Category: Short term study away

Preparing and organizing ahead of time for on-site consulting is important. But more important is to prepare to be flexible as things never go exactly according to plan. —Taylor Ruoff

The most surprising part of our findings was just seeing in person how overly-developed the destination has become. Areas that had once been known for their natural authentic beauty have now become incredibly filled with both garbage and people. It truly is a waste crisis. —Taylor Ruoff

Because the project had so many moving parts, we were able to really apply what we were learning as we went along to each new task. Being instructed on the theory of consulting introduced me to the work we did, but actively meeting stakeholders, collecting data, and working alongside our Indonesian counterparts helped commit what I learned to memory. — Shelby Luzzi

For many people in these communities, tourism is a new concept that they have never been exposed to. I remember during our final presentation, one village leader stated that his biggest concern was the outcome and potential impact for our research in his village. He advised that there have previously been many researchers that have come and gone, but none of them have ever provided their findings or a report. None have given back to the community. — Mary Cruz

We hope that our recommendations provide some helpful and actionable steps to help promote and restore more sustainable tourism practices on the island. — Taylor Ruoff

Bali’s palm-fringed Kuta beach, a former fishing village, has become one of Indonesia’s major tourist destinations. Last year, one in three of the country’s 13.7 million overseas tourists went to Bali.

While the influx of visitors has been a boon for the local economy, tourism is taking its toll on the local environment. Kuta beach is now drowning in a sea of plastic garbage, which is so overwhelming that earlier this year, local officials declared a “garbage emergency” across a 3.7-mile (6-km) stretch of coast. While much of the waste washes in from the sea, it’s also generated by tourists and residents. Bali’s infrastructure is just not equipped to handle so many people.

Trash disposal is only one challenge posed by overtourism, the recently coined term for too many visitors, which has become a rampant problem that’s plaguing popular destinations around the world. To help them deal with with their particular tourism challenges, George Washington University students and faculty working under the auspices of the International Institute of Tourism Studies recently went to Bali and Bandung—the capital of West Java— to conduct assessments and make recommendations for future development. The consulting project took place at the invitation of and  in collaboration with student counterparts from STP Bali and STP Bandung, local universities whose Colleges of Tourism falls under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism.

“While tourism brings many economic benefits to the island, it’s also creating pressure on local resources and contributing to major environmental problems such as pollution, water depletion, and waste and water management issues,” explains Taylor Ruoff who was among the group of GWU student consultants.

The team of twelve, which included students from the Masters of Tourism Administration program along with one student who is earning her Masters in International Education, used the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Criteria for Destinations as the basis for their assessment in Bali. These criteria are designed to help tourism destinations and businesses protect and maintain natural and cultural resources, maximizing social and economic benefits for host communities and the environment.

The students made a preliminary presentation of their findings and recommendations in Bali at the 2018 Forum for International Tourism & the Environment (FITE), an annual forum that draws students from Indonesia and around the world to participate in yearly competitions and international conferences on tourism and sustainability. They commended the many businesses on the island that had joined the voluntary certification program Tri Hita Karana, which requires that members uphold specific certification practices, and they also cited a couple of temples in particular that were at risk due to overcrowding.

For their work in Bandung—a large city on the island of Java that mostly draws domestic tourists for its commercial, cultural and culinary attractions—the GWU students worked with graduate students from  STP Bandung. Together, they assessed the tourism situation in the outlying villages of Jelekong and Alamendah and offered recommendations for improving community-based offerings for tourists, including homestays with local families.

The students presented their findings to community members and government officials from the two villages. “We’d learned in destination management classes about the benefits of bringing together diverse groups of tourism stakeholders with competing opinions and priorities,” explains Ruoff.  “Seeing the discussions unfold in-person was eye-opening. You have government officials looking to bring more people and revenue into the town. You also have locals, whose families have always lived in the villages and they don’t necessarily see the benefits of tourism. It’s difficult to make everyone happy. We tried our best to reflect the interests of all stakeholders in our presentation and final report.”

To discuss solutions to various challenges that Indonesia’s tourism industry  faces, Anang Sutono, Senior Advisor to the country’s Ministry of Tourism, will be speaking at the World Tourism Day Forum Overtourism: Seeking Solutions. The event, a joint initiative of GW’s International Institute of Tourism Studies and the Center for Responsible Travel, will take place in the Jack Morton auditorium on September 27th. Click here to learn more.

International Institute of Tourism Studies Executive Director Seleni Matus traveled to Indonesia where she delivered the talk Placemaking, Culture & Tourism: Creating a Sense of Place at the 3^rd Forum on International Tourism and the Environment (FITE). A partnership between the Institute Français, the Embassy of France to Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism’s Institute of Tourism in Bali with support from The George Washington University, FITE invites students from Indonesia, France and other countries to participate in international student conferences on tourism and sustainability.

Cultural heritage tourism is a particularly fast-growing segment of the tourism sector and key to the work of the International Institute of Tourism Studies, which focuses on tourism as a means of sustainable development. To better understand the overall concept of placemaking and how it relates to cultural tourism, we sat down with Matus just before she left for her trip.

Could you define placemaking?

First we need to be clear what we mean by place. Places are environments in which people have invested meaning over time. A place has its own cultural and social identity and is defined by the way it’s used and the people who use it.

So, then, what is placemaking?

Either organically or by design, people create places. An example of a place that evolved organically is Fusterlandia, an area on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba where a mosaic tile artist decorated his house. The neighbors, who were so impressed, asked him to decorate their homes. Very soon, the entire area became covered in wonderfully festive tiles and the once-forlorn area suddenly developed a cohesive identify. Tour buses now make Fusterlandia a regular stop. Fusterlandia is not only a good example of organic placemaking but of cultural tourism.

What do you mean by planned placemaking?

Several years ago, UNESCO began a program to conserve cultural heritage in cities around the world and identified places known for particular cultural characteristics—design, folk art, literature, music, etc. There are now more than 180 UNESCO Creative Cities. The intentional conservation of culture has enabled these cities to not only protect but also to promote their unique cultural characteristics. In Indonesia, for example, there are two UNESCO Creative Cities—Bandung, a design hub, and Pekalongan, which is known as the “Batik City.” While families have been making batiks there for thousands of years, the city government created a resurgence around the art form through increased funding, which has drawn the interest of young people as well as tourists and helped to revive the city’s economy.

Do you foresee that the placemaking movement will grow?

Absolutely. We’re seeing it around the world…Cuba, Croatia, Dublin, Durbin, Mexico, Malawi—placemaking is all about identifying, cultivating and conserving culture, which is key to sustainable development and to tourism, especially as an increasing number of travelers want to visit places that feel authentic. And residents in communities with a distinct sense of place are realizing economic benefits as well as enjoying the sense of cohesion that comes from living in a well-defined place. The UN in its 17 Sustainable Development Goals identifies the conservation of culture as key to sustainable development. So I think we’re only beginning to recognize and understand the power of placemaking as a vehicle for healthy development, which economically benefits communities and protects cultural and natural heritage.