Examining the new age of tourism – Tourism Month 2019

Nov 10, 2019 News, Standards in Focus

During the month of November, Guyana celebrates Tourism Month. The theme for this year is ‘Tourism is a force for good in Guyana’.
The following article published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) sought to examine the evaluation of Tourism and international standards, which are aiding its sustainability.
According to the Director General of the Spanish Standardisation Association, Javier Garcia, “Tourism is older than it might seem to most.”
Take, for example, the “Grand Tour ”, undertaken by young men in the 17th century to complete their education, or the water cures, mud and sun baths prescribed by doctors in the 16th century.
In addition, after the Second World War, taking a vacation became more mainstream for a variety of reasons, including legal aspects and the advent of increasingly affordable means of transport.
From then on, tourism took on global proportions, its development featuring all major activities.
Those three factors helped drive the creation of technical standards that respond to the major challenges faced by the tourism sector in each phase of its development. For example, the creation of International Standards for the safe practice and training of recreational scuba diving showed that far from being restricted to products, standards also had a use and relevance in services, a sector that today represents more than 70 % of the world’s GDP.
ISO’s technical committee ISO/TC 228, Tourism and related services, led successfully by UNE (Spain) and INNORPI (Tunisia), and which, was the proud recipient of the 2017 LDE Award, features 70 participating members with another 33 as observers. It has been a pioneer in the development of standards for services, with 29 to date.
These standards define international best practice in areas such as accommodation, tourist information offices, management of beaches and basic services for marinas. Today, tourism standards have evolved into real tools that help organisations better position themselves on the market (ISO 20488, online consumer reviews), increasing their competitiveness (future ISO 22525, medical tourism) and contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations blueprint for a more sustainable world.
Standards such as the ISO 21416 (environmentally sustainable practices in recreational diving), ISO 21401 (sustainability management systems for accommodation establishments) and ISO 20611 (sustainable practices for adventure tourism), are key to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030. These SDGs include SDG 14 (Life below Water), SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
All of this reminds us that tourism is intimately linked to our enjoyment of nature, yet at the same time, it has an environmental impact of such magnitude that it can put at risk the very aspect it holds most dear.
Fortunately, tourists (1.4 billion in 2018) have now realised that either tourism will be sustainable, or it will simply not be.

Generally, the tourist of today is permanently connected and demands customised services, but he/she is also a responsible traveller, concerned about the use of resources at the point of destination, compensating carbon emissions and connecting with local communities.
Standards can also become indispensable allies with which to successfully address the new challenges and transformations facing the sector: over tourism, the circular economy, new online platforms of the collaborative economy and the digitalisation of the sector due to data use and management.
By way of example, in accordance with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the future ISO 21902 on accessible tourism for all will serve as a guide to all organisations wanting to offer accessible tourism services, fostering collaboration among all stakeholders in the tourism value chain and delivering a better experience for all concerned: tourists, residents and people with disabilities.
Surely, at the end of the day, tourism, just like ISO standards, is a vehicle for the exchange of culture and values, promoting respect for diversity, contributing to the mutual understanding of communities and fostering security and peace worldwide.

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Examining the new age of tourism – Tourism Month 2019

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