In May of this year, Junior Minister of Tourism Senator Marc Bean attended the eleventh annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-11). During this event, Bermuda was confirmed as host of the 12th Annual Conference (STC-12) next year. Following Senator Bean's report that the recent conference was "very productive and proved to be a success", the Bermuda Environmental & Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) decided to investigate some of the ideas coming out of STC-11 and their relevance to Bermuda. BEST believes that sustainability is a most important principle in tourism and, as a consequence, has a particular interest in the topic.

After reading through the speeches and presentations available, we found that geo-tourism stands out as one of the major themes of the conference. Geo-tourism ultimately relies on developing a unique place-based tourism product that is clearly differentiated from the competition. This appears to be highly relevant in today's competitive global tourism market and the adoption of such a concept could tangibly benefit the Island's tourism product.

Sustainable Tourism

As Charles Brown, Bermuda's Director of Sustainable Development, recently stated, "sustainable development … is about ensuring our quality of life, and there is not much more important than that" (Royal Gazette, June 16, 2010). In line with this, the Caribbean Tourism Office's official definition of Sustainable Tourism is "the optimal use of natural, cultural, social and financial resources for national development, on an equitable and self-sustaining basis, to provide a unique visitor experience and an improved quality of life through partnerships among government, the private sector and communities". In an effort to come to a common understanding of sustainable tourism, a list of Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria has been developed. This is organised around the following four themes and is widely considered to be the minimum that any tourism business or industry should aspire to achieve:

1. Demonstrate effective sustainable management;

2. Maximise social and economic benefits to the local community and minimise negative impacts;

3. Maximise benefits to cultural heritage and minimise negative impacts; and

4. Maximise benefits to the environment and minimise negative impacts.

Geo-Tourism

Geo-tourism takes the idea of sustainability one step further by not only preserving a destination but also celebrating it. During the conference, geo-tourism was defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place, including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. It encompasses aspects from history and sightseeing to local cuisine and art, offering both a diverse and unique experience that cannot be gained elsewhere.

According to Jonathan Tourtellot, director and Geo-tourism Editor of National Geographic Traveler, leisure travellers are increasingly searching for such authentic experiences, leading to a boom in touring-style tourism. This type of tourism is considered to have the lowest environmental impact and relies heavily on both the physical and human characteristics of a destination. Tourtellot believes that such tourism spreads the physical impact of tourists, supports small businesses, requires the protection of nature and heritage and relies on architecture, landscapes and a culture unique to the locale.

In fact, by both benefiting the local community and relying on the protection of the place, a "Virtuous Circle" can be created whereby the entire community is given a strong motive to protect and enhance the environment thereby boosting tourism and its benefit to the community even further. Community involvement and a sense of pride in both the culture and the place thus become important elements of a successful geo-tourism strategy.

The Bermuda Context

During STC-11, unsustainable tourism was defined as overcrowding, loss of distinctiveness, and erosion of culture and the environment which ultimately lead to a lower quality of experience. In 2007, National Geographic conducted a Destination Stewardship Study of 111 selected islands, including Bermuda. The study involved a panel of 522 sustainable tourism experts who looked at how well the traditions, ecosystems, cultures, landscapes, and ultimately tourist appeal of each of the islands surveyed were holding up. Bermuda scored 66 out of a possible 100, indicating "minor difficulties", but right on the cusp of "moderate trouble". The commentary that perhaps best sums up our less-than-stellar score is that "Culture is still strong, but racial tension continues to grow and is a problem. Over-built and very expensive."

Honest and open commentary such as this, including the views of individual tourists sometimes expressed in our newspapers through Letters to the Editor, provide us with valuable insight into what our visitors are looking for and what Bermuda, as a destination, should strive to achieve. We can gain much from this single line of commentary from the Destination Stewardship Survey alone. Looking at it from a geo-tourism standpoint:

1. Culture is still strong:

This is a positive, and is something of which every Bermudian should be proud. Our culture is unique and, following the theory of geotourism, something that can help to set us apart from other destinations. We should embrace this and market it, from our vibrant African heritage to our British flavour, from our traditional cuisine to our exotic Dark & Stormies and our various holiday celebrations throughout the year.

Marketing ourselves to heritage tourists can be aided through better publicising initiatives such as the Bermuda Heritage Passport and the African Diaspora Heritage Trail. Strategies such as the one recently announced in which top US radio talent will be immersed in the island destination and exposed to local personalities should also prove beneficial. During this particular exercise, Bermudians will be given the chance to explain to US listeners what makes Bermuda such a special place to them.

Ultimately, promoting our culture will help us to stand out as more than just a beach destination, giving tourists a reason to stay longer and to come back for more.

2. Racial tension continues to grow and is a problem

Bermuda has one of the most culturally and racially diverse populations in the world. This is a strength and something to be celebrated, presenting us with a golden opportunity to set an example for other countries to follow. Vacationers want to be able to relax in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, away from social tensions. Beth Hall, a former resident, recently expressed that, owing to "the spiteful and hate-mongering invectives thrown around by the ruling party", she "can no longer recommend Bermuda as a travel destination to [her] many travelling friends and family" (RG Letter to the Editor, June 221, 010). This highlights that the consequences of such tensions for tourism are very real.

We are all ambassadors for tourism, from our local MP to the taxi driver at the front-line to the member of the public that a tourist stops to ask for directions in the street. The friendliness of our people has traditionally been one of our greatest strengths and something that sets us apart from other destinations.

We should embrace both our visitors and each other, with benefits for both tourism and the community alike.

3. Overbuilt:

With a limited land mass and one of the highest population densities in the world, it is not surprising that Bermuda is considered to be overbuilt. While we can't reduce the current amount of development, we can work together to protect our remaining open spaces and parkland and, where new construction does take place, encourage low-density development that is in-keeping with our traditional island environment. The protection of Southlands and our enviable South Shore are cases in point. As the vast majority of our visitors come from large urban centres, notably on the U.S. East Coast, they are no doubt seeking to escape the stress of the city and relax in a unique and tranquil environment.

The new wave of high-density development detracts from the island's uniqueness and tranquility and leads to a lower quality of tourist experience by increasing traffic and eroding the natural environment along with our distinctively Bermudian sense of place. In the words of the Long Family, who have made over 26 visits to the island over the years, "To spoil your tranquil shores with glass menageries and gaming tables is insanity. Market what you have and market it well" (RG Letter to the Editor, 24th June 2010).

Preventing such overdevelopment will rely heavily on strict planning regulations and enforcement.

4. Very expensive:

Bermuda's cost of living is on par with the most expensive cities in the world, such that the island is a costly destination. While this is unlikely to change, we should strive to enhance the quality of the tourist experience so that a visit to Bermuda is considered well worth the money when compared to cheaper destinations. In the opinion of Larry Burchall, "Bermuda is dangerously close to redefining itself – or getting redefined – as a low-end, cruise ship destination" (Royal Gazette April 23, 2010), while in the words of Stuart Hayward, "Flooding the beaches with cruise ship tourists, as is done at Horseshoe Bay, does little to differentiate the Bermuda experience and much to brand us as just another tourist trap." (RG June 11, 2010).

As was reiterated at the conference, the global tourism market is a highly competitive one. There are hundreds of low-end beach destinations around the world that tourists can visit for a fraction of the price of a vacation in Bermuda. By providing this sort of experience, Bermuda is unlikely to be recommended as a destination or to encourage repeat visitors. Moreover, cruise ship passengers spend only a fraction of what air arrivals spend on our shores and lead to a highly concentrated tourism impact. A study in Belize, for example, found that the average tourist staying overnight in that country injected 15 times more money into the economy than the average cruise ship passenger.

Given our particular circumstances, air arrival passengers and smaller, high-end cruiselines would appear to be the most beneficial options for our island.

Conclusions

Sustainable development is about ensuring our quality of life socially and economically as well as environmentally. According to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Caribbean Officer, Dr. Boafo, "heritage tourism is the most rapidly growing international sector of tourism". The promotion of geo-tourism brings with it many advantages, particularly as heritage tourists are one of the highest yield tourist groups, being found to spend 38 percent more per day and to stay 34 percent longer than traditional tourists.

It is important to evaluate the cost-benefit of all tourist initiatives by looking at the long-term revenue gains rather than solely visitor numbers. Ultimately, the tourists bringing the greatest benefit to Bermuda will be those who develop a love for our island and its people such that they are likely to stay longer, revisit regularly, and recommend us as a destination while also having a greater sensitivity towards both the culture and the environment while they are here.

Embracing the concept of sustainable tourism brings with it the opportunity to both enhance the quality of life for Bermudians as well as the quality of the tourist experience. Expensive capital projects are not only impractical given the current economic climate and budgetary cutbacks, but are also unlikely to set us apart from our competitors and may even align us with them, albeit as a more expensive, and therefore less attractive, alternative.

We should focus instead on marketing our existing strengths, overcoming our weaknesses, and ultimately increasing our air arrivals. A larger number of land-based visitors will not only significantly benefit the economy, but will also make a larger range of entertainment options viable once a critical mass of tourists is reached.

As Senator Bean said at a news conference following the Sustainable Tourism Conference: "We are honoured to host STC-12 in Bermuda", and "look forward to an action-based programme that builds on the recommendations coming out of STC-11".

The Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) looks forward to hearing more about a sustainable tourism management programme for Bermuda that will protect the island environmentally, unify the community socially and benefit every Bermudian economically by encouraging increased tourist spending on our shores.