By Anita Pleumarom (Tourism Investigation & Monitoring Team) and Chee Yoke Ling (Third World Network)

Reproduced here by kind permission of Anita Pleumarom, Chee Yoke Ling and the Third World Network – www.twn.my

The United Nations committed a substantial error when it proclaimed 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.  Despite its pronouncements of tourism being a positive force for economic development and poverty eradication, tourism is inept at meeting the challenge of implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Like no other industry, tourism promotes – and glamorizes – a hyper-mobile and hyper-consumeristic lifestyle, rendering sustainability elusive. In fact, most tourism development is fraught with negatives including gross inequalities, human rights violations, cultural erosion, environmental degradation and climate instability (1).

Recent research is particularly alarming in terms of tourism’s contribution to climate change, primarily due to the high energy use for transport such as air travel. Based on a new global tourism emissions model, global tourism is set to emit some 300 gigatonnes of CO2 between 2015 and 2100, which is 30 percent of the global carbon budget for sustainable development (2). It is preposterous to allocate so much of this budget to tourism, instead of meeting the acute energy needs of billions of people around the world. Meanwhile, tourism alternatives such as ‘green’ or ‘eco’-tourism can also be problematic. Not only do they usually depend on long-haul flights that drive climate change, they also tend to penetrate fragile ecosystems and Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral lands, triggering both biodiversity loss and culture loss.

Tourism as a major source of financial leakage is well documented (3). Since it is frequently large foreign companies that either initiate or take over commercially successful tourism projects, the domestic retention and distribution of tourism benefits has a very poor record; profits are generally repatriated to corporate headquarters and shareholders abroad. A particular characteristic of tourism in this age of neoliberal globalisation is that it is closely intertwined with the finance and real estate industries. Ground evidence shows that vast tracts of public land are being privatized and acquired by foreign investors for luxury tourism – plus tourism-related residential, commercial and mega-infrastructure developments (e.g. ‘aerotropolis’, or airport cities) – resulting in displacement and disempowerment of local people. The radically de-regulated business environment spawns price hikes and speculation, posing high risks to local economies, ways of life and community social structures.

The nature and conceptualisation of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) does not allow for it to adequately deal with the unsustainable and unjust patterns of tourism. Originally formed as a business organisation, the UNWTO remains industry-controlled and industry-oriented, and its critics do not regard it as a responsible UN agency acting for the common good. In synchrony with the global tourism and travel industry, it continues to aggressively campaign for further tourism growth despite the fact that much of contemporary tourism is antithetical to sustainable development and most of the tourism-related goods and services are luxuries that can only be enjoyed by the world’s minority. Even if some improvements can be achieved in tourism through better regulation and management as well as increased incentives for ecologically sustainable activities (alleged ‘eco’-tourism among them), it is clear that the gains made will be negligible in the context of the continued growth of the tourism industry at large, as forecast and aspired by the UNWTO. Instead of down-scaling the inflated tourism sector and effectively engaging in harm avoidance, the UNWTO sends a wrong message to the public: that ‘sustainable (eco)tourism’ is the solution and needs to grow without barriers for the benefit of us all.

Actually, steering tourism policy and practice towards more sustainability requires first and foremost correcting the unjust economic structures and power relations that drive tourism development. It is also necessary to put in place laws and regulations that effectively protect local citizens and communities from harmful tourism, including mechanisms that require travel and tourism businesses to compensate for social losses and to clean up the damage they created. Clear transparent, accessible processes for accountability are needed, which empower people(s) to monitor and hold governments, financial institutions, development agencies and the private sector engaging in tourism  accountable for their actions.

Rather than aiming at further tourism expansion, other more sustainable economic activities should be developed, particularly in small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) that heavily rely on tourism – which not only must contend with the volatility of tourism (e.g. due to international financial/economic crises, acts of violence, extreme weather events, natural disasters and pandemics), but also are endangered by tourism-induced climate change.  This is a major undertaking that the international community must assist with, for the transition of those economies and health of their populations.

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References:

(1) Third World Network, ‘Global Tourism Growth: Remedy of Ruin?’, TWR, Sept./Oct 2015, http://www.twn.my/title2/resurgence/2015/301-302.htm

(2) Sustainability Leaders Interview: Paul Peeters on Tourism, Aviation and Climate Change, 8 June 2016, http://sustainability-leaders.com/interview-paul-peeters-on-tourism-aviation-climate-change/

(3) Pleumarom, A., ‘Tourism – a driver of inequality and displacement’, TWR, Sept./Oct 2015, http://www.twn.my/title2/resurgence/2015/301-302/cover01.htm

This article can be downloaded from Third World Network’s website at: www.twn.my/tour.htm

 The article is based on a chapter entitled ‘Corporate capture subverts production and consumption transformation’ by Chee Yoke Ling, published in Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2016: Report by the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 11 July 2016, pp.94-100  

The full report as well as single chapters of it can be downloaded at: https://www.2030spotlight.org/

It isn’t often that you will find the UK Daily Mail cited in this website, unless the citation is given for its racism, intolerance and bigotry; but in this case we reproduce a report from Nicanotes which in its turn cites a list of the Daily Mail’s ‘must-see’ tourist destinations.

Taken from Nicanotes (https://afgj.org/nicanotes/), a weekly production by the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ)

9 January 2020

Daily Mail Includes Nicaragua in List of 12 New Key Destinations for 2020

Nicaragua was included in an exclusive list of 12 new key tourist destinations around the world, published on December 28 [2019] by the British newspaper Daily Mail. Nicaragua was listed along with Chicago (USA), Japan, Dubai, Galway (Ireland), Chile, Israel and Australia. Nigel Tisdall, writer of the article, describes Nicaragua as “a captivating mix of volcanoes, jungle and beach, with a relaxed atmosphere and excellent coffee.” It also highlights Granada, for “its architecture” and “the possibility of sailing among its forested islands.” Recently other British media, such as Travel Weekly Magazine, Marie Claire Magazines UK, Selling Travel, Travel Trade Gazette, Wanderlust, have recognized Nicaragua as a must-see destination for 2020. The print version of the Daily Mail has 2.5 million readers daily, and its digital version reaches 26.8 million unique users monthly, making it one of the most read websites in the English-speaking world. (Taken from Informe Pastran, 3/1/20)

Increase in Tourism from Costa Rica

For Nicaragua’s commerce, service and transportation, the month of December [2019] was very good with the considerable increase in the arrival of tourists from Costa Rica. In the Masaya handicraft market, the arrival of hundreds of Costa Rican tourists was visible. In the case of transportation, the companies that provide this service from San José report that passenger traffic increased by 40%. Enrique Quiñonez, president of the Chamber of Tourist Transport of Nicaragua confirmed that they had to put into circulation more buses to meet the demand. (Taken from Informe Pastran, 6/1/20)

For all those interested in the mechanics of accumulation by dispossession, I recommend a reading of the following article at:

Garífuna People Face Tourism Repression in Honduras

The article includes two video clips showing the eviction of Garífuna people from their village of Barra Vieja by a force of army and police personnel for the sake of the expansion of the Indura Hilton development. It is a threatening and sobering view of how so-called ‘development’ is carried out.

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The article first appeared in the WilderUtopia website and

WilderUtopia is dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. Our frame is Wilderness and its wildlife. Our endgame is Utopia: stabilizing ecologic relations through urban planning and design. We celebrate world culture and literary expression, and our inspiration sources from indigenous myth and storytelling, as well as the rituals and traditions of the many peoples on the planet.

WilderUtopia.com regularly posts articles, photo essays, features, and documentaries from around the web that illuminate the challenges to coexistence between city and wild, developed and developing, human and other.

By Martin Mowforth

Article in ENCA 74, November 2018

Despite the very best efforts of Anasha Campbell, Co-Director of Nicaragua’s Tourism Institute (INTUR), it is clear that the rising star of the Nicaraguan economy – tourism – has been dealt a huge blow by the crisis caused by the anti-government protests since April this year. In August the Tortilla Con Sal blog published an interview with Campbell in which she failed to make even one explicit reference to the protests or their effects on the country’s tourism industry.

It is of course understandable that the INTUR and its officers should try to amplify their claims of an attractive and rapidly expanding industry – that’s precisely what it was before the troubles began in April. In fact it had already gained an enviable reputation and was fast overtaking all other sources of foreign income in the country. But it was rather disingenuous to try to hide the devastating effects of the crisis on the industry – although, to be fair, what the blog published was probably only a small proportion of the whole interview.

By the end of August most of the road blocks or barricades had been dismantled and movement around the country was once again possible. (Incidentally, that did not indicate that the troubles had come to an end.) Associated Press reported that the tourism sector had “become Nicaragua’s top source of foreign currency in the past two years,” but had shed as many as 70,000 jobs as a result of the protests. Revenue at hotels and restaurants fell by 45 per cent in June compared to 2017, according to Nicaragua’s Central Bank, whilst construction fell by 35 per cent and retail 27 per cent.

El Economista reported that the National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) had estimated a $400 million loss in tourism compared with 2017. Canatur’s study calculated that 83 per cent of tourism companies had reduced their services by at least 30 per cent, and that since the start of the protests more than 60,000 people had been laid off in the tourism sector along with 16,000 reduced to part-time work.

Within three months of the start of the protests, the city of León’s most up-market hotel, El Convento, had been forced to close for lack of guests. Similarly in La Concha, the Spanish School and Eco-Hotel La Mariposa (http://mariposaspanishschool.com/) also had to close, although it is good news to hear that they have now re-opened for bookings. Towards the end of August, the first cruise ship to call for three months docked off San Juan del Sur. Around the same time, Nicaraguan tourism businesses asked foreign governments to change their travel advisories which strongly advised travellers not to visit Nicaragua.

There may be the initial signs of recovery, but these are small and the country now has a long way to go to reach the dizzy heights of the previous season. More importantly for many people who lost their jobs in tourism during the crisis, there may be some small hope that a recovery of the industry will create anew their jobs. But it is highly unlikely that the recovery will be rapid – a reputation will not be rebuilt overnight; although as we have seen, it can be lost overnight.

Sources:

• Alliance for Global Justice (22 August 2018), NicaNotes – Briefs: ‘Cruise ship ‘Crystal Symphony’ arrives in San Juan del Sur’ and ‘Tourism businesses ask foreign government to lift travel alerts’.
• Associated Press (11 September 2018), ‘Months of deadly unrest devastate Nicaragua’s economy’
• El Economista (20 September 2018), ‘Nicaragua dejará de percibir $400 millones en turismo por crisis’.
• La Mariposa (September 2018), ‘Closure of La Mariposa’, La Mariposa e-list communication.
• La Mariposa (4 October 2018), ‘We are taking a risk, but let’s make it work for everyone – we are now open’, La Mariposa e-list communication.
• teleSur (25 August 2018), ‘Tourism, Democracy and Development in Nicaragua’, an interview by Tortilla Con Sal with Anasha Campbell, co-director of Nicaragua’s Tourism Institute.
• United States Department of State (12 September 2018), Travel Advisory for Nicaragua.

Paris, 10 July 2020 — UNESCO’s Executive Board has approved the designation of 15 new UNESCO Global Geoparks, which brings the number of sites participating in the Global Geoparks Network to 161 in 44 countries.

UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. Their bottom-up approach of combining conservation with sustainable development while involving local communities is becoming increasingly popular. At present, there are 161 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 44 countries. A webpage of each UNESCO Global Geopark is available, with detailed information on each site.

UNESCO’s work with geoparks began in 2001. In 2004, 17 European and 8 Chinese geoparks came together at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to form the Global Geoparks Network (GGN) where national geological heritage initiatives contribute to and benefit from their membership of a global network of exchange and cooperation.

On 17 November 2015, the 195 Member States of UNESCO ratified the creation of a new label, the UNESCO Global Geoparks, during the 38th General Conference of the Organisation. This expresses governmental recognition of the importance of managing outstanding geological sites and landscapes in a holistic manner.

The Organisation supports Member States’ efforts to establish UNESCO Global Geoparks all around the world, in close collaboration with the Global Geoparks Network.

On 10^th July 2020, UNESCO Global Geoparks were designated for the first time in Nicaragua, the Russian Federation and Serbia. A description of the Río Coco Global Geopark is given below.

Located in the north of Nicaragua, Río Coco is part of the volcanic Central Mountainous Chain featuring a landscape of rolling hills and plains with small valleys. The elevated and broken topography of the area offers lookout points and panoramic views of a range of ongoing tectonic phenomena, in a landscape of wetlands, highland springs and cloud forests. The territory is home to three emblematic trees: the almond tree of ‘Tere Armijo’, the Branded Guapino tree, and the 500-year-old Golden Ceiba, sacred for the Mayan people. The area has a rich history, marked by Taguzgalpa heritage, with numerous pre-Hispanic settlements and a few examples of cave art. Spanish conquistadors established the Cuje gold mines in Río Coco and built the parish church of Santa María de Magdalena in Totogalpa (18th and 19th centuries).

https://en.unesco.org/news/geopark-2020

By Martin Mowforth

Key words: cruise industry; Covid-19; Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Following the downgrading of the coronavirus pandemic in the public eye if not in reality, cruise companies are again beginning to consider Central American countries as a suitable destination for their tours. In July [2021] Cruise Industry News reported that Costa Rica was planning to accept cruise ships at most of its ports providing cruise vessels “guarantee complete vaccination schedules against the COVID-19 virus in all crew members and 95 percent of passengers who are of age to be vaccinated.”

The aim is to reactivate the tourism industry and employment in selected coastal areas and ports. Each cruise passenger is said to spend an average of $137 (US dollars) per day which can re-energise a local economy. A number of cruise lines have included Costa Rica in their 2021 – 2022 cruise tours. In fact numerous major cruise lines have included Central American countries other than Costa Rica in their 2021 – 2022 scheduled tours.

Belize for example has begun to receive cruise tour groups. On the ground they have been received very willingly, although in August Breaking Belize News reported that the Carnival Vista cruise ship which was shortly due to call in at Belize had 26 confirmed cases of Covid-19 aboard. The infected crew members were said to be quarantined in their cabins but no reference was made to the tracing of their close contacts. The Carnival Line insisted that all its crew and almost all of its guests were vaccinated. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States described the ship as being under investigation, but gave no further details.

Earlier, in November 2020, the CDC had advised “all people” to avoid travelling on cruise ships during the coronavirus pandemic. The risk of contracting Covid-19 is generally considered to be very high on cruise ships. Although that advice was issued some months ago at the height of the second wave of the virus and that the vaccination coverage of wealthy populations is now extremely high, there is little doubt that the pandemic remains with us.

The CDC’s current advice on cruise travel (updated on 20^th August, 2021) includes the following points.

• The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters aboard ships, and the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high.
• CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide.
• People with an increased risk of severe illness should also avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, regardless of vaccination status.
• People who decide to go on a cruise should get tested 1–3 days before their trip and 3–5 days after their trip, regardless of vaccination status.
• Along with testing, passengers who are not fully vaccinated should self-quarantine for 7 days after cruise travel, even if they test negative. If they do not get tested, they should self-quarantine for 10 days after cruise travel.
• People on cruise ships should wear a mask to keep their nose and mouth covered when in shared spaces.

When the 2022 cruise season gets into full swing, it will be interesting to monitor both the virus break-outs on board ships and the take-up rate of cruise packages. Given the environmental pollution, the appalling labour rights record and the displays of extreme human inequality that are represented by the cruise industry, it is a pity that the world has not taken advantage of the pandemic by banning all future cruises. As one tourism industry commentator has said, “Let’s not revive the cruise industry.”

Sources:

• Alejandro Zúñiga, 5 July 2021, ‘Costa Rica to welcome back cruises in September’, Tico Times.
• Aaron Humes, 10 August 2021, ‘Carnival Vista bringing infected crew members to Belize on Wednesday’, Breaking Belize News.
• Cruise Industry News, 10 July 2021, ‘Cruise ships with vaccinated guests to return to Costa Rica from September’, Cruise Industry News.
• Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, United States government, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

The following report comes through Rights Action and is originally from OFRANEH, The Black Fraternal Organisation of Honduras.

September 11, 2016

By OFRANEH, Sambo Creek, Aug 10, 2016 (translated by Steven Johnson)
https://ofraneh.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/presiones-territoriales-en-la-costa-garifuna-fallo-a-favor-de-barra-vieja-e-intento-de-desalojo-en-santa-fe

Yesterday, the Court in Tela issued a not guilty ruling in favour of the Garífuna community of Barra Vieja, which is being harassed by the Indura Hilton, by means of the National Port Company and the Honduran Institute of Tourism.

The trial against the leadership of Barra Vieja took place after 64 members of the community were put on trial in June of last year.  The court declared them innocent of the crime of seizure of property.  The ruling in the case indicated, among other things: “It is unknown at this time how many hectares or manzanas are registered in favour of the National Port Company, or the Honduran Institute of Tourism, the National Agrarian Institute and the Tela Bay Project.”  There certainly exists an overlap between the various government entities and the investors. However, it remains clear that the land in question is part of Garífuna ancestral territory.

For over four decades, the Garífuna communities in Tela Bay have suffered strong threats to their territory, accompanied by assassination of leaders, promoted by business people and politicians who have sought to create a tourism enclave, refusing to consider the environmental and social costs.

While in Tela the ancestral territory rights were recognized for the Barra Vieja community, last Thursday, September 8, in the afternoon, a contingent of police accompanied by a group of armed civilians attempted to evict a group of neighbours from the community who had recovered a piece of land that had been “sold” in an irregular manner to foreigners.

The police presented an order of eviction, issued on April 7, 2016, by judge Víctor Manuel Melendez Castro.  The eviction order was sought by Mr. John J. Scott and Sandra L. Scott, who claim they are the owners of a piece of land in San Blas, located in the Municipality of Santa Fe, Colón.

The use of hired thugs by the police to burn down the dwellings and their contents is, by itself, a violation of the law, as well as violating the rights of the Garífuna people to their ancestral territory.  The members of the community of Giriga (Santa Fe) emphatically rejected the eviction attempt.

In 2007, Trujillo Bay became a piñata of territory, promoted by the Canadian Randy Jorgensen, known as the King of Porn, who received unlimited help from the Municipalities of Santa Fe and Trujillo.  Apparently, the Scotts are connected to Jorgensen, as is indicated in a blog about tourism published by Sandra Scott.

During the administration of post-military coup, regime leader “Pepe” Lobo, Jorgensen counted on his unconditional help to obtain environmental permits and “legalize” his projects of real estate speculation and the construction of the Banana Coast cruise ship docks.

In December 2011, the Public Prosecutor’s office issued an order against Jorgensen, accusing him of seizure of property.

It took until 2015 for him to finally appear in court in Trujillo, which then granted him a provisional acquittal.  The Appeals Court of La Ceiba nullified this provisional acquittal and required Jorgensen to appear again before the courts, which Jorgensen refused to comply with.  The “King of Porn” has thus far avoided facing justice.

Both Trujillo Bay and Tela Bay have become focal points of dispossession in the name of tourism, and the businesspeople and investors supported by the State come and push out the Garífuna communities, which have to endure the overlapping pressures.

With the advent of petroleum production in the Moskitia region, there arises a new threat to Trujillo Bay and its inhabitants: the construction of a petroleum refinery, which endangers the fragile and rich biodiversity of the region.

Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH

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Rights Action has sent an initial $1,000 to OFRANEH to help the families of Santa Fe whose homes were burnt.