The purpose of this manual is to outline some practical steps, in simple language, that can be taken in tourism destinations to shape and manage tourism in ways which deliver more benefits to disadvantaged individuals and communities. It is not a general guide to tourism development but focuses on how to channel tourism income more effectively to the poor.
The manual is aimed at organizations and individuals working in the field of tourism at the destination level, or those working more widely at this level to support poverty alleviation with an interest in seeing how tourism development and management can help and how they can assist with this. A primary audience is seen as local government officials, but the manual is also intended for people working in other public sector agencies, NGOs and advisory bodies. More broadly, in showing how they can support poverty alleviation in tourism destinations, it is also relevant to governments at a national level, to the private sector, and to international development agencies.
In November 2004, SNV and UNWTO signed partnership agreements to fund and support Technical Assistance for Sustainable Tourism – Eliminating Poverty (ST-EP). In its first phase, the partnership supported 23 projects on policy and strategy formulation, projects addressing the seven UNWTO proposed poverty reduction mechanisms, and knowledge development and management activities.
Together with the ST-EP Foundation a second phase of the partnership started in 2007, supporting 21 larger ST-EP project packages based on the seven poverty reduction mechanisms. These seven mechanisms have become an international reference for many tourism and development organizations. The experience amassed through the formulation and implementation of ST-EP projects in different developing countries has indicated the need to share experiences and build capacities on tools and methodologies to apply the mechanisms.
These efforts have a special relevance to the UNWTO/ST-EP Foundation/SNV partnership, which extends beyond the delivery of ST-EP projects. This manual brings together the extensive expertise developed within the respective agencies in this field to advance practical, pro-poor tourism methodologies for a broader audience, as well as support the implementation of similar projects around the world.
