The former head of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has denounced all-inclusive resorts and cruises as “dangerous” and told industry leaders to ensure “every community sees visitors as their guests”.
Taleb Rifai, who stood down as UNWTO secretary general at the end of last year, told the Resilience Through Tourism Summit in Jordan: “If the local community is not with you, there is no resilience.”
He said: “The all-inclusive model is dangerous because it is based on the model that you eat, sleep and everything in a resort.
“The ultimate all-inclusive is a cruise – it is why we see people on the streets in Dubrovnik, Venice and Barcelona, saying ‘Tourists go home’ because the streets are full without benefiting the local community.”
Rifai told the summit at the end of June: “The private sector should move from the concept of charity to sharing their business, otherwise travel and tourism will never be sustainable, resilient and strong.
“Creating jobs alone is not enough anymore. You need to convince clients to visit communities – to have meals, to have coffee, to buy souvenirs – to go outside your hotels.
“You need to ensure the community surrounding your business is an asset. Without it, your business will not withstand any pressure.
“We need every community to see visitors as their own guests. We can’t any more build five-star hotels in three-star communities.”
He cited the example of Zambia, where he said the government insists hotels within a resort complex provide free transport to local villages for visitors.
Rifai argued: “The solutions are easy. Why not distribute restaurant vouchers on ships to encourage people to go outside? Imagine if the concept was adopted with vouchers for buying souvenirs. You need to share your business.”
He added: “Resilience is not just about economic resilience – not just about being economically strong – but about political and social resilience.
“When the first Iraq War erupted [in 1990-91], the King of Jordan decided to resist America’s invasion of Iraq. It was the correct decision – the pulse of the streets was in that direction.
“We had to pay a high economic price, but no one complained about it despite the economic hardship. There was a social and political aspect.”
Rifai insisted: “There is no conflict between sustainability and growth. They supplement each other.
“Resilience is about durability, and the only way to build resilience is to connect travel and tourism to the local community.”