Fair trade tourism Africa rollout

Botswana – one of the targeted destinations

FTTSA expands with Swiss NGO: 8 destinations 10 source markets targeted

Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) is about to start a new programme of work to scale up its current certification programme and expand into the southern Africa region.

FTTSA will transform itself from a hybrid certification-cum-development organisation into a professional market development organisation with one or more outsourced certification service providers.
Separating certification from business support, advocacy and other market development activities is consistent with international best practice and engenders various opportunities for the market development organisation to facilitate business development and other services directly and indirectly to certified businesses, without conflict of interest.

FTTSA will work with regional stakeholders to scale up the supply of Fair Trade Tourism products in eight destinations (Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Tanzania).

In parallel, demand will be stimulated in at least 10 source markets (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, UK, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and USA) in collaboration with South African Tourism and other tourist boards. The outcomes of an integrated Fair Trade Tourism system in southern Africa will create a blueprint for replicating the model in other parts of the world and possibly for establishing a single Fairtrade mark for the international travel and tourism industry.

Fair Trade Tourism is a unique concept based on growing demand globally for sustainably produced and fairly traded goods and services. By appealing to sustainability-savvy customers, Fair Trade Tourism will attract new arrivals to southern Africa, in turn creating income, employment and livelihoods opportunities for local destination stakeholders seeking their fair share of tourism growth and development. Accommodation, activities and other products carrying the Fair Trade Tourism mark are able to use the Fair Trade Tourism USP to market their services directly to consumers or indirectly through tour operators and other distribution channels.

FTTSA has also developed a standard for certifying packaged travel, which supports suppliers in destinations to secure improved terms of trade. Currently there are 13 Fair Trade certified holidays for sale in Switzerland, Germany, UK and the Netherlands with further packages being developed on a continuous basis.

Fair Trade certified holidays also generate new resources for sustainable development in destinations based on a development contribution paid by tour operators and other trading partners into a central Fair Trade Tourism Development Fund. The contribution is calculated as a small percentage of the retail price of each holiday sold. FTTSA expects these contributions to total at least ZAR3 million over four years, which will be invested in job creation, decent work and skills development interventions targeting workers, communities and businesses in the Fair Trade Tourism system.

Jennifer Seif, FTTSA Executive Director, stated that "Fair Trade Tourism is led from South Africa and now southern Africa, which is historically and politically significant as sustainability standards, labelling initiatives and market development are typically led from the North. Fair Trade Tourism marries international best practice and globally accepted principles and values with locally relevant development imperatives. Tourists and tour operators choosing Fair Trade Tourism products and holidays are assured that their decision- making generates benefits for ordinary people living in the destinations they visit."

Valere Tjolle

This week special destination offer HERE

Keep up with the latest sustainable tourism info, special offers HERE