‘How to… ?’ Tips and Tools for Tourism Companies on local procurement, products and partnerships’

Introduction
The purpose of the ‘How To…?’ series is to assist tourism companies to take advantage of opportunities to contribute more to the local economy. The intended audience is tourism businesses of various sizes and operational types. Other guidelines already describe what to do, and why, for more responsible, sustainable or empowered tourism. This ‘How To…?’ series focuses on how to do it. It provides practical tips drawing from the experiences of successes and failures.

In addition to an executive summary, there are four briefs in the series. These are:

• Boosting procurement from local businesses
• Stimulating local cultural and heritage products
• Building local partnerships
• Setting corporate priorities and managing internal change.

The first three focus on different types of local linkages and thus may be used by different operational staff (chefs, buyers, guest relations officers, lodge managers etc). The fourth brief gives tips on how to manage corporate change in order for any of the first three to be effective in the long-term.

Background
There are many incentives for South African tourism companies to adopt more responsible and ‘pro-poor’ behaviour: their own BEE and CSR objectives, government’s procurement, legislation and scorecard, their neighbours’ expectations of benefit, and their clients’ growing interest in distinctive products and holiday ethics, all are reasons why tourism should increase its local economic impact. The South African Responsible Tourism Guidelines give them comprehensive guidance on what they can do. However, there is little guidance on how to do it.

Companies that have started doing business differently to increase their local impact have had to learn the hard way, about challenges and strategies that work. It is time to draw on existing experience to learn lessons about implementation and share them with the rest of the industry.

Objective
This project has developed the ‘How To…?’ series for tourism companies on implementing local linkages and partnerships, and enhancing local impact. The aim is to assist those companies in South or Southern Africa that would like to do more, but could benefit from practical advice on how.

Who we are
The project is a collaboration between the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Environmental Affairs, who are producing the ‘How To…?’ series, Wilderness Safaris and Spier Holdings who are sponsors and are contributing their considerable experience, the International Financial Corporation, which is funding the work, and Business Linkages in Tourism and the Overseas Development Institute who are implementing the project.

The briefs draw heavily on three years’ experience of the programme ‘Piloting Pro-Poor Tourism in the Private Sector’ in which staff of Business Linkages in Tourism (BLT) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) have been working with Wilderness Safaris, Spier, Sun City, Southern Sun, and Ker and Downey to facilitate pro-poor practice at five pilot sites.

The authors are Caroline Ashley (c.ashley@odi.org.uk), Clive Poultney (pptsa@iafrica.com.za), Gareth Haysom (duffhaysom@mweb.co.za), Douglas McNab (d.mcnab@odi.org.uk) and Adrienne Harris (adrienne@tbcsa.org.za).

 

 

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