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Tourism ConcernAnnual Report and Accounts 2013/14

Human Rights

All-Inclusives

Orphanages

Volunteering

Slum Tourism

Better Tourism

Contents

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Annual report 2012/13

Section 3: Campaigns 2013/14

Section 4: Digital Engagement

Section 5: Finance Report

Section 6: Accounts 2012/13

Contents

With an additional 39 million international tourists in2011, international tourist arrivals surpassed 1 billion(1.035 billion) for the first time in history in 2012.Tourism is now a key development driver in the globalSouth and main foreign exchange earner for 65 (out of69) developing countries. Tourism can be a huge forcefor good, helping local communities by providingemployment, improving living standards and acting toprotect natural resources and habitats. Unfortunatelya lot of tourism does exactly the opposite.

Set up in 1989 Tourism Concern is a uniqueindependent charity that campaigns for ethical andfairly traded tourism; development and human rights -as well providing educational resources and advice.

We campaign for Better Tourism – trips where peopleexperience the real community and the community getsreal benefits as a result. Holidays that bring long termbenefits to the local community, create decent jobs forlocal people, promote sustainable growth and arewelcomed by the local people.

Our campaigns support communities in challengingharmful practices and promote forms of tourism thatbring real benefits to local people.

Our VisionTourism which is ethical, fair and a positive experiencefor both travellers and the people and places they visit

Our MissionTo ensure tourism always benefits local people bychallenging bad practice and promoting better tourism

Our PrinciplesIndependence - Tourism Concern is a non-industrybased organisation and believes that its independenceis vital to its role.

Listening - We ensure that we listen to the opinionsand perspectives of our partners in destinationcommunities.

Shared values and vision - We believe in workingwith organisations that share our values and vision.

Inclusivity - We believe that all people have the rightto participate in all decision-making that affects themboth internally and in the work we do.

Ethical practices - We strive to operate in an ethical,sustainable and inclusive manner at all times.

Tourism which is ethical, fair and apositive experience for both travellersand the people and places they visit

www.tourismconcern.org.uk

Over the year we continued to work on a range ofeducational and awareness raising activities, developingour strategies and aims through rigorous research andconsultation.

This year we completed our research on employeerights in All Inclusive hotels. Tourism Concernsupported by the International Union of Food,Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco andAllied Workers’ Associations (IUF) undertook theresearch in order to seek to understand more fully howthe all-inclusive model of tourism impacts upon therights of hotel workers.

The primary aim was to generate new evidence andunderstanding about how the all-inclusive holidaymodel impacts upon pay, working conditions and labourrights of hotel employees in the selected destinations,including comparison with those in other types of hotel.We also sought to investigate how these workingconditions influence the wider social and economicstatus and living conditions of employees and theirfamilies. It is hoped that the evidence gathered will

inform a public debate about improving and protectingthe rights of hotel employees, and help in promotingsocially equitable, inclusive and sustainable tourismincluding influencing government and industry policyformation. The report was launched at the House ofCommons at a reception hosted by Steve Reed OBEMP.

In June we launched our stop orphanage tourismcampaign which highlighted how volunteering atorphanages was driving the demand for orphans. InJune we also presented to the United Nations WorldTourism Organisation in Seoul.

In September we held a reception to present our newinteractive map website design, which will incorporatethe ethical travel guide, library, educational resourcesand campaigns.

Over the year 300,000 people visited ourwebsite, with web visits increasing from 20,000in April 2013 to over 35,000 a month by March2014.

We have increased revenue fromindividual donors and engaged withmore people than ever.

Section 2: Annual Report

Section 2: Annual Report

Tourism Concern's Ethical Tour Operators Group highlights how tourism can bea force for good; by collaborating with the socially responsible tour operatorswho are passionate about minimising negative impacts within the industry.

ETOG is formed by a group of small to medium size tour operators that strive toimprove their Ethical and Responsible Tourism practices. We allow members toexchange ideas, explore and promote best practice - in a non-competitiveatmosphere. We have created a package of activities designed to facilitatedialogue, provide essential information and skills to support operators in thechallenge of running a socially responsible tourism business. For those who arenot quite there yet but want to move towards ethical and responsible tourism,ETOG offers an opportunity to learn from other members and improve theirpractice and ethos about tourism.


Ethical Tour Operators Group

April 2013 - Launched our Better Tourism campaignand distributed 60,000 leaflets in the NewInternationalist, Geographical and Wanderlustmagazines prompting Better Tourism. Started work onPoverty Tourism campaign working with residentgroups in the Favela Rochina.

May - Organised a trek of Mt Toubkal which promotedethical trekking and raised money to help produce aninteractive map. Research undertaken in Barbados onemployee conditions in All Inclusive hotels.

June - Guest speaker at the United Nations WorldTourism Organisation conference in Seoul. Launch oforphanage campaign.

July - BBC Fastrack covered the launch of our ethicalvolunteering campaign; assisted with human rightsimpact assessment in India; London 10K team raisedmoney for the volunteering campaign.

August - Research undertaken in Kenya on employeeconditions in All Inclusive hotels compared to non allinclusive. Launch of the online Ethical Travel Guide.

September - Judged entrants in the ResponsibleTravel Awards. Thames Path Challenge team raisedmoney for the orphanage campaign. Reception held at1 Cornhill attended by over 60 people for launch ofinteractive map / website project.

October - launched petition against OrphanageTourism. Media coverage in Huffington Post,Independent, Mail on Sunday etc. Final All Inclusiveresearch took place in Tenerife.

November - Guest speaker at World Travel Market onhuman rights and tourism and televised panel debateon water and tourism.

December - Gave lectures to students at SouthamptonUniversity, Bucks New University, Surrey University andworked with Explore Worldwide on the MSc course.

January - AGM and Annual Report launched.

February - Ethical Volunteering Group launched. GIVsleaflet drafted.

March 2014 - All Inclusive report launched at theHouse of Commons. Extensive media coverage in theObserver and local radio.

Ethical VolunteeringWiith volunteering overseas on development projectsrapidly growing in popularity and increasing numbers ofadventure tour operators offering ‘voluntourism’packages, serious questions have arisen about howsome such projects are managed and how the benefitsare being shared. It is also a challenge for prospectivevolunteers to identify organisations that embrace bestpractice.

Tourism Concern seeks to ensure that volunteering is aforce for good by collaborating with ethical andresponsible international volunteering organisationswho are passionate about maximising the positivedevelopmental outcomes of volunteering, whilst alsoworking to minimise potential negative impacts.

Orphanage TourismIn many parts of the world orphanages have become atourist attraction and a ‘bucket list’ volunteeringopportunity. The orphan child has become a pseudocommodity for volunteers who are lured into giving loveto children in need. The orphanage business has seen a“gap” in the market and is objectifying children allaround the developing world as a product and principal

element of a packaged holiday “orphanagevoluntourism” and this needs to stop.

Tourism and volunteering in orphanages is fuelling thedemand for "orphans", and so driving the unnecessaryseparation of children from their families. In the pastdecade the number of orphan children has declined butthe number of orphanages has risen in response to thedemand from tourists and volunteers. We launched apetition calling call upon governments and touroperators to end the scourge of “orphanage tourism”and urging tourists not to visit orphanages, but to seekout alternative ways that they can benefit local people.

All InclusivesIt is hoped that the evidence gathered from ourresearch will inform a public debate about improvingand protecting the rights of hotel employees, and helpin promoting socially equitable, inclusive andsustainable tourism including influencing governmentand industry policy formation. The launch event wasonly open to Friends and Members of Tourism Concern.Our next research paper will cover consumerperspectives on Al lInclusive hotels - which includesfeedback from almost 2000 travellers.

Every year thousands of volunteers and touristsare lured to giving love to children in need. Butare they fuelling the orphanage industry?

Section 2: Key Achievements



Tourism Concern:

Poverty / Slum TourismPoverty or Slum Tourism is the controversialphenomenon of organised excursions to informalsettlements or ‘slums’ in places such as India, thefavelas in Rio and the townships in South Africa. Weare using our expertise to influence tour operators toundertake these tours ethically and in a way thatbenefits local residents. We employed a Brazilianresearcher to work with community groups in theFavella Rochina in Rio to produce a leaflet for touristsand get feedback from the local community.

There were at least 7 formal tour operators operatetours in Rocinha (only one is owned by a resident)and visiting the location has become a must do formany foreign tourists. It is estimated that at least3500 tourists visit Rocinha per month paying around£25 for a tour with an average duration of 3 hours.We spoke to 25 residents in Rocinha about their viewof the possible tourism-related benefits andchallenges in their community and about theirperception of tourists. When asked about actualbenefits or what changes tourism has brought to theircommunity the most common answer was "none".

Township Tours

Jeanett Andrea Søderstrøm undertook research intoTownship tours in South Africa and found that whilsttownship dwellers welcome tourism, because itrepresents the only industry through which many canenhance their living conditions and situations, thebenefits were uneven. We interviewed householdswho were visited by tourists, up to five times a day,but who claimed that they got no economic benefit,unless tourists occasionally left some money.

Tourism Concern:

Township in Cape Town, South Africa

Favella, Rio, Brazil

Section 3: Campaigns for 2014/15

International tourist arrivals surpassed 1billion (1.035 billion) for the first time inhistory in 2012.

Tourism and DevelopmentDevelopment agencies and governments havepromoted tourism as a driver of economic developmentfor bringing in foreign exchange and corporateinvestment into developing countries. However, thesegovernments have found themselves having to financelarge infrastructural improvements (such as cruise shipterminals and airport extensions) to serve the needs ofthe tourist market.

At a local level there is a growing interest in distributingthe benefits of tourism more widely. Recentdevelopments include the growth of community basedtourism initiatives such as home-stays, communitymanaged hotels, events and tours as well as betterlinkages to the main tourist market through agricultureand crafts. However, market access, marketing skillsand quality standards are key weaknesses that affectthe success of many community based initiatives.

Tourism Concern is needed now more than everThe negative impacts of tourism remain largelyunchecked and are increasing. As one of the largestindustries in the world, tourism’s influence isstaggering. However, like many international and

globalised industries, tourism can undermine humanrights and sadly it is often only possible to see thedamage done when communities, livelihoods andenvironments have already been irreparably damaged.Tourism Concern provides a voice for local people indestination countries, who rarely have the opportunityto tell their story. We consistently challenge the tourismindustry, tourists and the UK government to becomeaware of their impacts and to ensure that tourismalways benefits local communities.

Tourism Concern is also creating solutions through fairtrade tourism development, grassroots capacity buildingand providing tools and information for both the touristand the industry.

Current CampaignsThe focus of our current campaigns is about makingtourism better. Recognising that tourism can be a forcefor good and as a tool for international development.

We will work with industry to improve their operationsand provide advice and information to tourists, in orderthat they can make better and more informed decisionsabout their holidays - ensuring that holidays bring realbenefits to destination communities.

All InclusivesTourism Concern has undertaken a detailed online survey on consumer perceptionsand behaviour in regards to all inclusive holidays. The survey was sent out via emailto over 500,000 travellers in the UK via an emedia purchased list of tourists.Responses were also gathered via other channels and via our website which waspromoted after a detailed report on BBC breakfast news which highlighted some ofthe issues around the all-inclusive model. Tourism Concern undertook the research tobetter understand how consumers view the all-inclusive model. We also wanted tobetter understand the impacts of the all-inclusive model by asking about theirbehaviour when staying at an all-inclusive resort. The report will be launched in thesummer of 2014.

Cruise shipsThe cruise tourism industry grew rapidly during the 1990’s with a worldwide demandat a cumulative rate of 7.9 per cent compared to 4.3 overall demands forinternational travel. The industry forecasted it will carried 20 million passengers in2012. Cruising is a growing trend and although brings some benefit to destinations,the reality in most cases is that they convey large numbers of low value passengers,who have limited time for meaningful cultural exchange and leave behind largeamounts of rubbish and pollution. The large cruise ships have an enormousecological impact and notoriously poor working conditions. Additionally manydestinations have become highly dependant on this form of tourism which can inhibitthe development of other, more sustainable forms of tourism. We will produce adetailed briefing and organise a discussion event by the end of 2014.

Ethical TrekkingFrostbite, altitude sickness and even death can be the cost for the porters carryingtrekkers' equipment in the Himalayas, on the Inca Trail in Peru and at MountKilimanjaro, Tanzania. Lack of shelter, inadequate food and clothing, and minimalpay are commonly faced problems.Campaign Aims1. To encourage all UK tour operators to adopt our code of conduct and display theEthical Trekking logo2. To raise awareness with trekkers via media, trekking blogs and magazines3. To work with porter groups in destinations to improve working conditions andsupport

It is debatable whether many volunteeringopportunities bring real benefits to hostcommunities.

Ethical VolunteeringThe desire to travel and experience new culturesaround the globe is commendable, as is the desire tovolunteer; people who volunteer generally hope to dosomething they will find interesting, something they willlearn from and something that will help other people.However it is debatable whether many volunteeringopportunities bring real benefits to host communitiesand many exploit the good intentions of well-meaningvolunteers.

UK volunteers can pay thousands of pounds (mostgoing to the tour operator) to undertake shortvolunteering placements overseas, which although wellintentioned, can often do more harm than good.Volunteers often have unfulfilling and disappointingexperiences; volunteer placements can prevent localworkers from getting much-needed jobs; hard-pressedinstitutions waste time looking after them and moneyupgrading facilities; and abused or abandoned childrenform emotional attachments to the visitors, whoincrease their trauma by disappearing back home aftera few weeks. Wiith volunteering overseas ondevelopment projects rapidly growing in popularity and

increasing numbers of adventure tour operatorsoffering ‘voluntourism’ packages, serious questionshave arisen about how some such projects aremanaged and how the benefits are being shared. It isalso a challenge for prospective volunteers to identifyorganisations that embrace best practice.

Tourism Concern seeks to ensure that volunteering is aforce for good by collaborating with ethical andresponsible international volunteering organisationswho are passionate about maximising the positivedevelopmental outcomes of volunteering, whilst alsoworking to minimise potential negative impacts.

Campaign Aims1. Produce a briefing paper on volunteering2. Produce guidance for potential volunteers3. Improve industry practices promoting the GIVprinciples4. Facilitate continuous improvement by forming a GIVSgroup of Ethical Volunteering operators.

Section 3: Ethical Volunteering

Ethical Travel GuideThe purpose of the Ethical Travel Guide is to help travellers in making betterdecisions about where to go, who to go with, where to stay and what to do inaccordance with principles of ethical tourism. The initiative intertwines three essentialstrands of how Tourism Concern works:1) We seek to give a voice to communities where tourism takes place, sharing theirconcerns and recommendations in order to encourage more equitable andsustainable tourism. Developing the interactive map will involve a substantialbuilding of our network of partner organisations worldwide which share adherenceto our principles.2) We aim to help travellers to take responsibility for their impact by choosing ethicaloptions for what to do and where to stay, and being responsible, sensitive andwell-informed whilst travelling. Research suggests that once the main criteria for aholiday are satisfied (location/facilities, cost and availability), travellers will makechoices based on ethical considerations, which will in turn encourage the industryto adopt more ethical approaches.3) We are promoting ethical travel – in the form of community-based tourism (CBT)for example – as an alternative to the mainstream. However, we will also promotemainstream ethical approaches, not least because research suggests that privatesector initiatives perform at least as well as CBT initiatives. Nonetheless, we areaware that the industry has a habit of hijacking and diluting positive initiatives.There are plenty of examples of tour operators – including local organisations –who make extravagant claims for the amount they put back into the community.

Interactive MapA clear role for Tourism Concern is to change consumer behaviour in order thatpeople make better and more informed choices about their holidays. Whilst thebriefings and newsletters are important the website needs to be more focused oninformation that this useful for the traveler. We would therefore like to redevelop thewebsite in order that it provides easily accessible information to consumers on ethicaltravel. A country by country approach with an interactive map that could combineour issues with ETOG, and the Ethical Travel Guide is the preferred approach.

Web visits increased from 200,000 in2012/13 to over 300,000 in 2013/14

New Website (opposite)We increased traffic to our website agin this year form20,000 visitors a month in April 2013 to over 30,000 amonth by March 2014. However our current website isdifficult to navigateand visitors struggleto access theinformation theyneed.

So, although wedidn't manage tosecure funding forthe new website wehave have nowstarted work onbuilding the siteourselves as an in-house project. Thenew site will enableus to combine our campaigns, educational resourcesand Ethical Travel Guide into one comprehensiveresource. This will not only improve our campaigning,but also enable tourists to travel more ethically and in a

way that brings benefits to local communities.

Tourism Concern is the only charity in Europecampaigning on tourism issues and the new website is

expected to attract500,000 visitors ayear. Thisredevelopment willenable TourismConcern to promotehuman rights,gender equality, endchild exploitationand further workerrights in developingcountriesconsiderably.

The design andfunctionality of thenew website has

been finalised and technical development complete.Once developed the website and ethical travel guidewill be self-financing and contribute to TourismConcerns core running costs.

Section 4: Digital Engagement

Section 5: Finance Report

Although overall income was down weincreased revenue from individual donorsby 17%.

Finance updateTourism Concern has always struggled to generate coreincome and has been over reliant on restricted grantincome - it needs to develop a strong base of individualsupporters.

In 2013/14 income dropped by 38% and expenses by45% - most of this is accounted for by DfID projectcoming to an end. Individual giving increased by 17%with increases in both Membership and Donations.

Expenditure on charitable activitiesaccounted for 97% of our expenses withjust 2% spent on fundraising activities andless than 1% on governance costs. Of thecharitable spending 35% was spent ongeneral and administrative campaign costswith 65% being spent directly on ourcampaigns (see chart opposite). Over halfof our income came from individuals in2013/14.

Overall we made a loss of £7664 over theyear, but hope to start increasing balancesin 2014/15.

Campaigns)97%)

Membership)and)

Fundraising)2%)

Governnance)1%)

EXPENSES)

General''and'Admin'35%'

GIVS'7%'

Orphanage'6%'All'Inclusives'

9%'

Indigenous'Rights'6%'

Interac@ve'Map'8%'

Educa@on'and'Outreach'

8%'

Library'7%'

Slum'Tourism'8%'

Other'6%'

CAMPAIGN'EXPENDITURE'

Individual GivingDespite the economic downturn, which resulted in charity givingin the UK dropping, we increased donations from individuals by17%. We introduced the Friends of Tourism Concern in March2012 (regular donation of £5 a month or more) and currentlyhave 209 Friends. Membership income increased this year but isstill too low to sustain the charity. We need to recruit 1000Friends if the charity is to remain effective, we also need toencourage people to support our campaigns with donations. Wehave 15,570 people on our database but only a handful giveregularly.

ETOG, Research and Academic membershipOur Ethical Tour Operators Group remained steady in 2013/14and we now have almost 30 members. The group is animportant part of our operation and allows us to plancampaigns more effectively and work with some dedicated andinspirational people who truly care about the people and placesthey visit. Our Academic Network of universities andeducational establishments is also growing and we now givelectures to our partners across the UK. In 2014 we will belaunching our Ethical Volunteering Group.

Grant IncomeUnrestricted grant income (to cover core costs) dropped againand we have struggled to find funders thats will support ourwork. Which is why we are particularly grateful to those trustsand foundations that have supported us and continue tosupport us.

We are very grateful to the following for their support over theyear: CAFOD, Educational and General Trust, The MorelTrust, Robert Charitable Trust, Alan and Nesta Fergusonand the Maple Trust.

0"

10000"

20000"

30000"

40000"

50000"

60000"

2014" 2013" 2012"

Sales"

Friends"/"Members"

Dona9ons"

Friends(22%(

Dona.ons(31%(

ETOG(10%(

Grant((Core)(16%(

Dona.ons(in(kind(12%(

Educa.onal(5%(

Research(4%( Other(

INCOME(

Section 6: Accounts: 2013/14Statement of Financial Activities - year ending 31st March 2014

Note Unrestricted

Funds Restricted

Funds 2014 2013 £ £

Incoming resources Incoming resources from generated funds Donations 30,165 - 30,165 25,328 Donated services and facilities 12,000 - 12,000 25,029 Sale of Resources & Events 4,320 - 4,320 2,855 Investment Income 57 - 57 42 Incoming resources from charitable activities Grant receivable 2 16,000 - 16,000 51,812 Memberships 21,388 - 21,388 18,758 Research and activities 4,230 - 4,230 22,195 Ethical Tour Operators Group Subscriptions 8,878 - 8,878 12,625 Total incoming resources 97,038 - 97,038 158,644

Resources expended Fundraising 3 1,952 - 1,952 22,306 Charitable activities 3 101,520 - 101,520 169,617 Governance Costs 3 1,220 - 1,220 1,467 Total resources expended 104,695 - 104,695 193,390

Net movement in resources (7,657) - (7,657) (34,746) Total funds brought forward 15,321 - 15,321 50,067 Total funds carried forward 7,664 - 7,664 15,321

Balance Sheet Note 2014 2013 £ £ £ £ Fixed Assets 6 - - Current Assets Debtors 7 4,846 21,550 Bank and Cash 24,962 19,486 29,808 41,036

Current liabilities 8 Creditors and accruals (22,144) (25,715) (22,144) (25,715) Net current assets 7,664 15,321 Total assets less current liabilities 7,664 15,321

Funds Restricted 9 - - Unrestricted 7,664 15,321 7.664 15,321

2014 2013

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total £ £ £ £ 2 Grants receivable DFID Civil Society Challenge Fund - - - 32,262 CAFOD 5,500 - 5,500 5,500 Educational and General Charitable Trust 2,500 - 2,500 2,000 Margaret Hayman Charitable Trust - - - 10,000 The Morel Trust 2,000 - 2,000 2,000 Robert Charitable Trust 1,000 - 1,000 - Allan and Nesta Fergusen 3,000 - 3,000 - Maple Trust 2,000 - 2,000 - The Camden Trust - - - 50 16,000 - 16,000 51,812

[email protected]


The Lansdowne Building,

2 Lansdowne Road, Croydon, CR9 2ER

Tourism Concern

Tourism Concern campaigns for better tourism. We are anindependent, non-industry based, UK charity, withmembers and supporters from around the world.

We would like to thank all the staff, volunteers, membersand supporters who have helped us make tourism betterin 2013/14

Registered Charity No. 1064020.Co. Ltd. by Guarantee (England) 3260052

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