CONCURRENT SESSION 5B SPEAKERS
Strategies and measures towards responsible tourism

Gopinath Parayil, The Blue Yonder

Founder of The Blue Yonder and Nila Foundation, Gopinath Parayil is also the founding trustee of ICRT in India. Trained in computers and disaster management, Parayil has an MBA from ENPC. Passion for the region he comes from and the love for a unique river civilization prompted him to set up one of the most innovative travel companies in the country and is now a flag-bearer of responsible tourism.

PRESENTATION TITLE: "Challenges of being responsible"

The presentation looks into how The Blue Yonder was set up as a pioneering responsible tourism company in India and the challenges that we faced/facing as social entrepreneurs in the international and domestic market place. The presentation looks into how consultative destination management have made positive contributions to the communities we work with and how international travelers are partnering with them in initiatives ranging from “Volunteerism” to “Traveler's Forest.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL PRESENTATION.

Jan W. te Kloeze, WL-WUR “WICE” Programme Director of the MSc Course on “Leisure, Tourism and Environment”; WICE (World Leisure International Centre of Excellence), Wageningen University

Jan W. te Kloeze studied sociology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and was a lecturer of Sociology of Recreation and Tourism at Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands. Currently, he is the WL-WUR “WICE” Programme Director of the MSc Course on “Leisure, Tourism and Environment” at this university. He serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Research Committee Sociology of Tourism (RC 50) of the International Sociological Association. And he was member of the Board of the European Centre of Eco-/Agro-tourism (ECEAT), Amsterdam, since 1993.

He has published books and papers on family and leisure (including children and leisure, youth and leisure, and leisure of ethnic families); religion and leisure; camping and caravanning; recreation in national parks; cultural tourism, and agri- and eco-tourism (altogether more than 200 publications).

PRESENTATION TITLE: “Tourism development in fast-growing heritage cities: positive force, or threatening agent? The case of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation”

By generating revenue, fostering the re-valorization of cultural expressions, and in certain way supporting the conservation of nature and heritage, tourism has been often portrait as a positive force. Conversely, fast growing tourism development raises concern over the environmental and cultural integrity of destinations (Drost, 1996). This dual nature of tourism has led to a continuous discussion on the impacts of tourism development and to the questioning of genuine sustainable tourism development in fast growing destinations.

Tourism represents an attractive economic activity, yet due to fast growth, it can hinder the preservation of the very core of its business. As stated by Ostergren (2003) “in the entrepreneurial rush to capture western tourist dollars, more cautious strategies to preserve ecosystems and cultures may be lost by the wayside.” This can be exemplified by looking at fast growing heritage destinations in the world such as Italy and Singapore, where tourism development has actually threatened the conservation of heritage. This article retakes the discussion of genuine tourism development in heritage cities, first by analyzing tourism development in fast growing heritage cities, and later by studying the case of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL PRESENTATION.

Jovan Popesku, Professor, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia, President, Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Development, Belgrade, Serbia

• EDUCATION: Faculty of Economy, University of Belgrade; 1970–1991; Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Majoring in Tourism and Transport, Master’s degree in Economics, Ph. D. in Economics
• Membership of professional bodies: AIEST (International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism, Switzerland), CenORT-President (Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Development, Belgrade), SUMA (Serbian Marketing Association)
•PRESENT POSITION: Full professor and Vice Dean, Singidunum University, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Belgrade
• Years of professional experience: 32
• Key qualifications: Expert for tourism marketing and management of tourism destinations, especially for sustainable tourism management as well as for development of ecotourism and rural tourism

PRESENTATION TITLE: “Bridging the regional divide through sustainable tourism development: case study of Serbia”

Serbian tourism is in the process of overcoming the lagging behind its development in the nineties. With the adoption of Tourism Development Strategy (2005) and the activation of National Investment Plan (2007) the main prerequisites have been created in order to eliminate the tourism development gap between the North and the South of the country, especially through the creation of master development plans, investing in the infrastructure and raising the interest of foreign investors.

Besides these public initiatives, one of the examples of the public – private partnership is the development and promotion of the Devil’s Town natural attraction as a specific tourism resource of Serbia.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL PRESENTATION.

Willem Adrianus de Bruijn, Sustainable Tourism Researcher

After having finished his formal education with a M.B.A, Willem de Bruijn worked for American multinationals, particularly in installing information systems. Subsequent to a postgraduate study about hydrology, Willem de Bruijn ended up doing research on how to get out of the ecological crises and stop its consequences.

PRESENT POSITION: Independent researcher testing, improving, verifying, promoting and publishing the value of his idea that deducting green costs of living from taxable income is a necessary practice to liberate a demand for a green way of living; promoting the introduction of the practice in the economy.

Finding the willingness of a producer to engage himself in supplying the merchandise for a sustainable way of living by giving the percentage of his green costs of production. Promoting the presentation of this percentage, knowing that once producers establish a sustainable development with a growing number of percentages of green costs of production, the demand for their merchandise will have to be liberated by giving the consumer the right to deduct his green costs of living from his taxable income. Then sustainable development will continue to thrive permanently and will I have achieved my goal in life.

PRESENTATION TITLE: “Invitation to participate in the development of tourism that ensures sustainable development in a measurable way”

AN EXCERPT
The goal with which consumers spend their income today, seems to be: consume more! This pursuit appears to be confirmed by the macro-economic policy of maintaining growth in development.

It is not possible to continue consuming more of limited resources without eventually depleting them.

Mankind has continued to increase its consumption of the limited natural resources since commerce began and particularly since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The economy is now arriving at the borders of Nature where commerce is stagnating. The economic activities survive on low interest rates while destroying the working capital of all the sectors of the economy and spewing rampant poverty.

Imagine the goal consumers would pursue if they could deduct from their taxable income the money they spend on goods and services that ensure sustainable development.

There will then be an instantaneous demand from millions of consumers who pay income taxes for products that enable them to live in harmony with Nature.

The accounting ability of deducting green cost of living from taxable income will allow the consumer to assume his scientific function in the economy, namely, to maintain a way of living that ensures sustainable development, while accounting for it.

With this accounting ability, millions of income tax paying consumers will voluntarily account to the state for the sustainable quality of their ways of living. Driven by the demand of consumers for green and healthy living, producers will compete in reducing the environmental footprints of their customers. This accounting ability of the consumer enables to have a long-term vision of an economy that continues to progress in such a perfect harmony with Nature, that it keeps the integrity of Nature, globally.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL PRESENTATION.