urban ecotourism - tourism intelligence agency tia · web viewalexandra butty, justine berclaz,...

Urban ecotourism: How urban tourism could be sustainable and

environmentally friendly?

Students’ names:

Alexandra Butty, Justine Berclaz, Morgane Pfefferlé and Julia Maret

703_e

Professor: Kate Varini

Module 713, Case Study

Submitted on: 12th of November 2014


Abstract

This case study will present the new trend of the urban ecotourism. It is common knowledge that

green tourism is trendy. The cities are now involved in this trend. A lot of cities have begun to launch

initiatives to try and develop the concept of linking social demand, economic needs and environmental

requirements. This article will determine if urban tourism can become sustainable and environmentally

friendly. The first part will include the explanation of the concept. The second part will present some

existing examples around the world and particularly in Switzerland.

Key words: Urban ecotourism, green tourism, tourism, trend, Paris, Toronto, Lausanne

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Table of Contents

Abstract................................................................................................................................................... ii

List of figures.......................................................................................................................................... iii

Introduction............................................................................................................................................1

1. Urban eco-tourism definition.......................................................................................................1

2. All around the world examples.....................................................................................................2

3. Lausanne Case Study “Agenda 21”...............................................................................................4

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................6

Sources ...................................................................................................................................................7

Appendix – Infographic...........................................................................................................................8

List of figures Figure 1 - This graph shows the three domains and some examples of actions

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Introduction It is common knowledge that green tourism is trendy. Connecting environmental protection and

pleasure is the new way to act in our society. As urban tourism is one of the most popular tourism

around the world, is it possible for it to become sustainable and environmentally friendly too? This new

form of tourism exists already and is called “urban ecotourism”.

1. Urban eco-tourism definition Ecotourism is not as new as you could think. In 1987 Ceballos-Lascurain had already given a definition

of ecotourism: “we may define ecological tourism or ecotourism as that tourism that involves travelling

to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific object of studying, admiring

and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects (both

past and present) found in these areas.” (Ceballos-Lascurain, 1987:13) As it is explained in that definition,

ecotourism was in 1980’s considered as travel to a natural area with the objective of studying nature and

the culture of the place. For it to be called ecotourism it was essential that the destination to be in a

natural and preserved environment.

Until today, the definition of ecotourism has changed a lot and there are many points that could be

taken into considerations, therefore there is not only one specific definition. The important terms about

ecotourism nowadays are the following: conservation, education, local ownership, economic benefit for

local communities, the relevance of cultural resources, minimum impacts and sustainability, host

community participation, natural areas, culture and small-scale. (Higham & Lück, 2002)

According to the definition, a sustainable city respects the environmental, economic and social

cultural dimensions of the sustainable development. These cities use renewable energy, recycling and try

to increase green spaces. The urban ecotourism they may provide takes into consideration how to draw

tourists toward the cities avoiding natural area issues of air pollution and noise. However, thoughtful

town planning is also necessary as well as the establishment of many public places. It appears thus that

the main concerns of this particular form of tourism are not only the minimization of the environmental

impacts. The urban eco-tourism has to create interactions between tourists and inhabitants for example.


One of its missions is also to value popular areas and the local economy by making tourists discover the

“real city” and its culture. Besides the highest aspirations of the ecotourism sector is to change the

attitudes and values of visitors in an attempt to encourage pro-environmental behavior. (Higham & Lück,

2002)

In summary, urban ecotourism offers “a viable combination of ecological and cultural protection,

increased local awareness of the value of preserving the natural and cultural environments and local

economic development. “ (Joppe & Dodds, 1998)

2. All around the world examplesNowadays, the facilities and entertainment in the cities are not enough. The demand has changed

and the cities have been obliged to follow the trend. Cities offer new pleasures in urban spaces. Some of

them catch the trend of the sustainable and responsible tourism. In this chapter, two international case

studies are presented: Paris and Toronto. Of course, the examples are only initiatives and do not concern

the whole development of the city.

They were created to make the people more aware of ecotourism in an urban environment and

create actions that are more responsible.

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Figure 1 - this graph shows the three domains and some examples of actions.

Source : Hamilton.com, (2013)


Since 2000 an association called “Belleville insolite” (beautiful unusual city) suggests to tourists

unusual visits of Paris. The tours will avoid every famous city attraction. The purpose is to get tourists to

know the city as local people see it. They will discover the “Paris atmosphere” as an inhabitant. They will

discover the atmosphere of different districts, their activities, and the inhabitant’s culture. Visits are also

based on urban environment, architectural heritage, and information about public spaces. The tours

make visitors conscious of the issues of different areas. Differently themed journeys are offered in order

to satisfy all kinds of demand. For example:

Across the Saint Martin ship canal

Beautiful city yesterday and tomorrow

Algerian war

The art of the Ménilmontant street

Discover-city-rally

All the components of the urban tourism are represented (economic, social and environmental).

Socially and economically, young people from difficult backgrounds are involved in the active life. They

are trained to be guides. Moreover, the tours tend to bring the people from the local communities and

the tourists closer together. It is a new way to travel. Environmentally, every tour is suggested by foot in

order to make the visitors conscious of the environmental issues.

Another example is in Toronto, where the city set out to reduce pollution and traffic. Tourism created

a lot of traffic jams with private cars and buses. The public transport system was not sufficient enough to

avoid the traffic. The city found a new solution: a guide to discover Toronto in a responsible way towards

the environment. This guide was created by a green tourism association and called “The Other Guide to

Toronto”. Some tips are given to tourists about respecting nature, decreasing pollution and being a

perfect environmentally friendly tourist. Tours by foot (or/and public transport) were created. The main

part of the guide describes the splendor of the district with social and environmental history. Some

relevant accommodation and food and beverage addresses are given. The places are selected only if the

establishments respect the environment (the criteria is not known).

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This project received great success at the International Ecotourism Conference in Québec in 2002.

Several cities, like Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paula envisage launching some similar projects (Bintner, 2002,

p.4). These projects are only examples of local initiatives that prove that local communities and cities are

trying to improve their quality of life. Unfortunately, today, they are not well known.

3. Lausanne Case Study “Agenda 21”In Switzerland, the city of Lausanne has also implemented several projects concerning the sustainable

development. They started their action plan called “Agenda 21”, a few years ago, with the elaboration of

37 projects.

Environmental questions were components of sustainable development, which is why this aspect was

chosen to launch this initiative in the municipality of Lausanne. This project has been built on 8 main

pillars: environment, energy, green spaces, social aspects and accommodation, finance, transport,

tourism and economy. Their central goal was to improve the quality of life of the population, and

manage rationally natural resources while enhancing the economic efficiency.

Since 2000, Lausanne has adopted a green tradition; one tree is planted in the zone of the municipal

forest for every child born in Lausanne. The parents are invited by the forest Service department to come

and sponsor the tree. This genuine initiative shows us that the human resources and the social domain

are closely related and remain fundamental.

Additionally, Lausanne has developed its educational actions towards the young people for several

years. They emphasis rural life thanks to its two educational farms. They make children sensitive to

climate change by the construction of solar panels at schools. As a result, the trend of agritourism is

favored in a sustainable perspective. In addition, Lausanne offers every year a program of cultural

activities to all pupils in compulsory education. They also inform youngsters about waste by the process

of sorting and recycling garbage which participates in the construction of a responsible city.

Concerning the energy issue, the municipality of Lausanne encourages companies and private

individuals to use more renewable energies, such as the solar and wind energy, the hydraulics biomass

or geothermal science.

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On the other hand, the service department of drinking water has undertaken its direct activities in a

more ecological direction. They globally adopted a process of certification to improve the environmental

management of the water production. This issue concerns also the hotels and other touristic

infrastructures. . It seems to be effective given that the inhabitants of Lausanne have the entire support

of the city, and moreover, being green tends to become a trend to follow nowadays.

For 15 years, Lausanne has wished to limit the access of vehicles in to the urban space. Consequently,

the motorized individual drivers have been incited to use several other means of transportation such as

the train, the metro, the bus, the bike or car-pooling, which are less polluting. Furthermore Lausanne

encourages financially, the purchase of a “general abonnement”, and offers a subsidy for the purchase of

an electric bike. Moreover, they put at disposal a vehicle for car-pooling and collaborate with an existing

system of ride sharing. As a result, tourists are suggested to visit the city by foot or by public transports.

In the future, Lausanne intends to keep a budgetary basis balanced to be able to maintain the public

services while being able to assume completely its spot in the regional, national and even international

economic sustainable development.

By the small but numerous initiatives that they have accomplished, Agenda 21 has allowed to achieve

the environmental protection while favoring the dynamic economy. They have succeeded in improving

the quality of life of the population and in the same time managing rationally natural resources. We

should take Lausanne as an example for its initiatives and its constant commitment which is relevant in

the long term development of all cities around the world.

Moreover, these initiatives has improved the quality of life of the community and as a result, the

destination is becoming more attractive for tourists. This improvement belongs to the sustainable

development. In Switzerland people are now interested in “green cities” and Lausanne is a forerunner

with its concept.

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ConclusionTo conclude the urban ecotourism has impacts in three domains which are social, economic and

environmental sectors. Nowadays this trend is becoming a necessity. In point of fact, tourists are looking

for new ways to discover cities. Therefore, urban ecotourism is the key to meet their expectations as well

as a sustainable development related to the vision of a better future. As it is mentioned in this case

study, small initiatives can have big impacts in the city development. They should be encouraged by the

city municipality to attract more tourists. However, it is not a matter of funds rather a matter of

motivation.

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Sources Bintner, M. (2002) le tourisme urbain durable: impacts et enjeux du tourisme en milieu urbain. Retrieved

from:http://fama2.us.es:8080/turismo/turismonet1/economia%20del%20turismo/turismo%20de

%20ciudades/tourisme%20urban%20durable.pdf

Burnand, A. (2006). Lausanne : objectif qualité de vie, le développement durable en action. Retrieved

from http://cms.unige.ch/isdd/IMG/pdf/_Lausanne_objectif_qualite_de_vie_.pdf

Higham, J. & Lück, M. (2002). Urban Ecotourism: A Contradiction in Terms? Journal of Ecotourism,

retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14724040208668111)

Joppe, M. & Dodds, R. (1998). The urban green tourism: applying ecotourism principles to the city . Travel

and Tourism Research Association- Canada, Toronto. Retrieved from

http://www.csu.edu/cerc/researchreports/documents/UrbanGreenTourism1998.pdf

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http://www.csu.edu/cerc/researchreports/documents/UrbanGreenTourism1998.pdf

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14724040208668111

http://cms.unige.ch/isdd/IMG/pdf/_Lausanne_objectif_qualite_de_vie_.pdf

http://fama2.us.es:8080/turismo/turismonet1/economia%20del%20turismo/turismo%20de%20ciudades/tourisme%20urban%20durable.pdf

http://fama2.us.es:8080/turismo/turismonet1/economia%20del%20turismo/turismo%20de%20ciudades/tourisme%20urban%20durable.pdf


Appendix – Infographic

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