Interview with Christine Plüss
Christine Plüss werkt al 20 jaar voor de Zwitserse ngo AKTE, en is een gerespecteerde kritische stem in het hele toerismedebat. Onlangs was ze te vinden in Fortaleza, het all inclusive paradijs van Brazilië. Niet om in de zon te liggen, maar om haar bijdrage te leveren aan de internationale conferentie rond duurzaam toerisme.1. Can you shortly introduce yourself to our public?
I am the director of the arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung (Working Group on Tourism and Development), Basle/Switzerland. Our organisation has been founded 30 years ago by development aid agencies and small tour operators which are still giving the main support to our activities (more about our activities).Just today, I am actually celebrating the “party” of 20 years working for our organisation! (http://www.fairunterwegs.org/aktuell/news/article/zwanzig-jahre-mit-vollen-segeln-richtung-verantwortungsvolles-reisen.html?cHash=1aaa8b2bd7 ). And I am still fascinated by the manifold issues of the critical tourism debate, and strongly committed to go on fighting for fairtrade and equitable relationsships in tourism.
2. This second international conference on Sustainable Tourism (ST) took place in Brazil, what does it make the proper spot for that?
Brazil has since some years taken the lead to introduce a new promising “model” of community based tourism (CBT). The new initiatives presented successfully also at the World Social Forums in Mumbai (2004) and Porto Alegre (2005/2006) conceive tourism as an integral part of their overall community activities and as a self determinated development perspective.
3. A huge part of the program was about CBT: is this the next hype, or is something really moving?
The Second International Seminar on Sustainable Tourism (SITS II) was an important gathering of well over 500 participants, mostly from all Latin America, a few participants also from overseas (mainly Europe). It was great to see how proudly and enthousiastic the people from the different communities presented their tourism initiatives – the new opportunities to welcome guests and show them their culture. CBT is a way of affirming their identity and opens up new development perspectives to them. This is reflected in the Fortaleza Declaration which represents a first international declaration issued by CBT-stakeholders (.pdf attached).However, the challenges are huge: Will these initiatives find their market resp. visitors? Will they find ways and (financial) means to get qualified for this market? – Let’s hope that the genuine commitment of people from these different communities will not be disappointed.
4. You gave a presentation on North-South International Cooperation - challenges and sucesses. Do destination countries perceive tourism as a success, or rather as a challenge?
My presentation got a lot of interesting feedbacks and raised numbers of questions among the participants. For me, it was important to highlight South-South-cooperation and networking among CBT-initiatives in the destinations. This might often be more helpful and efficient for the communities than all the advices of the “international experts”. I also questioned the financial support provided by (Western/Northern) development aid agencies for starting new CBT-projects which often wouldn’t allow for a proper organisational process within the communities to build really sustainable tourism initiatives.
5. How was Brazil, or is Fortaleza not Brazil?
I have mainly visited fishing villages along the coast of Ceará – and that was amazing! In Fortaleza I was again striken by the many male sextourists hanging around in the beach bars already from lunch time onwards. Not really the place where I would choose to spend my holidays.
6. Discovered a new favourite cocktail?
No need for that to get in a party mood with all the nice participants of the Seminar! We just had our usual beer and enjoyed the Brazilian parties at night, after the lively debates at the Seminar which provided so many new insights!