Category Archives: Sustainable tourism

Building Bridges for Sustainable Tourism in Africa with Ghana Tourism Authority

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Bridge in Kakum Canopy, Cape Coast, Ghana

Bridge in Kakum Canopy, Cape Coast, Ghana

Professor Marina Novelli, Academic Lead for Responsible Futures, has joined forces with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to establish the Building Bridges for Sustainable Tourism in Africa (BBSTA) Initiative.

Born out of a shared commitment to proactively play a part in the recovery of tourism in Africa, the initiative has now evolved into the unprecedented collaboration of over 40 key stakeholders from Africa and beyond.

BBSTA’s purpose is to advocate for proactive action-based collaborations and initiatives which will inform policy and practice for sustainable tourism in Africa and its agenda is the result of a co-constructed process responding to two key questions:

  • What now (during COVID19)?
  • What next (post-COVID19)?

Four key areas of intervention BBSTA’s have been so far agreed, which are:
1. Digitisation
2. Regional collaboration
3. Research and training
4. Advocacy and PR

Working closely with GTA CEO Akwasi Agyeman, Professor Novelli is part of the BBSTA Advocacy Task Force with a strong belief that creative solutions are needed to address this crisis.

According to UNWTO (2020), it is expected that the crisis could lead to an annual decline of between 60% and 80% when compared with 2019 figures. For most countries, travel restrictions halted tourism in February 2020. Nations, global tourism agencies, academia, destination markets and tourism businesses are collaborating to try and frame this crisis, analyse its impacts and forecast what the ‘new normal’ will be for tourism.

Professor Novelli said:

“The impact on the tourism industry has been significant; the sector is among the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of livelihoods are at risk and there is a clear threat to progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are committed to working together to take pragmatic steps towards recovery.”

For more information:

To find out more about the BBSTA Initiative and get involved, send an email to Akwasi Agyeman at: aagyeman@ghana.travel and Professor Marina Novelli at: M.Novelli@brighton.ac.uk.

Tourism in the post-COVID-19 era – webinar

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Image for Overtourism webinar

Professor Marina Novelli has been invited to contribute her expert opinion in an upcoming webinar hosted by the Journal on Tourism and Sustainability on Friday 24 April 2020 from 10.30am (GMT).

Joining the academics with whom she co-authored Overtourism: Excesses, discontents and measures in travel and tourism, Professor Novelli will answer questions relating to the future of tourism in the post-COVID-19 era.

Visit this web page to register

Topic: OTS Webinar Series: After the Virus

Description: E3. From Overtourism to a COVID-19 Immobile world

Tourism like any other industry will need to be regulated and managed in a post COVID-19 era. The third webinar will focus on issues concerning the crisis surrounding the tourism industry. The aim is to explore possible directions in which tourism and hospitality might be heading. The debate will focus on managing the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on attractions, hotels, restaurants etc… Questions to be considered:

Are we witnessing the end of overtourism or mass tourism, and the end of ‘vulgar’ tourism? Will the flow of visitors require an alternative solution and more responsible management? Will destinations that are faced with economic catastrophe cause a survival of the ‘fittest’ scenario?

Viewers will debate current issues concerning the rebirth of regulated tourism and suggest solutions in the management of the industry.

Agenda-
10:30 – 10:35 Welcome
10:35 – 11:05 Professor Claudio Milano
11:05 – 11:35 Professor Joseph M. Cheer
11:35 – 12:05 Professor Marina Novelli
12:05 – 12:30 Q&A and Closing Remarks

Chaired By: Professor Eugenia Wickens

 

The COVID-19 induced tourism crisis

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Image advertising Travel pass with Francis Doku radio show

Professor Marina Novelli was invited to comment on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global tourism sector and next steps required to return to some level of normality on 3news radio live in Ghana.

Featuring on Travel Pass with Francis Doku, Professor Novelli gave her expert opinion on the likely implications, scenarios and key considerations for recovery. She reminded listeners that everyone must play their part by observing the social distancing restrictions and staying at home during the lockdown. Decisions to close borders are essential, and although inconvenient, one must remember that:

“This is not a tourism crisis, this is a humanity crisis and we should prioritise health over wealth.”

Professor Novelli acknowledged the difficulty of implementing restrictions, particularly in poorer areas where sanitation and access to water is not readily available. She highlighted the need for a multi-agency taskforce, including ministries, the private sector and third sector organisations, to collaboratively identify specific priorities and urged governments to ring-fence emergency funding to enable coordinated actions.

Although all current quantification of the problem is merely speculative,  researchers are looking at ways to stimulate recovery in the short, medium and long-term spanning from six months to two years from the end of the pandemic. Professor Novelli highlighted the primary importance of containing the pandemic and also managing perceptions by responding quickly and implementing directives from the World Health Organization, and by maintaining the presence of destinations in the market place and consumer confidence in destinations’ health and safety. She referenced lessons learned following the Ebola outbreak where countries untouched by the epidemic nevertheless suffered dramatic decreases in tourist numbers – and the need to be prepared for this happening again, at a much larger scale, and taking far longer to return to previous levels.

In addition, Professor Novelli pointed out that the impact on the tourism sector would be far-reaching. For instance, there are studies which indicate that in destinations in developing countries, for every person in direct employment in tourism, there are on average seven who are dependent upon them; any impact assessment should consider this as well as individuals operating in the informal sector, who are often overlooked.

In her concluding remarks, Professor Novelli stressed the importance of the sustainability agenda and about the importance of looking at ways to preserve the resources, both built and natural, which are normally supported through revenues generated from tourism. She pointed out that it will be crucial to mitigate any adverse impact or risk losing the very assets that will attract future tourists.

The global lockdown provides us with an opportunity to rethink tourism. As an Affiliate Member of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the University of Brighton and Professor Novelli’s message is in line with the UNWTO recommendation to #stayhometoday and #traveltomorrow.

For UNWTO information on COVID-19 and tourism, please visit the UNWTO website.

Listen to Professor Novelli’s full interview on 3news via soundcloud