Honduras-OAS Partner to Enhance the Sustainability of its Tourism Sector
Honduras is seeking to increase the appeal of its
tourism sector for the growing number of travelers interested in
responsible tourism and authentic experiences, while simultaneously
balancing the protection of its natural and cultural assets. To
support these efforts, the OAS-SEDI partnered with the Honduras
Institute of Tourism and from February 16-21, began the process
of evaluating the sustainability of Utila, Bay Islands as a tourism
destination.
The OAS Executive Secretary for Integral
Development, Sherry Tross, welcomed the beginning of the project,
stating that “for the OAS, it is important that we contribute to
efforts to mainstream sustainability in the management of tourism
destinations in our member states. A
destination’s future success is largely dependent on its ability to preserve
its natural and cultural asset base while enhancing the wellbeing of
residents.”
This is the first of a three-step process to be
undertaken in Utila as part of the
Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas (SDAA), a
multi-stakeholder tourism initiative, that aims to improve the way
tourism is managed in order to enhance the competitiveness of the
region. This first exercise included a visit from a team of
specialists from the OAS and Sustainable Travel International (an
SDAA partner), who worked with local stakeholders to develop a
snapshot of the destination’s performance, by using the Sustainable
Travel International’s signature Rapid Destination Diagnostic tool,
which is based on 118 internationally recognized sustainability
indicators.
The assessment outlined good practices, risks and
opportunities, as well as recommendations for improvement,
implementation and capacity building in Utila. These results will
serve as inputs for the second step of the project that consists of
engaging the destination’s tourism leaders in an action planning
forum that will help to validate identified priorities and to design
an action plan tackling “quick win” projects.
In the final phase of the SDAA initiative, a
destination monitoring framework will be created for Honduras
through the development of a proprietary digital Destination
Management System (DMS) that will use data to develop customized
measurement reports. In
addition, the initiative will offer an online sustainable tourism
course designed to facilitate the implementation of sustainability
practices among micro, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises
(MSMEs), women entrepreneurs, and tourism decision-makers.
This is the first of seven destinations supported
through the SDAA. To date, visits have been scheduled in Ometepe,
Nicaragua (first week of March); Falmouth, Jamaica (April 20-24,
2015) and Bridgetown, Barbados (TBC). Other countries include
Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, and Dominica.
The full list of sustainable destination
alliance partners include the OAS, the Caribbean Tourism
Organization (CTO), Central American Tourism Integration Secretariat
(SITCA), Sustainable Travel International, and Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. The OAS initiative is supported by a grant from the US
Permanent Mission to the OAS.