By Dorine Reinstein

Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, yesterday launched the National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism at the Knysna Featherbed Nature Reserve.

Van Schalkwyk highlighted SA’s natural environment is one of its greatest tourism resources, and therefore the tourism industry needs to be actively involved in conserving and protecting it. “Through the application of responsible tourism practices, we will develop the tourism sector as a national priority in a sustainable and acceptable manner, integrating tourism to the broader social and economic processes in society,” van Schalkwyk said. 

The Minister further explained that the launch marks an important milestone in the promotion of responsible tourism and the raising of awareness amongst tourists on the value of conserving our natural resources for sustainability to ensure continued growth in the tourism industry for years to come.

“The time to talk is over, now is the time to act,” says Jennifer Seif, executive director Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) and Chairperson of the Technical Working Group that led the development of South Africa’s new National Minimum Standard on Responsible Tourism. She says: “Responsible Tourism is a central pillar of our national tourism policy and strategy, and the launch of the Minimum Standard today thus marks an important milestone in achieving our collective vision of a tourism industry that benefits people, business and the environment.”

Seiff explains the National Department of Tourism (NDT) in partnership with the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) will from next year offer tourism certification programmes the option to become nationally accredited. “It’s all about credibility,” she says. “Accreditation is sometimes referred to as “certifying the certifier” and in this instance it will quality assure the certification services provided to the South African tourism industry and enhance the integrity of South Africa as a tourist destination by ensuring that we have one national definition of Responsible Tourism and that certificates issued to tourism businesses are credible.”

She adds responsible tourism makes business sense but it now needs to be mainstreamed. She says: “South Africa needs more bona fide responsible tourism products – more certified products – to meet demand by international tour operators and to cater to the growing numbers of independent travellers actively seeking responsible tourism options. South Africa has helped to pioneer Responsible Tourism on the worldwide stage – our job now is to mainstream it.”

“In these economical difficult times, it is great to see such commitment,” comments Brett Dungan, Fedhasa ceo. He says it is incredible to see how everyone is participating to carry out responsible business practices. Dungan adds that after organizing the Imvelo Awards for over ten years, it is fantastic that the government is now also getting involved. He says: “The National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism gives people a more constructive platform for responsible tourism.”

Calvyn Gilfellan, ceo Cape Town Routes Unlimited, says it was an exceptional honour to be able to have the launch in the Western Cape as it is an important milestone for tourism in South Africa. He says: “With these guidelines, we are setting South Africa up as a world class destination.”  Gilfellan further explains that although adhering to the minimum standard is completely voluntary, it gives people great guidelines to conform to. He says van Schalkwyk is challenging the industry to take note of the guidelines and conform to them so that when everything becomes more formalized, the industry is ready.

The National Department of Tourism first developed the National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (NMSRT) in 2009 as part of its strategic objective of creating a sustainable tourism industry. South Africa was amongst the first countries to include “Responsible Tourism” in its national tourism policy, the 1996 White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa. Following the White Paper, the then Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) also produced the National Responsible Tourism Guidelines in 2002 which emphasised the need to address the triple bottom line of sustainable development (economic, environmental, and social sustainability).
 
The draft National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism was finalised by the department in 2010 where it later underwent a rigorous process through the South African Bureau of Standard (SABS) in order for it to become a South African National Standard (SANS). The draft was then subsequently published as a South African National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (SANMSRT) on the 28 March 2011.   The SANMSRT consists of 41 criteria, covering the core aspects of sustainability and divided into four categories, namely: sustainable operations and management; economic; environmental; and social and cultural.