(TITC) – Tourism development activities are recently intergrated to safety and sustainability, including Economic Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, and Sociocultural Sustainability.
- Sustainability Principles
- Economic Sustainability
- Employment
- The homestay organisation shall recruit and employ staff from the local community.
- It is recommended to allocate the provision of incentives and bonuses linked to good performance and/or service levels to motivate staff.
- It is recommended to provide micro finance to deserving locals for them to participate in business activities related to the homestay programme.
- Purchasing
- It is recommended that the homestay organisation buy materials and products from the local micro enterprises.
- It is recommended to request guests to buy locally made goods and set up craft sales area within the homestay centre/common areas to showcase the local products.
- Local Product/Attraction
- Promote local festivals and visits to nearby markets.
- Offer guests traditional handicraft, food and organise cultural events and performances.
- Employment
- Environmental Sustainability
- Limit and mitigate the physical impact of tourists particularly on sensitive natural and cultural environments.
- Discourage the participation of guests in activities, which could exploit local flora and fauna.
- Adopt nearby beach, forest or river and organise litter clean ups with guests.
- Develop a code of conduct (or dos and don’ts) for interaction with wildlife and disseminate it to guests.
- Ensure the local community is educated about the importance of conserving biodiversity.
- Ensure that the design and construction of tourism facilities and services are environmentally friendly.
- Sociocultural Sustainability
- Set up information corners and cultural displays at the homestay centre and common areas
- Inform guests about the need to respect local customs and the appropriate behaviour.
- Ensure the local community is educated about the importance of preserving their culture.
- Actively ban the participation or endorsement of commercial sexual activities or illegal drug use.
- Economic Sustainability
| Economic sustainability | The homestay organisation employs staff from the local community. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation regarding the employment of staff from the local community. b. Ask about the percentage of staff that are from the local community and make a note of it in the report. |
| Allocates incentives to motivate staff. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation regarding the incentives given to homestay staff in order to motivate them to perform better. b. Ask what kind of incentives are given by the Homestay Organisation and list out. c. Ask how many staff had received the incentives until now. d. If any, photocopy the front page of the documents/certificates, etc. and attach with this report. | |
| Provide micro finance to deserving locals. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask about the micro financing programmes that they offer to local villagers who are interested in participating in the homestay programme or as a reward to homestays that have performed well. b. Ask how many locals had applied for financing. c. Ask how many applications have been approved. d. If any, photocopy the front page of the documents/certificates, etc. and attach with this report. | |
| Purchasing The homestay organisation purchase materials and products from local micro enterprises. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and inquire about the source of materials and products used in the homestay programme. b. Ask about what types of materials and/or products are produced by the village. | |
| Guests are requested to buy locally made goods. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask if guests are encouraged to purchase locally-made goods from the micro enterprises in the village. | |
| Craft sales area within the homestay centre to showcase local products. (SI) | a. Inspect the homestay centre for a sales area where local products and handicrafts are sold. b. List out the types of handicrafts sold in the report. c. Take photos of the sales area and attach the photographs with the report. | |
| Local Product/Attraction Promote local festivals and visits to nearby markets. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask if they promote local festivals and visits to nearby markets (within the province/state/country). b. List down the numbers and names of the local festivals/ markets available in the report. c. Ask about the festivals they promote and the methods of promotion. d. Ask if the promotions are effective in attracting more visitors to the homestay. | |
| Offer guests local goods and services e.g. traditional handicraft, food and cultural events. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask if guests are offered goods and services that are locally sourced. b. Ask what kinds of goods and services are offered to guests of the homestay. | |
| Environmental sustainability | Limit physical impact of guests on sensitive natural and cultural environments. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask about the actions and measures taken to limit the potential social impact of homestay guests |
| Discourage the participation of guests in activities which could exploit local flora and fauna. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask if the activities offered to guests could have potential adverse impact on local flora and fauna (i.e. hunting endangered animals). b. Ask about the measures adopted to mitigate such impact | |
| Guests are involved in environmental programs such as litter clean ups, adopting nearby beach, forest or river. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask about existing environmental programmes organised by the village or a partner organisation. b. Ask if guests are invited or given the opportunity to participate in these programmes. | |
| A code of conduct (or dos and don’ts) for guests for interaction with wildlife. (DR/SI) | a. Ask to see the code of conduct for guests when interacting with wildlife. b. Note if the code of conduct is written in a document or placed as a signpost. c. Make a photocopy or take a photo of the code of conduct and attach with the report. | |
| Local community is being educated about the importance of conserving biodiversity. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation to inquire about the education given to the local community about the importance of the environment and biodiversity conservation. b. Ask about the methods used to educate the local community as well as the effectiveness of the education. | |
| Design and construction of tourism facilities and services are environmentally friendly. (SI) | a. Visit the various tourism facilities within the village and make a note of the various features and characteristics that are environmentally friendly. b. Take photos of any environmentally-friendly facilities and attach the photographs with the report | |
| Socio cultural sustainability | Availability of information corners and cultural displays at the homestay centre and common areas. (SI) | a. Visit the homestay centre and common areas (village square/centre/etc.) and look for information and cultural displays. b. Note the relevance of the information to tourists as well as the authenticity of cultural displays. c. Take photos of the displays and information and attach the photographs with the report. |
| Guests are being informed on the appropriate behaviour and the need to respect local customs. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask if guests are informed about the appropriate behaviour while in the village by the Homestay Organisation or tour operator. b. Ask if cultural briefings are given to homestay guests before or at the start of their visit to the village. | |
| Local community is educated about the importance of preserving their culture. (IV) | a. Interview the Homestay Organisation and ask if the local community has been educated about the importance of preserving their culture. b. Ask if there are programmes or campaigns aimed at increasing the awareness of the local community regarding this matter. | |
| Ban the participation of commercial sexual activities and illegal drug use. (IV) | a. Ask the Homestay Organisation what measures are in place to prevent illegal activities from happening in the village. b. Ask the Homestay Organisation if the banning of illegal weapons and firearms are enforced. |
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