Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 21. January 2020, 14:02

Dear Colleagues,
thanks a lot for viewing this post, as obviously, 42 members have taken a look on this post. My question to you is:
What was it, what was interesting you?
What did you exspect? What were you looking for? And did you find, what you were looking for?
So is it helpful to find linked articles? Or don't you simply care?

Some hints would be great, thanks.

Bye, Harry

Quote from Eva Holmberg on 6. November 2020, 8:49

Thank you Harry for this opening. There is some  discussions in Finland related to ethics in tourism especially in Lapland where tourism has been growing very quickly. For instance seaonal workers and students doing internships are required to work long days with minimum salary. The lodging offered to these sesonal workers is not corresponding to general standars of living in Finland and still it can be rather costy.  In urban area the outsourced cleaning services is one of the main problems. Big companies offering cleaning services e.g. to hotels take benefit of people with immigrant background offering them really poor contracts.

As researchers we should discuss these issues even if we might end up with making also some univeristy partners upset. Without discussion there will be no change.

Quote from Jarmo Ritalahti on 16. November 2020, 9:48

Tourism and ethics is an important topics, and its importance might grow in the future. Ethics is closely related to both sustainable and responsible tourism and tourism development. In studies conducted in Finland, Finnish travelers a aware of the principles of sustainable and responsible tourism. They appreciate travel intermediaries following those principles. At the destination level, Finns are interested in the well-being of especially people working in the tourism sector, human and animal rights as well as the protection of local culture and nature.

Quote from Eva Holmberg on 3. March 2021, 21:16

The  new generation of travelers know so much more about the world than those born between 1940-1980 did when the started their "career"  as travelers.  Products and services in line with the ethical values of the millennials will be much more important especially for destinations and companies targeting European market..

Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 3. March 2021, 21:22

Thanks, Jarmo, for your reply, and sorry for my late answer. After the flooding of chinese posts in August I was terribly frustrated by this network.
Anyway, about your post, I would be really interested how far Finish customers are only PRETENDING to care about sustainable and responsible tourism, as it is pretty much in Austria the case. Here, there is certainly a little demand for this niche offers, as some relate higher quality and values such as "authenticity" with it. So, they perceive it as an additional value, less crowded, kind of luxury... but there is just a little level of personal responsibility. I can observe a very strong consuming approach here... This is no frustration, which I try to express. It is simply disillusion 🙂

Quote from Olimpia Alcaraz Bautista on 23. March 2021, 13:04

Very interesting!

Totally agree in highlighting the ethical side of sustainable tourism, as well as recognising that we are facing new generations of travellers, perhaps more aware than involved - let me question the practical side of what it means to recognise a problem but not to get involved. So, if we try to make certain ethical and sustainable guidelines known, won't the places most involved in their development receive a rebound effect of massification?

Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 24. March 2021, 12:39

Dear Olimpia, thanks a lot for your contribution. Hmmm... there are several aspects to discuss.
First: Could you give more arguments to your questioning, as you wrote: "let me question the practical side of what it means to recognise a problem but not to get involved". What do you mean with that? May I present you my speech I hold for Fridays4Future last Friday at the begin of the Gobal Climate Striking Day-demonstration. One of my main thesis there is that if you see and understand a problem but stay passiv, then you are an integrativ part of this problem, as you support that system.
Of course, the other side is that we are deeply involved into this system, so it is not that easy to actively work against it....

Second part of your contribution: "if we try to make certain ethical and sustainable guidelines known, won't the places most involved in their development receive a rebound effect of massification?"
To be honest, I am not sure if I understood well what you wanted to express.
The Global Code of Tourism Ethics of the UNWTO is pubished since 22 years, but nobody gives a significant shit about it. There are also plenty of legal rules which suffer from being ignored. That's the problem in a highly complex world with many, sometimes even contractictive rules...
The other thing is: How do you see the interconnection of publishing a guideline and overtourism? Thanks for illustrating that.

And very much looking forward to a feedback on my speech for Fridays4Future...

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 28. March 2021, 18:21

Quote from Olimpia Alcaraz Bautista on 23. March 2021, 13:04

Very interesting!

Totally agree in highlighting the ethical side of sustainable tourism, as well as recognising that we are facing new generations of travellers, perhaps more aware than involved - let me question the practical side of what it means to recognise a problem but not to get involved. So, if we try to make certain ethical and sustainable guidelines known, won't the places most involved in their development receive a rebound effect of massification?

I often wonder how it is that some people know about a problem but do not act. But of course I'm aware that sometimes you have little choice. Perhaps meat consumption is a suitable example that illustrates what I want to say: if I know that the schnitzel in the supermarket costs 4€, has no organic, no other seal, then I am aware that this is reflected in the animal husbandry and slaughter. Now maybe someone likes to eat meat but can't afford to support a farmer or regional farm where the piece of meat costs at least three times as much, then he will buy that at 4€ and think to himself "well, nothing can be done before it is thrown away"... a more desirable form would be to switch to vegetarian alternatives, but even those are more expensive. Comparison normal milk: about 1,20€ to almond milk: about 3,50€ - and now a student or a large family must be able to afford that...
Or let's take the climate strike - I now know many people who say that the climate is important to them. But when I ask them if they will take part in the strike, I only hear no. Why? Because it might mean breaking out of their comfort zone. Similar to when people stay in the same job even though they're unhappy - a change would be too troublesome.... Personally, of course, I don't think this is the right way and something needs to be done about it, but maybe it really needs laws and political guidance for the masses. If vegan milk is cheaper than normal or if waste separation is law like in Germany, then maybe these are the incentives that could move something. If the sustainable alternative is easier than the usual one and thus the pressure of suffering becomes too great, then I see hope for environmental protection, sustainability....

 

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 29. March 2021, 8:56

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 28. March 2021, 18:21

Quote from Olimpia Alcaraz Bautista on 23. March 2021, 13:04

Very interesting!

Totally agree in highlighting the ethical side of sustainable tourism, as well as recognising that we are facing new generations of travellers, perhaps more aware than involved - let me question the practical side of what it means to recognise a problem but not to get involved. So, if we try to make certain ethical and sustainable guidelines known, won't the places most involved in their development receive a rebound effect of massification?

I often wonder how it is that some people know about a problem but do not act. But of course I'm aware that sometimes you have little choice. Perhaps meat consumption is a suitable example that illustrates what I want to say: if I know that the schnitzel in the supermarket costs 4€, has no organic, no other seal, then I am aware that this is reflected in the animal husbandry and slaughter. Now maybe someone likes to eat meat but can't afford to support a farmer or regional farm where the piece of meat costs at least three times as much, then he will buy that at 4€ and think to himself "well, nothing can be done before it is thrown away"... a more desirable form would be to switch to vegetarian alternatives, but even those are more expensive. Comparison normal milk: about 1,20€ to almond milk: about 3,50€ - and now a student or a large family must be able to afford that...
Or let's take the climate strike - I now know many people who say that the climate is important to them. But when I ask them if they will take part in the strike, I only hear no. Why? Because it might mean breaking out of their comfort zone. Similar to when people stay in the same job even though they're unhappy - a change would be too troublesome.... Personally, of course, I don't think this is the right way and something needs to be done about it, but maybe it really needs laws and political guidance for the masses. If vegan milk is cheaper than normal or if waste separation is law like in Germany, then maybe these are the incentives that could move something. If the sustainable alternative is easier than the usual one and thus the pressure of suffering becomes too great, then I see hope for environmental protection, sustainability....

 

I may add something...

I am currently writing my master's thesis for an environmental protection seal in the luxury hotel industry and how to convince the management of its usefulness. I am currently in the empirical data collection phase and the most exciting thing that has been consistently noticeable so far is that really all respondents have a desire for environmental protection in the hotel - really all of them see a need for improvement and generally give the topic a high priority. However, it can be heard that they do not become active themselves partly due to excessive demands and lack of time (which can be changed quite easily by assigning tasks) or due to fear that they cannot change anything on their own anyway. Perhaps the latter is an interesting point to start with - what's the point if I'm good at separating my trash, but others aren't... if that's what many people think, they're standing in their own way. There's a saying, "Many little people doing many little things in many little places can change the face of the world. "
And fittingly, an article on the topic of leadership and how one person alone can change something....

https://hbr.org/2019/12/how-one-person-can-change-the-conscience-of-an-organization?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=linkedin&tpcc=orgsocial_edit