PacTravel
Code of Conduct
New Zealand Organization Launches A Responsible Tourism Code For The Region
| December saw the launch of a "Responsible Tourism Code" for the Pacific
by New Zealand based non-governmental organization, Dev-Zone. The code,
aimed at New Zealand travelers to the Pacific, was developed in consultation
with the travel industry and Pacific island NGOs falling under the umbrella
of the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (PIANGO).
But its authors hope it will also have wider application.
Launching the code, New Zealand's Parliamentary Private Secretary for Overseas Development Assistance and Member of Parliament for Mana, Luamnuvoa Winnie Laban said, "tourism is a double-edged machete," that offers both opportunities and threats to Pacific Island communities. Laban claims the Code could also minimize possible threats of terrorism. - ADVERTISEMENT - The code has been in development since 2002, with researchers interviewing travel agents, travel wholesales, embassies and training providers.
Dev-Zone manager Maria McMillan says while the code has been in development for a while, the increase in low-cost air services between New Zealand and Pacific Island countries (by Freedom Air and Virgin Blue), and the corresponding increase in visitors to the region, have given the project new impetus. Dev-Zone hopes the code will be widely disseminated. McMillan says she would like to see it printed on the bottom of itineraries, included in promotional pamphlets and the like. The code has been broken down into categories including culture, coral and the environment. Offering specifics, McMillan says, "a common mistake is that people assume bartering is appropriate. But people are usually pricing goods at what it worth." "Another thing that happens in parts of the Pacific is that they have very specific attitudes to sex and clothing, that can clash (with what tourists are accustomed to)." Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Greg Urwin has often informally been called on to counsel Australians visiting or preparing to live and work in the region. He says his usual advice to first timers is to "bear in mind that just about all of them (Pacific islanders) are from older cultures than you come from." "Don't be disappointed when the "hail fellow, well met" approach doesn't work very well. It may not be shyness that is preventing a response. They may not want to, it may not fit with their own sense of self. You need to take it slowly."
The South Pacific Tourism Organization has endorsed the code, and is promoting it among its members. SPTO technical adviser Ross Hopkins told the Fiji Times that "by developing and implementing this type of initiative, the SPTO supports the sustainable development of tourism. "Often the emphasis in sustainable tourism is placed on the developers and operators of tourism projects to incorporate sustainable principles into their operation. While we support this, there is a need to educate visitors to the region on how to limit their impact on the environment and local cultures, and this is what the code is setting out to achieve," Hopkins says. The Code was launched simultaneously with the Responsible Tourism Website, which "explores a range of different ideas about the interface with tourism and development, with information and resources for both tourists and the tourism/travel industry." That website is careful not to generalize about a well-worn label in the industry, ecotourism. "There are no universal standards for ecotourism, sustainable tourism or responsible tourism," it says. "While there are many genuine operators promoting themselves under one of these slogans, others might just be jumping on the trendy ecotourism bandwagon. It's up to you to see what they're doing and decide for yourself."
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