The question of ethics in tourism came onto my radar again recently when our game drive started an hour late – and our supper started two hours late – because the lodge’s programme had been held up by a group of guides who couldn’t get their act together to leave town early enough to allow enough time for the drive up the coast.

We were a mixed group of product owners, guests (of which I was one), and – eventually – guides that night, and there was a general grumbling amongst those of us who were made to wait.

It was, said some of those present, “typical of guides.” And it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that type of complaint, or witnessed the type of behaviour that caused it. But I did feel that it kind of pointed to a much bigger problem that faces South Africa’s Tourism industry.

So as soon as I got home, I did the logical thing: I Googled ‘tourist guide code of conduct’ – and this link came up first: “ANNEXURE B http://www.environment.gov.za/Services/application_forms/Tourist-guide-code-of-conduct-ANNEXB.doc THE TOURIST GUIDE CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS.”

“A Professional Tourist Guide: Shall be welcoming and demonstrate an enthusiasm for South Africa,” and “Shall be punctual, reliable, honest, conscientious and tactful at all times.” (I would assume that the ‘conscientious and tactful’ bit extends to saying “thank you,” and “goodbye” to your hosts when you leave – which are things that not all of these very senior people stirred themselves to do when they left the lodge the next day.)

And, of course, as these things do, one Google search lead to another, and I landed on pages like

And this got me thinking that if we’re going to re-think tourism (Time to Re-think South Africa’s Tourism Industry)   – or the marketing of tourism in South Africa (If We’re Going To Re-Think Tourism In SA – Let’s Rethink The Marketing Of SA),  then it’s time to re-think the ethics of tourism in South Africa, too.

And if you think there’s nothing wrong with our ethical standards, just two things to consider (1) Fair Trade in Tourism (have they certified thousands of tourism companies? No. Not even hundreds. They’ve certified only about 60 products in the whole country. Why? Because, I was told by a reliable source, most companies don’t want to be looked at too closely, nor to comply with things like the labour laws, and even minimum wage requirements, and you need to do those things to get the Fair Trade mark); and (2) the FIFA World Cup (not the competition itself – but almost everything that tourism has to do with it. See my articles ‘Price Gouging or Dumb Decisions?’  and ‘More 2010 Pricing Woes’).

While researching an article on the economic impact of tourism for another publication, I realised, perhaps properly for the first time, that tourism isn’t all Social Benefits and Oscar Nominations – and that there are, indeed, many negative things about our industry.

Sure, tourism improves economies, contributes (heavily) to the fiscus, and provides opportunities where they might otherwise not have existed. But..

  • Tourism also has a very heavy carbon footprint (I’ve written about this before – tourism will never be sustainable as long as the transport industry isn’t sustainable. And the transport industry will never be sustainable until it stops relying on fossil fuels);
  • Tourism may bring with it uncaring visitors who don’t necessarily respect local conditions (I’m thinking Mozambique and Namibia – you can’t drive on the sand dunes in South Africa, so you take your big, up-yours 4×4, and tear up the beaches and lichen fields in the African outback, because you’re less likely to get caught there. And screw the environmental reasons for keeping you off your beaches at home);
  • Tourism often creates seasonal, usually low-paid jobs for unskilled people – and leaves them high and dry when the tourists disappear;
  • Tourism may create economic dependence (when countries and regions rely too heavily on tourism instead of building mixed economies – and you know very well what that means when the tourist stream starts drying up);
  • And there’s always the problem of leakage (the fact that a high proportion of the tourism dollar is often spent – or sent – back where it came from: a particularly pervasive problem in cases where big companies invest in large hotels and resorts in regions in which they are not resident).

For once, though, I don’t have the answers – because the questions are simply too far ranging, and the impacts of their answers too complex and deeply nuanced.

So allow me just to leave you with the few things from my own, personal experience of life that I most wish to teach my sons – because I think they’re universal truths. And, universal truths being the basics of all ethics, maybe you’ll agree that these old clichés could just as well inform where we’re going with tourism in this country, too:

  • You can do whatever you like, as long as you don’t hurt anybody in the doing, and you accept total responsibility for what you’ve done;
  • Respect yourself. It’ll foster respect in others;
  • Have fun while you’re doing stuff; it makes it more pleasant for you and for those with whom you do it;
  • Remove yourself from any situation that feels uncomfortable or threatening, rather than digging in your heels for the sake of power or your ego;
  • And, of course, remember the single most important verse in the English language – the one where Polonius says to his son, Laertes (who is rushing to take ship for Paris, where he’ll be safe from the old man’s boring, long-winded speaches): “This above all: to thine own self be true,/ And it must follow, as the night the day,/ Thou canst not then be false to any man.” (Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3).

And now go away on holiday (thoughtfully, and with care for the people and the environment of the places you visit). It’s in the economy’s best interests…