What Cost Global Tourism?

“Global Travel and Tourism is set to cater for over 1,000 billion tourists and to provide jobs for over 9% of the global population by 2010” Says Tourism Concern, Britain’s biggest and most vocal tourism campaigning organisation.

Launching an ambitious membership drive today, Tricia Barnett, Tourism Concern’s director said, “What enormous cost will we pay for this dramatic growth? More long-distance holidays extend our environmental footprint and contribute to global warming. Poverty-stricken countries precious water is often squandered on rich wasteful tourists.

Mass tourism’s low prices mean local workers frequently work for a pittance in sweatshop conditions. Big organisations and authoritarian governments deny local populations’ and worker’s rights to make a fast buck and then move on to where the pasture is greener. Behind the Smile The heartbreaking aspect of tourism desecration - the smiles of tourism workers who cannot afford to complain, were hauntingly shown at a recent Tourism Concern- sponsored photograph exhibition - “Behind the smile - the Tsunami of tourism”.

“Our holidays may desecrate beautiful local areas and reduce our host workers to the status of servility,” said Ms Barnett. “And this is not only the case in resorts – UK travel workers are frequently underpaid, under trained and overworked – many travel and tourism organisations rely on low pay to deliver profits.”

Eliminate Tourism Poverty
“We all know it doesn’t have to be like this,” said Ms Barnett. “Everybody could benefit from the global tourism boom. It just needs more thought, more care, more education and more understanding of tourism impacts to reap tourism’s vast potential for good and eliminate tourism poverty”.

Membership Drive
“Concerned travelers, holidaymakers and business travellers – all could all benefit from joining Tourism Concern to become more aware of the reality behind their travel and holidays. Membership costs from just ?2 a month and could be a very valuable and worthwhile investment for anybody choosing a holiday”

Fair Trade Tourism
“In recent months, we’ve launched the “Ethical Travel Guide” and seen major developments in “Fair Trade Tourism”. We think now is the time for like-minded people to join our cause and assist our campaigns against tourism outrages and for our movement towards ethical and fair-trade tourism”. Tourism Concern campaigns include their “Sun, Sand, Sea and Sweatshops” campaign exposing the appalling conditions of tourism workers around the world. Recently, Tourism Concern has renewed its call for a boycott of tourism to Burma and has engaged in a headline-hitting fight against Hilton Hotels’ “Greenwashing”. The organisation recently published the “Ethical Travel Guide” and is behind the campaign to certify “Fair Trade Tourism”.

19 September 2006