In August Nicole Häusler will present her experiences in the field of CBT at the Community-Based Tourism-Forum (CBT-Forum) in Bangkok/Thailand (http://cbtforum.cbt-i.org/en). In September she will hold a speech about ‚Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR in Tourism’ at the PATA-Travel Mart in Macau/China (see Link). She also received an invitation by the ‚Trentino School of Management’ in Turin/Italy to be speaker in a two-day seminar that will take place in October, addressing the topic “Community-based Tourism and Marketing“.

 

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For six weeks, Nicole Häusler investigated the long-term collaboration of the Thai travel agent ‘Asian Oasis’ and a Thai community. The village’s inhabitants belong to the ethnic minorities of Lisu and Akha. Asian Oasis is the owner of the Lisu Lodge; the staffs of the Lodge are all members of the community. In this research, N. Häusler especially focused on the organizational culture of the involved stakeholders and organizations. The results will be part of her PhD dissertation.

 

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In cooperation with Gate e.V. and InWent, the University of Applied Sciences in Stralsund/Germany organizes a “project day” dealing with the subject “Global Change in Tourism: Socially and Ecologically Responsible Tourism Economy in Germany”. Nicole Häusler and Hendrik Wintjen give speeches about „What has CSR to do with tourism?“ and “Market Entrance for small and medium-sized Tourism Companies in Latin America”. In the afternoon Ms. Häusler moderates a workshop concerning “CSR in practice” and Mr. Wintjen about “Small and Medium-sized Companies in Developing Countries on their way to more Responsibility in Tourism”.

On behalf of PATA partnered with SNV and GTZ, masIcontour researched and highlighted 15 best practices in developing sustainable tourism in Asia (www.pata.org/best-practices). These studies explore the ways in which responsible business practices are not just the right thing to do for the environment and local communities, but can also provide cost-savings and increase earning power. The forerunners in the industry showcase the win-win possibilities and offer guidance for other organisations looking to implement more sustainable and rewarding business models.

masIcontour is now member of ‚Pacific Asia Travel Association’ - PATA. PATA is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with PATA’s private and public sector members, masIcontour hopes to contribute to the enhancement of sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within Asia.

Also this year mas|contour will be present with several contributions at the Reisepavillon:

 

24/4/2010, 10.30 a.m.
Speech of Matthias Beyer on the topic:
Main Tasks and Challenges of Destination Development: Planning, Infrastructure, Marketing and Management

 

24/4/2010, 2.00 p.m.
Moderation and Speech of Nicole Häusler on the topic:
Training measures for consultants and overseas development workers in the tourism sector – what qualifications are needed?

 

24/4/2010, 5.00 p.m.
Project Presentation of Matthias Beyer (in cooperation with BKT and BUND):
Swap your Gamepad for a paddle! Creative nature experiences for groups of children and young people in need of educational support

Matthias Beyer gave in the main German TV channel ARD an interview on the market situation and challenges of „Voluntourism“ as new tourism market segment.

 

Link to the interview

masIcontour will carry out on the 21st and 22nd October, 2010 a training course on the topic „Tourism and Corporate Social Responsibility“ with the German Seminar for Tourism (DSFT) in Berlin. Detailed information about the program is available on www.dsft-berlin.de.

Within the scope of a 2-day seminar on the topic "Water Tourism" of the German Seminar for Tourism (DSFT) Matthias Beyer has introduced innovative marketing strategies for canoe tourism including practical examples.

masIcontour is present at this year's ITB with the following contributions:

 

12/3/2010, 4.00 p.m.
Matthias Beyer moderates a panel discussion on the topic:
Innovative child and youth travelling products as an educational chance

 

12/3/2010, 4.30 p.m.
Speech of Nicole Häusler on the topic:
Same Same but Different - the Understanding of CSR in Tourism in the International Context

On behalf of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Germany masIcontour created several project outlines on topical subjects in the areas of tourism, climate protection and biodiversity.

On behalf of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) masIcontour has carried out a project progress evaluation of the GTZ sector project „Tourism and Sustainable Development“. This evaluation aimed at the conceptual and content preparation of the new project phase which goes up to 2013.

Capacity WORKS is the new management model for sustainable development of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), aiming to support the management of international co-operation projects and programmes. Nicole Häusler and Matthias Beyer completed successfully the Capacity WORKS training programme in Berlin. In practical application, the management model enables mas|contour to further optimise its consulting services in order to be best prepared for the growing demands and increasingly complex issues of international co-operation.

GATE – Netzwerk, Tourismus, Kultur e. V., in cooperation with EBC Hamburg, ITB Berlin and GTZ, organised a symposium in Hamburg from 20 to 21 November 2009 entitled ‘Sustainability all along the line? CSR in the tourism supply chain’.
Nicole Häusler gave a presentation on ‘The Forgotten Aspect of Organisational Culture and Service Culture in the Supply Chain’.

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Matthias Beyer was lecturer at University of Applied Sciences Bremen and gave seminars on Tourism in the International Development Cooperation. The training module included topics such as sustainable tourism planning in developing countries, tourism as instrument for poverty reduction, Corporate Social Responsibility as well as environmental management.

On behalf of Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED), masIcontour conducted a three-day workshop (9-11 November 2009) in Nanjing with the staff of the Chinese NGO Amity Foundation.
Starting in 2010, the Amity Foundation, with financial assistance from EED, plans to provide support to 15 different ethnic minority groups, focussing on cultural identity and economic development. During the workshop subjects such as ‘Cultural Identity and Economic Development – a Contradiction?’ and the necessary steps towards the implementation of the upcoming project were discussed.

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For the second time this year, masIcontour organised a workshop in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) on ‘Responsible Tourism Management’. On 6 November 2009, 15 participants from the private sector and one representative of an NGO took the decision to start a pilot project on sustainable tourism management at Inle Lake (Shan State). A project proposal is currently being formulated and discussed among the interested parties. This initiative is supported by the Myanmar Marketing Committee, the Union of Myanmar Travel Association and the Myanmar Hotelier Association.

The EU-financed project “Corporate Social Responsibility and Market Access Partnerships (CSR-MAP) for Thai Sustainable Tourism Supply Chains” aims to create greater sustainability in the Thai tourism industry and to meet the demands of European visitors.
Nicole Häusler, in her role as EU Expert, participated in the National Workshop (3-4 November 09) in Bangkok to discuss SME green hotel, ecotourism and community-based tourism standards, with the involvement of product suppliers.

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Within in the scope of the official licence process for canoe suppliers offered by the Federal Association for Canoe Tourism (BKT), Matthias Beyer gave a two-day training on Marketing. Main topics were market research, product development, communication, internal marketing, price and distribution policy as well as customer relationship management. All in all 17 canoe suppliers from all over the country attended this training.

masIcontour works together with other experts and the citizens on a tourism development concept for the Peninsula Priwall with the aim to provide sustainable and market-driven solutions for future tourism investments on the peninsula. The concept is based on an overall vision for tourism development that has been developed by masIcontour together with the citizens in the course of the year.

The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism MINCETUR and the Tourism College CENFOTUR arranged an International Conference on „Innovative Destination Development“ in Tarapoto and Lima (28th to 30th of September). Matthias Beyer was invited as keynote speaker and gave a speech on „Destination and Customer Marketing“ as well as „Tourism and Ethics“. Around 300 participants from politics, economy and education attended the conference.

Conference Link Conference Blog

masIcontour offered a 3-day training course on “ Tourism and Climate Change” in Bangkok at Kasetsart University. This seminar was organized by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in cooperation with DASTA (Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration) und TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand).
The intensive course was part of a ‘train-the-Trainer Programm’ for more than 30 Thai participants. In the near future they will be able to run training courses with local communities and public authorities but as well within the private sector.
Prof. Wolfgang Strasdas, Senior Consultant of masIcontour, gave more than ten presentations on this issue; Nicole Häusler was the facilitator of this event.

Photos of Seminar

In the second phase of the analysis, mas|contour, on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), will evaluate the poverty-reducing effects of a number of all-inclusive resorts in the region of Punta Cana. The study will involve the collection of enterprise-specific data and the conduct of employee surveys.

mas|contour, on behalf of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), will conduct a sustainability assessment of Montenegro’s most relevant tourism products to examine their current and future ecological and socio-cultural effects. The aim of the sustainability assessment is to identify sustainable development objectives for Montenegro’s national tourism policy.

mas|contour is committed to quality management as an important element of sustainability both internally and in its dealings with clients. Matthias Beyer was trained as a quality coach as part of the national quality management initiative “ServiceQualität Deutschland” (Service-Q). In the near future, mas|contour is planning to include the implementation of concrete measures to further improve service quality and Stage 1 certification.

masIcontour offered a 2-day training course on “Responsible Tourism Management”, taking place in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar (Burma) in July 2009. 25 participants of the private tourism sector participated in this seminar. Further education on this topic is in great demand among local tour operators and hoteliers. The main focus within this seminar lied on the introduction of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) measures in the private touristic sector. This seminar was organized and implemented on masIcontour’s own initiative in cooperation with Myanmar Marketing Committee (MMC).

Photos of Seminar

The local tour and hotel operator ‘Jetwing’ located in Colombo, is planning the construction of a “Jetwing School for Responsible Tourism & Hotel Management”.

 

With the ending of the civil war, the school´s main aim is to offer Tamil adolescents -coming from refugee sectors - the opportunity to follow a professional education in hotel business. The issue of sustainability (among others Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Standards in hotel business) will be of great importance within the curriculum.

 

‘Jetwing’ will finance the construction of the school’s building, its organization and content out of their own funds as far as possible. Nevertheless, ‘Jetwing’ hopes to find financial support among development aid organizations and/or development banks. masIcontour supports ‘Jetwing’ in the formulation of the application for financing in August 2009.

For the upcoming constitution of a Competence Centre in the fields of tourism, environment and education for the Danube neighbouring countries, masIcontour analized on behalf of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) the initial conditions in the countries and developed a conceptual framework for the centre.

On behalf of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), masIcontour analized the socio-economic impacts of big city hotels on poverty alleviation among the local population in Managua.

Nicole Häusler hat participated at the one-day seminar on “Systemic Approaches and Evaluation” in Berlin organized by Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, evalux und DeGEval e.V. (Gesellschaft für Evaluation/Association for Evaluation).

The Platform Alimentation and Exercise (peb) is getting involved with the prevention of ascendance of children and youth in different regions of Germany. masIcontour was commissioned to accomplish a process oriented evaluation of the effects of various activities undertaken by the platform.

Nicole Häusler participates as a member of the International Jury which selects the winners of the SEED-Awards 2009. The SEED Initiative (www.seedinit.org) was founded by IUCN, UNEP and UNDP with a view to contributing to delivery of the Millennium Declaration and is based in Great Britain. SEED seeks the most promising locally-led and innovative, social and environmental entrepreneurs working in partnerships in developing countries in sectors like agriculture, biodiversity or tourism.

Nicole Häusler was visiting lecturer at School of Management in Trento/Italy. She gave two day training on the successful implementation of responsible tourism products including marketing strategies.

On behalf of the Guyana Tourism Authority, masIcontour arranged for the seventh time in succession the fair presentation of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin. Apart from the organisation of the booth and the personal support of the Guyana delegation, masIcontour was responsible for the press relations and the intermediation of contacts to German tour operators.

masIcontour provides for the award-winning travel company Andaman Discoveries (www.andamandiscoveries.com) an overview on the German tourism market in relation to responsible tourism.

masIcontour gave a training in Kazakhstan on ecotourism and responsible tourism for environmental NGOs, Tourism Students and SMEs in tourism. The focus of the training topics was on quality standards in ecotourism, business planning and product development.

masIcontour provides advice to the citizens' initiative „Bürgerinitiative behutsame Priwallentwicklung e.V. (BiP)“ creating an overall vision for sustainable tourism development on the Peninsula Priwall located in the German province Schleswig-Holstein.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), in partnership with international sustainable development experts, SNV and GTZ, have formally launched a project to identify, research and promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) best practice case studies within the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. Based on observations these three organisations strongly believe there exists a need to publish a best practice guide for hotels and operators in Asia Pacific, specifically outlining case studies and action recommendations around CSR business practices.

masIcontour coordinates this project by contacting tourism companies, researching specific CSR projects and drafting the information into case studies. The results will be presented at website of PATA (www.pata.org) by May 2009.