(TITC) – In order to develop sustainable community based tourism, ASEAN members are required to raise the quality of tour, guiding, food and beverage services. Here the suggestions in ASEAN CBT Standard.
Local guide quality and expertise include guides are community members or approved by a CBT Committee; they are recruited based on appropriate levels of knowledge, physical health and fitness for proposed guided activities. Guides possess or can demonstrate commitment to developing sound knowledge of the local environment and culture; including history, cultural traditions, geography, flora and fauna and cultural/heritage sites, and sustainable tourism principles. Guides operate within the ASEAN CBT Standards and regulations of the CBT initiative and have signed and follow the ASEAN CBT Guide’s Code of Conduct. Guides facilitate environmentally, socially and culturally relevant and sensitive experiences for visitors that are protective of natural and cultural resources and values. Guides have access to ongoing capacity building and training opportunities to increase their skills and knowledge of: sustainable tourism, interpretative guiding, group management, customer care/service, communication (including cross cultural wareness/communication and verbal and non-verbal communication); first aid and safety, authentic local cultural traditions, integrity, identity and values, environmental protection issues, the guidelines and regulations of the CBT initiative, and any other area deemed necessary by the CBT Committee.
There are 13 requirements related to ensure the quality of tours and activities: Tours/activities operate within the objectives, guidelines, regulations and codes of conduct of the CBT initiative. Tours/activities ensure visitors, at all times, observe CBT approved guidelines for interacting with the culture, natural environment and people of the community. Tours/activities have a clearly defined: itinerary and associated price; and documented booking system.
Tours/activities record the visitors on tours, including departure and return times. Visitors are informed of the tour itinerary, level of difficulty, possible hazards, safety precautions and regulations or rules that apply to their conduct on the tour. Tours operate on a cost recovery basis and yield a profit to the CBT initiative. A quality control and improvement system exists, including a system for visitor feedback on the tour/activity experience, and visitors are actively encouraged to participate in the feedback process.
Tours/activities respect and contribute to the promotion and reservation/conservation of local culture and natural environment and provide current and relevant cultural information. Tours/activities are designed to be enjoyable, educational, participatory, organised, relevant and thematic. The local (interpretative) guide to visitor ratio is not greater than 1:5-10. Where relevant, tours/activities have clearly defined and documented agreements with inbound tour operators.
Tours/activities actively facilitate cross-cultural understanding and opportunities for tourists to contribute to local activities alongside host community members. Tours provide an appropriate and specialised service for identified tourist markets and attract identified tourist markets through cost-effective means.
ASEAN CBT Guide’s Code of Conduct
I will conform to the CBT Member’s Code of Conduct by:
| o | • committing to on-going learning and improving my communication skills, particularly in the area of interpretive guiding; (Mandatory) |
| o | • adopting ethical and visitor friendly practices, and taking pride in representing my community; (Mandatory) |
| o | • contributing to the protection and presentation of my community’s natural and cultural assets, traditions and local identity by providing cultural and natural environment awareness raising and education activities for visitors and the host community; (Mandatory) |
| o | • following all CBT approved policies and codes of conduct regarding safety and security of visitors; (Mandatory) |
| o | • providing a quality service and conforming to any standards developed by ASEAN for the purposes of improving the quality of guiding services. (Mandatory) |
My commitment to ensuring the quality of tours and visitor activities
Visitor briefing
| o | I will inform visitors of the tour/activity itinerary, level of difficulty and possible hazards and safety precautions. (Mandatory) |
| o | I will inform visitors of regulations or rules that apply to their conduct on the tour. (Mandatory) |
| o | I will inform visitors of opportunities to participate in the satisfaction feedback process |
Tour/activity content
| o | I will ensure tours/activities with which I am associated are designed to be enjoyable, educational, participatory, organised, relevant and thematic. |
| o | I will ensure tours/activities with which I am associated respect and contribute to the promotion and preservation/conservation of local culture and natural environment. |
| o | To minimise negative impacts, I will make necessary efforts to ensure that visitors, at all times, observe CBT approved guidelines for interacting with the culture, natural environment and people of the community. (Mandatory) |
| o | I will ensure tours/activities with which I am associated include relevant cultural information in the interpretation of the community and its surroundings. |
| o | I will ensure tours/activities with which I am associated provide cultural and natural environment awareness raising and education for visitors and the host community. |
| o | I will ensure tours/activities with which I am associated actively facilitate cross-cultural understanding and opportunities for tourists to contribute to local activities alongside host community members. |
| o | I will ensure tours/activities with which I am associated demonstrate practical waste management including the application of avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle principles. |
Tour/activity conclusion
| o | I will invite visitors to participate in the satisfaction feedback process. |
| o | I will encourage visitors to participate in other CBT tours/activities. (Mandatory) |
| o | I will conclude the tour/activity with an expression of my pride in representing the community and a wish for visitors to have a pleasant stay within the community and for the rest of their visit/holiday. (Mandatory) |
I will demonstrate commitment to this ASEAN CBT Guide’s Code of Conduct and be able to explain the
rationale for each of its requirements. (Mandatory)
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