The Mauritius As A Green Destination Tourism Essay

The Mauritius As A Green finishing holiday piprry EssayFifty years ago, touristry was a word of honor r arly employ by close multitude. However, e actuallywhere the time, it has witnessed a spectacular transformation into a multifaceted activity. Travel and touristry have been bound to a privileged few, namely the rich at the early time. Now, touristry has grown to much(prenominal) dimensions and importance that it is regarded as one of the high-speed suppuration manufacture in the introduction, transforming into a mean of culture for several countries, including legion(predicate) Sm all Island Developing Countries (SIDS) like Mauritius (UNWTO, 2011). Today, it is understood by deal all over the world, many regard holidays as part of everyday intent and foreign plump is passn for granted. Consequently, holidays remove has become a boom business. touristry and hospitality assiduity is now recognized as the worlds largest and fastest growing manufacture, a s it is estimated that between 1950 and 2004, touristry activities have ontogenyd from 25 jillion to 763 million worldwide, with an estimation of 1.6 billion by 2020- an average annual rate of about 6.5 portion (WTO, 2004).Profile of MauritiusMauritius, an island on the outskirts of tropical Africa, has a nice card to play as a tourism endpoint and it is endowed with imagerys and has the potential to be a spirt address. Mauritius surrounded by cobalt sick seas with long beaches and soft and silvery sand makes the island an idealistic tourist attraction. Mauritius is a fascinating island which is loaded with historic sites, cultural diversity, geographic variations and genius. The Aapravasi Ghat- the Immigration Depot where indentured laborers disembarked, was decl ard as a universe Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2006. Later on in 2008, Le Morne Cultural Landscapes- which encompasses a natural fortress that was used as a retreat for escaping slaves in the island in the 18th and early nineteenth century was nominated as knowledge domain Heritage Site. Black River Gorges culture super acid is on the tentative list of Mauritius to be nominated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site.1.2 Mauritius as a car park coatingAcross the globe, public is change magnitudely interested about surroundings curves, consequently tourism terminals ar realizing that ad chooseing immature practices and kelvin care are quickly fit a strategic tool that can enhance a destinations combative payoff. The facts that people are beginning to look at thou practices in a whole vernal way it is a moldiness to involve sustainability in the hotel industry. The perception of verdure has transmute it has gone from a fringe movement to a mainstream. The tourism foodstuff has been diversifying into divergent wedge shape segments in order to respond to the exact posits and wants of their customers.Tourism is regarded as the main economic pillar of Mauritius, indeed t he Travel and Tourism industry brings many positive jounces in Mauritius barely the fact that alongside with these advantages, untested(prenominal) divisors like climate change, pollution and effects of tourism practices have alike created a hot issue in the Tourism arena. The negative impacts of tourism activities has resulted in an change magnitude demand of kibibyte destination, meaning destination where thither are visible efforts of protecting and sustaining the environment by dealing with issues like carbon emissions, bio diversity conservation, resources usage, water supply and waste management. It can be said that the tourism and the environment sustainability concept are visibly becoming natural partners.Green tourism, for the past couple of years, has been a crucial factor for tourists musical composition opting for a destination. Mauritius has several sites that encourage thousand tourism such(prenominal) as Pamplemousses Garden (it ranks among the most famo us botanical gardens in the world with its giants water lilies and evocation spice plants), Domaine Les Pailles (a natural park spreading over 3000 acres at the foot of a mountain range), Casela Bird Park (which stretches over 25 hectares and contains to a greater extent than 140 species of birds from five continents), Black River Gorges, Ile aux aigret and among others.A green destination can contribute to favourable behavioral intentions intentions to revisit or an intention to offer positive recommendations to others.1.3 Problem argumentationAlthough Mauritius is heavily dependent on income derived from tourism, it is important that the countrys natural resources be maintained for future generation to experience. Therefore, passing play green is a key section of the next phase of change in the industry. To better analyze the relevance of Mauritius in relation to green destination, the concept must clearly be defined Green Tourism may be defined as In short, green touris m is all about adapting to and mitigating climate change in relation to tourism, about green securities industry, green programmes, green practices and among others. Originally, the consideration green related in business operations to environmental matters but now it embraces all aspects of sustainable development.Mauritius hosted 925 000 tourists excluding transit and cruise passengers in 2011, whereas in the year 2010 the arrival rate was 898 000. Although there is an cast up of 3% which may seem respectable at first sight but, however, it pales in proportion to double digit growth rates earned by Indian Ocean peers, for example Maldives +18%, Seychelles +11% and Sri Lanka +31%. Mauritius registered a step-down which was partly offset by great penetration into Eastern europium and Asia. Mauritius has plunged from a dominant 41% to 33% of Indian Ocean securities industry in just two short years. The tourists arrival for 2012 was 938 000 and the year 2012 was a difficult ye ar wherein Europe slipped back into recession and this recession is unconvincing to be resolved any time soon. It is feared that 2013 may be as harsh as 2012.However, tourism has non reached the end of the journey it finds itself at a critical juncture where Mauritius has to diverse to a new market segment which is the green market. Mauritius must realize that in order to tolerate private-enterprise(a), becoming green must be a principal particle of branding and merchandise policies. Failing to adopt such an approach may mean losing a loyal customer base.By advertising Mauritius as a green destination, the tourism industry will show their environmental responsibility of tourist operations to attract green tourists and improve their standardised with customers.1.4 Aims and Objectives of the lookGreen tourism has been identified as one of the most important economy driver for most developing countries. My objective is to market Mauritius as a green destination to benefit from warlike advantage. Therefore, my aims areTo explore the reasons why Mauritius should be promoted as Green-destinationTo explore the possible ways to build up a sustainable image of the countryTo focalize on the potential ways for establishing green tourism that can benefits topical anaesthetic communityTo examine on some critical issues which could act as barriers from benefitting from green tourismIn particular based on the research findings, I will offer recommendations in the field of green tourism in Mauritius1.5 Organisation of the studyThis study is organized into five chapters listed as belowChapter one deals with the background information, problem statement, research aims and objectivesChapter two provides a review of the literature on Green depotChapter three presents the methodology of the study, explains the steps involved in developing research design, sampling and selective information collection proceduresChapter four includes and presents the findings and resul ts in the statistical analysisChapter five sum the whole study with a conclusion and recommendation.LITTERATURE REVIEWThe modern tourists opt for green tourism Green Tourism, synonymous in meaning with eco-tourism is amenable travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people (TIES, 1990), as they want to pass up their carbon footprint. Nowadays, customers no longer drive just linen and towel reuse programs as being full green practices in the green destination concept. They consider factors that are leading to energy efficiency, a proper waste division, procurement, and water conservation (Heisterkamp, 2009 Wolff, 2008). Tourism destinations and tourism industry need to position themselves to meet these challenges and dole out advantage of new opportunities arising from changing consumer preferences as well as changing environmental and business practices.Green Research within Hospitality Industry purchasing a certificate doesn t make you green said Lyndall De Marco, executive director, world-wide Tourism Partnership, The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum.Being green begins with a thought process De Marco said. What makes hotel sustainable involves an integrated, holistic process that encompasses site use, water and energy use, materials and resources, operations and community and social relations. (DESIGN Patricia Sheehan, Hotel Design Managing Editor)The global environmental certification program for the travel and tourism industry was developed in 1996 by three international organizations the World Travel Tourism Council, the World Tourism Organisation and the Earth Council. These organizations jointly launched an action plan empower agendum 21 for the Travel Tourism Industry Towards environsally sustainable Development. Subsequently, Green Globe, a benchmarking, certification and bring aboutance-improvement program based on the Agenda 21 principles, was created. This program i dentifies the environmental and developmental issues which threaten the economy and bionomic balance, and presents a strategy for transition to more than sustainable development practices. Hotels run across Green Globe certification by addressing major environmental issues in key areas including greenhouse emissions, energy efficiency, management of freshwater resources, ecosystem conservation, and waste water and solid waste management.Reasons to go for Green DestinationEco-tourism is not a new phenomenon. Nature-based tourism has a long tradition (Ousby, 2002). Modern forms of eco-tourism became habitual in the 1980s but can be traced back to the wildlife conservation reserves in Kenya opening to tourists in the 1960s (Honey, 2009). Academic study of eco-tourism has grown steadily over the past two decades (Jayawardena et al., 2008). Enthusiasm for the issue reflects the segments buoyancy over the past 20 years (Mastny, 2001, The International Ecotourism Society, 2006) and g reater consensus on the meaning of key concepts (Horobin, 1996). A destinations environment, often a sum component of its image, is a key factor motivating tourists destination weft and loyalty (Meng and Uysal, 2008 Hosany et al., 2006). With rising concern over the impacts of global warming, there is a danger that tourism operators and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) will exaggerate their eco-credentials.Consumer subscribeThe last few years have been a considerable make up in consumer consciousness of green tourism, partly may be because of prolonged media coverage. Consumers are increasingly sampleing environmentally friendly products and have a greater intelligence of the impacts of green practices and climate change. There are an increasing number of consumers who are willing to change their actions in relation to these issues, and tourism industry can target these consumers to gain a competitive advantage.A range of studies, three of which are referenced bel ow, have been undertaken to look at the correlation between environmental impacts of tourism and changes in consumer behavior. The studies have examine the gap between what people who have changed their behavior or are willing to pay more for a green experience. Tourists are increasingly demanding that the destinations are pollution free as well as interesting. Consumers consciousness regarding green tourism has similarly fuelled concern among some travelers and made them loath(p) to undertake tourism activities such as long haul travel.In May 2008, a joint Commonwealth and State study into consumer sensory faculty found that although consumers feel that the environment is of major important, they have the tendancy not to take responsibility for environmental issues. Many also feel that travel is a compensation to be enjoyed with carefree and without any tension that they are causing any harm to the environment. Their main purpose is to enjoy. The study notes that there is a di fference between attitudes and behaviours for approximately 44 percent of those surveyed.However, supporting the findings of the 2007 solitary Planet Travellers Pulse Survey (24, 500 respondents worldwide) found the following in relation to consumer demand84 percent of respondents said they would consider offsetting their emissions in the future (3 percent had done so in the past).90 percent of people said they would or might purposefully travel in a low impact way and93 percent of people said they would or might purposefully partake in environmentally friendly travel in the future.A sustainable Tourism concerted Research Centre (STCRC) study also found out that 70 percent of tourists surveyed indicated that they would change their travel pattern or plans in the future to be more green.Another study conducted in India which surveyed Indian consumers about their attitudes towards green practices in the tourism industry showed that 22 percent of the respondents seek out environmenta l properties (Manaktola Jauhari, 2007). In the United States, 43,000,000 travelers are environmentally concerned (Greening your travel experience, 1998). Gustin and Weaver (1996) found that 73.7 percent of respondents considered themselves environmentally conscious consumers while 54.3 percent thought of themselves as environmentally conscious travelers.Competitive benefitGreen destinations are becoming increasingly pop due to the menses environmental crisis that is occurring worldwide. It has become obvious that the tourism industry does more than its cope in damaging and exploiting environmental resources. As a result, more and more tourists are looking for destinations following practices to protect environment. Becoming a green destination can be the foundation for a great marketing strategy and the first step in marketing is providing consumers with what they or need. A growing consumer base exists for green destinations, and marketing the green practices of a destination can help to position it distinctly in the market vagabond. Therefore, going green makes each property unique, and furthermore creates a competitive advantage. Sustainable competitive advantage exists with the ownership or a precious resource that allows the organizations to perform better or more efficient than their competitors (Graci Dodds, 2008, p.256).For tourism industry, green programmes can provide a competitive advantage, as long as green activities are still optional in the market. Eventually, green practices are becoming a baseline requirement, because the cost of non-renewable energy continues to increase. Therefore, proactive tourism destinations with sustainable green models will have the strongest opportunity of achieving a competitive advantage (Ernst Young Report Hospitality qualifying Green). By doing and practicing environment friendly practices destinations gain positive publicity, customer loyalty, hence a decisive competitive edge over competitors (Guskin Weaver, 1996).Green hotels create a competitive advantage for themselves by attracting and retaining their employees. Employee turnover is one of the biggest problems and expenses within the hotel industry. However, studies have shown that environmentally conscious hotels have greater employee loyalty. A Canadian study describe that employees are far more probably to identify with an employer whose principles and practices are in tune with certain trends (Graci Dodds, 2008). environmental initiatives have shown to be a valuable way to create passion and encourage team work to master a central goal (Graci Dodds, 2008). Team work must be inspired from the top down in a hotel. The Orchard Gardens familiar manager, Stefan Muhle, said you just cant send out a memo, (Dicum, 2007) each(prenominal) the staffs have to be included front to back. Their heart has to be in it (Dicum, 2007). Each staff member needs to be educated in what the hotel is doing to achieve sustainability goals so they can not only participate, but also answer guest questions (Dicum, 2007). By educating staff members, including them, keeping them informed and challenging them to achieve goals, management of green hotels excites their staff and allows them to identify with their organization which leads to lower turnover rates. Lower turnover rates in turn fork up the hotel expenses involved with recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. The competitive advantages realized by green hotels do not stop with retaining employees consumers do seek out green hotels. Green hotels are becoming increasingly popular due to the current environmental crisis that is occurring worldwide. Green hotels are few and far between across not only the United States, but also the world. Therefore, going green makes each property unique, and furthermore creates a competitive advantage. Therefore, sustainable competitive advantage exists with the ownership or a valuable resource that allows the organization s to perform better or more efficient than their competitors (Graci Dodds, 2008, p. 256). The Cedar House run around Hotel, for example, has gardens on the roof of their hotel. The gardens attract local birds and insects for guests to observe, which in turn attracts more guests. However, the gardens also serve another purpose, as they cool the hotel during the summer months (Dicum, 2007).Environment ToolkitUnplanned or uncontrolled tourism can be a cause of negative impacts such as the physical deterioration of the destination facilities and the destruction of the natural environment. It can also create conflict at the destination areas on the issues of access, irresponsible behavior by tourists, competition for labour, soil, corrosion and land prices (Mathieson and Wall, 1982).Environment responsibility makes ecological sense, because keeping the environment patriarchal means that tourists will come to appreciate and enjoy the natural steady of the destination. Gone are the da ys when going green necessarily meant making large investments in expensive technology.The main reason for tourists to travel to a destination is to look for authencity and real experiences (not artificial culture devised to deceive tourists) such as wildlife, historic townscape, aspect. They also respect local identity, its special features that make a destination different and unique- this could be the Taj Mahal of India, or cobalt blue seas of Mauritius.Tourism is among the highest contributor to green house gas emissions and these emissions are likely to increase with tourism sector growth. Tourism accommodation, guide, events and attractions consume significant follow of fuel, energy and water and can impact the natural environment. Of these, air transport is by far the largest contributor to tourism, accounting for 40% of the sectors contribution to carbonic acid gas emissions globally. The introduction of low cost carriers airlines has improved accessibility to flights and opened travel markets but in turn has increased energy consumption.These wildlife, historic townscape and scenery form the core products of tourism industry and if these core products continued to be harmed by the pollution or other environmental impacts, then the very foundation on which the industry stands will be eroded. The tourism industry in particular has recently received much attention with awareness of the negative impacts that are having on the environment (Kasim, 2004).Emergence of election TourismThe government has announced a visitor target of 2 million by 2020, therefore Mauritius has recently been experiencing a surge in tourism and tourism-related activities, but this growth is also raising concerns that mass tourism development could lead to the destruction of the countrys fragile coastline, fauna and flora.There has been a determine thinking in pursuit of increased number of tourists without seriously understanding the benefit that local communities derived fro m tourism or the real cost of tourism for the local community and environment being assessed. Setting targets for doubling the tourist arrival rate, which were believed to bring much more capital, but this is not the case.Alternative forms of tourism tend to be geared to more responsible tourism. different forms of alternative tourism serve different purposes. Most forms aim to rationalize the adverse impacts of mass tourism. Some forms may aim to reduce or dissipate the influence of the existing industry that has developed under a strong western influence, while some aim only for a new or special market that have emerged as a result of shifts in global trade and the political relationship among different nations. Thus, alternative tourism can be seen both(prenominal) as a vision of the future and as an adaptation to mass tourism, however, are well linked with the sustainable development paradigm.The benefits of responsible tourism are not far off and unclear. They are achievabl e, and in most cases, can be perceived immediately. On the other hand, it may take years onward the negative impacts of environmental neglect are tangle.By advertising Mauritius as a green destination, Mauritius will not just pursue an increase in tourist number but instead they will concentre more on what kind of tourists want and these tourists will then be directed to the most appropriate areas as suitable.Creating a Green DestinationThe breadth and depth of opportunity for a destination to establish green credentials is immense, and continues to grow. There are a number of ways in which a destination can work with the environment to create a unique, compelling, and competitive destination.To name a fewECO-TOURISMOne of the most popular approaches to freeing Green eco-tourism (as a globally recognized and celebrated receding offering) puts engaging with the natural environment of the destination at the centre of the offering. Destinations which take pride in their abundant w ildlife, flora and fauna have successfully created traveler experiences which make it possible to be immersed in and involved with nature as a tourism attraction which can be seen, felt and even contributed to. In addition, eco-tourism destinations offer the benefit of an enhanced sense of wellness from being in such a pure environment (even if advanced(a) in design, that is Six Senses Wellness Resorts) with opportunity to partake in excursions center on being at one with nature.ECO-FRIENDLYDestinations which define themselves as Going Green from an ecofriendly perspective openly and voluntarily adopt and express environmentally friendly practices which, while seemingly small, can in fact make a big difference when added up. The desire to be considerate of the impact of the industry (or parts of it) on the environment are there, with efforts made to do the little things which are simply the right thing to do. Eco-friendly efforts include canonical environmentally considerate chan ges to existing stand, i.e. frequency of linen washing, keypads in hotel retinue to turn on/off power mains, increased air conditioner temperatures in large spaces, replacement of traditional light bulb to energy preservation bulbs, selective recycling efforts (like grey water). Interestingly, destinations venturing into these even incremental practices will honour a positive impact on the bottom line.ECO-POLICIESGetting more serious about the impact which the industry has on the environment, enforcement of eco-policies by governments and tourism corporations reflects the fundamental philosophy held by leaders of a destination and tourism business towards energy conservation and environmental responsibility. Enforcement of policy removes the window of choice for members of the Tourism community, making changes to existing and future tourism products and services changes to increase energy efficiency and/or reduce wastage of resources a must. These policies do not apply purely to destinations which exist within locations surrounded by verdure and teeming with wildlife. Even the most built-up, uber-urban, heavily-populated areas which could be described more as concrete jungles than even garden cities can successfully impose and oxygenise green policies and incentives. Macau, as an example, has put in place a green hotel awards programme for international developers of resorts and casinos scrambling to get a piece of the action and place a bet on tourism growth in the new Asian tourism hot spot. The initiative by Macaus Environment Council (now Environmental Protection Bureau), which was introduced in 2007, drives across the industry the importance of environmental management in the hotel sector while giving high-profile, highly-respected recognition to those hotels mobilising environmentally break management policies.ECO-ENGINEEREDLinked to the above, eco-engineering is the adoption of new generation technology and practices into new tourism products, services and developments, effectively making obsolete old, less energy-efficient methods. This increasing sensitivity to the design and development of tourism industry assets, particularly major structures such as airports, retail centres, theatres, hotels and conference centres, can have a dramatic effect on the impact which the industry has on the environment, both visibly and invisibly. The following eco-engineering concepts are just a few of the energy-smart and environmentally sensitive techniques increasingly being built into new TT infrastructureo Water heating heat recovered from the hotels air-conditioning system used to warm water for swimming pools solar panels for water used in hotels and spaso Temperature Control solar glazing in windows and doors assists in maintaining constant midland temperatureso Lighting energy efficient lights and lamps movement sensors for after-hour lighting in common areas and underground parking keycard room power controlo Air conditioning s ensors automatically switch off air-conditioning in the bedrooms when doors to balconies or terraces are openedo Irrigation rainwater is directed off the roofs via an commodious underground pipe network to a large storage tank car for use in the gardensInterestingly, initial investment into green design often proves to be a valuable revenue protector as direct costs can be dramatically reduced.The green economy is a reality, a much needed and a deeply meaningful one. victorious into account the above possible approaches to Going Green, and many others which exist, tourism industry leaders within both the public and private sector need to look closely at how they plan to, and often must, incorporate Going Green into their tourism growth strategy, ethos, Brand and business models. Form follows function. hightail it follows philosophy