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Andalusia supports "Responible tourism"
Marbella (Málaga), 2nd February 2009
SOURCE: Diario Sur
Gaspar Zarrías presented the first study that has been made of the market, which shows that Scandinavians and Germans place a high value on respect for the environment when it comes to choosing where to go on holiday.
José Luque, Director General of Grupo El Fuerte, with Gaspar Zarrías
Andalusia wants to remain as a leading destination and is well aware of the fact that the opportunity cannot be missed for finding a niche in the responsible tourism sector. With the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur) as a backdrop, Gaspar Zarrías, Councillor and Senior Vice-President of the Council's Presidency Office and Luciano Alonso, Councillor for Tourism, yesterday presented the first actions that are being taken to get a piece of the action of this movement that is steadily gaining a following. Zarrías explained that they had teamed up with the hotel chain Fuerte Hoteles to carry out a study aimed at learning about what the visitors who come from Andalusia's main foreign markets feel about consuming products that respect the environment. A preliminary analysis shows that, when it comes to choosing where to go on holiday, Scandinavians and Germans place a high value on companies that follow good practices.
After defining responsible tourism as an activity that is based on a production system where all the participants take on a commitment to the destination from the point of view of the environment, culture, society and economic viability, the Senior Vice-President of the Council stated that a plan has to be drawn up so that suppliers and Andalusian municipalities can bring themselves in line with these criteria. He also said that this will allow the Community to become more competitive, and that it will provide a distinguishing feature that will give added value to this industry.
In this sense, Luciano Alonso emphasised that the region's autonomous government is committed to these types of products and reminded his audience that the General Plan for Sustainable Tourism 2008-2011 has an overall budget of 827 million euros and works in 11 areas of interest. When this initiative is put into operation, it will mean that 86% of the total area of territory will have the distinction of being an environmentally responsible destination. "Taking into account the trends in demand and the new formats of supply, this is considered to be a necessary factor for maintaining competitiveness", said Alonso.
During this first investigative survey, with the title of "A Study of Responsible Tourism at its Source", almost 2000 telephone interviews were held with residents of the United Kingdom, Germany and Scandinavian countries. The results from the surveys have been analysed in a qualitative way. A second phase will follow in the near future, and its results will be evaluated in a quantitative way.
Data
The first conclusions suggest that Scandinavian tourists are the most conscious about the importance of consuming these types of products, as they believe that they are socially desirable, the current norm and the future. In fact, they are choices about values and behaviour that are made at the time of travelling, and consumers understand that they increase the quality of the journey, so they are willing to accept an increase in prices. The availability of these types of services is also very highly valued in Germany, but they are only moderately attractive. Specifically, the report found that Germans believe that the concept is novel and that it is associated with a higher quality that sets these products apart, although they are not very willing to pay more to consume them. Tourists from the British market believe that these products represent a social ideal, but they do not attract consumers. José Luque, the managing director of Fuerte Hoteles, is convinced that once a recovery has been made from this economic downturn, an increasing number of people will pay more to stay in hotels where they know that the environment is being cared for and that there is an operational policy of pampering clients and personnel alike as a global working rule. He also pointed out that the effort has to be made jointly, because it involves municipalities as well as hotel facilities.This year's fair was overshadowed by the impact of the tourism crisis, but entrepreneurs from the sector placed an emphasis on the deluge of visitors to Ifema's hall 3, which hosts the representatives from Andalusia. "There are a lot of people, but not much business", was the general opinion of hotel managers, who also agreed that Andalusia's surroundings are envied by other competing destinations, which are being shunned by the general public and professionals alike.
On a day when centre stage was taken by the fair's traditional events, such as tastings of mollete antequera (traditional bread from Antequera), anchovies from Rincón de la Victoria and sopa perota (a traditional soup from Alora), professionals had just hours left of the of the exclusive time, that ended today, for doing business with operators and agencies. However, everyone is convinced that next weekend will bring another deluge of a different type that they can use to their advantage for picking up clients. It seems that the leisure area, which has been set up as part of the Andalusia exhibition, will enthral more than just a few. Golf, snow-sport and cycling simulators, or just the possibility of being stunned by the surroundings of one of Andalusia's unparalleled destinations will attract the attention of many people.
And this does not count the crowds who will visit the Plaza Mayor from today onwards to see a performance by the dancing horses from the Royal Andalusian Equestrian School.
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