The kind of engagement WTM RTD has taken on its shoulder is not a scale that The Blue Yonder or any other small companies can replicate. So while supporting the bigger initiatives of WTM, we also take our initiatives to engage with them rather than boycotting. If I have a difference of opinion with WTM, or any other events and if I have doubts about the sincerity of initiatives, I will not stay away from it. Instead I will be engaging them. Its important that we all take a pro-active role and make changes.
I don't own ICRT nor responsibletravel.com nor WTM. But I guess we have a role now to explain our stand on all these initiatives as we work closely with all these organisations because of our belief in Responsible Tourism as the way forward for travel industry.
As you might already know, it was The Blue Yonder that took the initiative to set up ICRT in India. I am the co-founder and Managing trustee of ICRT India and I wouldn't be in this this role if I don't believe in the objectives of ICRT. We set up ICRT in India exactly similar to the reasons of starting the RT evenings at WTM. An year into setting up TBY, we realised that the scope for making changes in local lives and the travel industry in India is quite big and for a small company it will take more time and will need lots of resources to engage it in its full potential. So we decided to launch ICRT India, in association with the ICRT in the UK, so that we can work much more efficiently. Please check http://icrtindia.org to see the initiatives so far.
As for the role of ICRT in association with WTM< I don't see the point of RTD as a monopoly of ICRT and its affiliates. Though there are many initiatives on Responsible Tourism in different parts of the world, it was certainly ICRT that brought together many people together and even engage WTM on Responsible Tourism. When an organisation happens to be a pioneer and immensely successful at out-reach it is only natural to see familiar faces around. Growth of ICRT to other countries should be found as a positive growth towards Responsible Tourism. ICRTs in different countries have the mandate to function on its own but since our common objectives are together we work closely together to make a better place in the world.
The Blue Yonder like many other operators across the world, promote our holidays on Responsibletravel.com. From few holidays now rt.com has grown into selling hundreds of holidays in different parts of the world. We do have some reservations on the kind of holidays that are sold on the website, especially from many big companies( not because they are big). This was earlier discussed in a Tim Robbins article "Are you being green-washed"? . Except for some of these cases, we think that Responsibletravel.com is doing a fantastic job. From my personal experience itself, I can tell that this online company has influenced the way people choose to travel and how travel companies decide to run their holidays. This is highly commendable. Being hugely successful doesn't have to be looked upon as 'becoming a monster', instead I would engage them with proof if I think they are no longer ethical. We have always raised our concerns to Justin and team whenever we had doubts and we will continue doing it. Boycotting responsibletravel.com will not be our solution.
Hope I am clear on my stand. The reason for TBY to initiate and sponsor the 11th Nov Fringe was because we were taking our responsibility to engage all the stake holders and making sure that World Travel Market is a platform for responsible tourism stakeholders to network in an informal way. As one of the attendees mentioned, "if not for this event, none of us would have met and known the work they were involved in." This will continue and we will be organising an even bigger event in 2009. We will need all support from you! Cheers, G
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Great comments, Gopi - we all need to work together, big and small - we cannot lose sight of what is going on at the WTM as it is so representative of the tourism industry as a whole. RT is not a cosy niche, but a growing worldwide movement, with big and small players doing their bit. The minute we start ignoring the mass market, then we might as well shut up shop, and keep eco well and truly in its little niche. RT is about everyone taking responsibility, and that is why we must all stick together, and keep talking, keep working, keep sharing, keep moving. here's to another exciting year ahead. All the best and well done on a great event - It didn't feel like a fringe event to me, by the way. It was an event like all others at the WTM, and just as important. To call it 'fringe' is to somehow put it in a box - which is wrong, because good RT players are ones who reach outside the box. I was sorry to read that RT has become a 'monster' in certain arenas for Stephen. It was the
'monster' that made me aware of the subject in the first place, and which put the movement on the worldwide map of improved ethics in worldwide touirsm. I hope it, and all of us, keeps roaring for as long as we need to. Best, as always, Catherine Mack
Great to have instigated such a passionate debate, would have been even better to have kept it in one thread in the comments of the original article. I've written a response in the comments section which I hope addresses some of the points raised here by Gopi and Catherine. Great to hear your points of view. http://www.maketravelfair.co.uk/2008/11/13/best-world-travel-market-event-fringe-networking/
As Director of the newly established ICRT Canada - and as someone who attended ALL events this week (including Tuesday's fringe event through to Thursday's paid day conference) - I feel compelled to join the debate.
I would first like to point out that responsible tourism holds different meanings to different people and in particular to different countries. And while, yes, small local operators should be championed, the fundamental idea of the movement is to change the industry to act more responsibly. Emphasis on change. While RT is by no means mainstream in the UK, it is certainly further ahead than in other parts of the world (eg. Canada). In the UK, the 'sector' (for lack of a better word) that would make the greatest impact are the larger tour operators. Given the scale of their product and supply chain, they have the means to influence change amongst their suppliers to act more responsibly. Featuring the successes of even a few large tour operators will convince other large AND SMALL tour operators that they too can make a difference. In Canada (and at ICRT Canada) - the focus will be on developing grassroots and community-based rt initiatives because most of our large tour operators are owned by the UK tour operators. From the work being done in the UK, there is no doubt the initiatives will trickle down to the Canadian tour operators.
Regarding your criticism of responsibletravel.com and the ICRT's involvement in the WTM and WRTD events - if it were not for these organizations (WTM included) perhaps there would not be ANY responsible tourism events at the WTM and the movement would not be as dynamic and widespread as it is today. Last year was not the first RT Day at the WTM - events and awards have been on the program for years. Last year's first annual WRTD saw an attendance explosion which can only be seen as a position moment in the RT movement history. This year, again, saw standing-room only attendance - evidence the movement is growing. As Gopi pointed out, the ICRT is not purely academic - most of us have 'full-time jobs' in the private sector. While, yes, in the UK the ICRT is known for its post graduate program (I, myself, am a product of that program) it also undertakes other initiatives outside of academia. The ICRT is not affiliated with any particular commercial interest and the WTM WRTD is not a venue to promote commercial interests.
While I cannot comment on the motivations of the paid conference, it did reflect a larger trend at the WTM (this was the first year paid day conferences were offered on the Thursday) and was not the only paid conference available. Certainly, had there not been a paid conference, it would have been an opportunity lost to reach new people. Indeed, many of the delegates in attendance were new faces demonstrating the importance of the conference. The events on Wednesday's WRTD were free with access to the WTM.
Tuesday's fringe event was fantastic and I would support any fringe RT event that supports the movement. If we cannot get along and support each other within the movement how can we expect the rest of the industry to take us seriously?
Could not agree more with Gopi on this topic. And with the chance of being called diplomatic, thanks for starting this debate.
Initiatives usually start small (as is the Fringe Networking Meet), and as they grow, chances that it looks monopolised, and unidirectional is normal, as is the case with WRTD and the ICRT influence on it.
We need to be able to look at these two events with one eye each:
However, we need to be able to look at the broader picture. Has the WRTD at WTM promoted the cause of Responsible Travel in today's world. Yes it has. There is no doubt about it, and kudos to Harold and Justin on this front. There must be countless more, but I know that both Harold and Justin play key roles.
On the other side, the Fringe Networking Meeting is totally another story and serves a different purpose. It brings together like minded people, giving hope in numbers, and chances to learn from each other, and working together. This serves a totally different purpose. Kudos to Sally and Gopi on this initiative. Very required too.
Post a Comment