Comparative Study of Sustainable Tourism in Organization of Islamic Conference Countries and La Fortuna
Sustainability in the current world is concerned with maintaining resources for posterity. As such sustainable development is aimed at utilizing resources to meet the current needs of the society that own the resources whilst, ensuring that the resources are preserved for future posterity. The term “sustainable development” was widely used by the Brundtland Commission that is credited with coining the most widely applied definition for development under sustainable terms. The commission’s definition stated that sustainability is the urge that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Stone, 2003).
There are various developmental fields that relate to sustainability and it is common to hear the term ‘sustainability’ used in fields such as engineering, mining, farming, tourism and many other economic activities that mainly involve the exploitation of natural resources. This paper particularly highlights the problems of sustainability in tourism.
The case in point looks at sustainable tourism development in OIC countries (Organization of the Islamic Conference Countries), and the challenges that OIC nations face in implementing sustainable tourism development. In order to offer a conclusive look at the issue of sustainability, the paper uses a second case, the La Fortuna community in Costa Rica. The comparative study looks at the failure of OIC nations in implementing sustainable tourism against the success of La Fortuna in Costa Rica on implementing sustainable tourism. The comparison of the two may be justified on the grounds that they all have typically limited tourism resources compared to popular destinations such as those located in Africa. But nevertheless, they have some distinct features that can be harnessed for tourism purposes-a point that La Fortuna has already achieved.
In 1988 the “World Tourism Organization” envisaged the basic principles of sustainable tourism, which were meant to lead to the management of resources in such a way that, aesthetic, economic and social needs could be fulfilled amongst the tourists, nation and local communities without tampering with the natural integrity of the tourism sites, ecological and biological diversity of the local areas (Stone, 2003). The main objective of these initiations was to benefit the local communities so that they could be cognizant of the essence of tourism and partake in the conservation, sponsoring and caring of tourism sites and natural resources (Steck & Rauschelbach, 2002).
The OIC nations have a grand diversity in terms of cultural, geographical and natural heritage which is so rich and attractive. As such they have a vast potential to develop sustainable tourism for the sake of benefiting their communities and nations. However, a look at the meager number of tourists that they are able to attract implies that they have not been successful in initiating a successful sustainable tourism programs (Dabour, 2003). The challenges facing tourism and more so sustainable tourism are unique to each OIC nation because they are all endowed with different tourism resources. Each OIC nation has its own national priorities, different levels of development and tourism features. As such the nations are affected differently. However, their challenges with regard to the development of sustainable tourism include the lack of knowledge and awareness.
In most of the OIC nations a large part of the populace is not yet cognizant of the high economic potential that is inherent in the tourism as well as its impact as an economic earner. This lack of knowledge partially prevents the initiation of programs meant to develop sustainable tourism (Dabour, 2003). Lack of comprehensive promotional activity and technical know-how has also contributed to the slow or total lack of adoption of sustainable tourism. The lack of tourism related infrastructure is also another hindrance to the development of sustainable tourism in the OIC nations (Dabour, 2003).
The earlier mentioned lack of knowledge on the benefits of sustainable tourism also leads to the low levels of investment that are currently observed in the tourism industry within the OIC nations. The lack of consistency in policy and strategy formulation also leads, especially due to the lack of coordination between government agencies, private tourism investors and local communities may also be cited as a weakness that has led to poor development of this sector. The failure of OIC nations in this regard can be contrasted with the success of La Fortuna in Costa Rica.
According to Luloff, Brennan and Matarrita-Cascante (2010), La Fortuna has been able to implement sustainable tourism development through the engagement of community based tourism programs that seek to educate and integrate the locals into comprehensive community based, sustainable tourism program. The program may be termed as a success because of the big surge in the number of tourists that have begun visiting the region. In turn the local communities have been able to reap the direct economic benefits as well as indirect benefits such as the conservation of their local fauna and flora.
The inclusion of the community through education and practically engaging programs has been envisaged as the most effective means to enhance sustainable tourism development. The engagement of the community helps the local populace to be cognizant of the benefits of the programs and as such it also serves to mitigate any negative human effects that may hamper tourism activities. Additionally, the cognizance of the essence of sustainable tourism elicits investment from the local communities in terms finances and physical labor or participation in tourism activities because they recognize the value of sustainable tourism (Luloff et al. 2010). The occurrence of such a situation is only possible when certain behavioral, organizational and attitudinal conditions are available in a community.
This is also as a result of a proper policy formulation framework from the top organization at the government level in combination to the locals. Failure to achieve such unity and coordination makes it impossible to obtain the kind of success evident at La Fortuna. The free and extensive interaction between the community and organizations as well as among its members enables extensive sharing of knowledge. Additionally, La Fortuna has put in place measures to ensure the fortunes from La Fortuna are shared equitably and this is indeed one of the encouraging factors that spur the locals to participate and partake in the caring of the programs (Luloff at al. 2010).
Conclusively, sustainable tourism requires proper coordination and integration of the people and communal organizations as well as the initiation of appropriate education programs and information sharing. In addition to all these awareness may not be sufficient if the benefits are not equitably shared. The equal sharing of resources encourages the participation and investment into these programs and thus furthers the development of these sustainable programs. Therefore, in order for OIC to obtain success with regard to the establishment of sustainable tourism ventures there is a need for them to adopt the steps such as those taken by La Fortuna, however; they may need to make slight variations so as to fit their local set ups.
References
Dabour, N. (2003),. Problems and prospects of sustainable tourism development in the OIC countries: Ecotourism. Journal of Economic Cooperation, 24 (3), p. 25-63
Luloff, A. E. Brennan, M. A. and Matarrita-Cascante, D. (2010),. Community agency and sustainable tourism development: the case of La Fortuna, Costa Rica. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18 (6).p. 735-756
Steck, B. Schafer, A. and Rauschelbach, A. (2002),.Cooperating for sustainable tourism: proceedings of the Forum International at the Reisepavillon, 2002, Kasparek Verlag
Stone, P. M. (2003),. Is sustainability for development anthropologists? The Journal of Human Organization, 62, (2), p. 93
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