Expertise
Certification
There is growing recognition that certification is a valuable tool to support sustainable tourism development. ReKwest has worked on the integration of certified travel products into exisiting supply chains and has contributed to the development of certification systems.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Over the past years the concept of Social Corporate Responsibility has changed within the (international) tourism industry. It has moved from the idea of merely supporting well-fare organizations and charity to a more inward way of looking at the organization in its entirety. For tourism related businesses this inlcudes communication and pr, human resource development, supply chain management, cooperation with destinations and internal management. ReKwest has assisted many tour operators and travel agents in shaping their SCR policies that are both workable and practical.
Community involvement
Involvement of local communities is crucial for sustainable tourism development. Unfortunately the concept of community involvement is often limited to community based tourism. Within ReKwest we see community involvement as a broad concept. It includes the creation of (small-scale) businesses and income, access to fair jobs for individual community members, integration into local supply chains, consultation during planning and execution of local tourism development and sharing of socio-economic benefits by the entire community.
Protected areas
Protected areas (PA) and tourism always have had an uneasy marriage. Many park managers see tourists or visitors as allien species that should not be allowed to enter any protected area, or only certain groups under strict conditions. PA's are however not isolated.They form part of a wider area in which often tourism and recreational activities take place. This offers both opportunities and threats for the PA. ReKwest has experience in balancing the need for protection and the use of PA's for tourism and recreation.
Sustainable marketing
Sustainability is not about painting convential tourism products green. It requires a fundamental different approach which has consequences for product development, marketing and communication within the travel company. ReKwest has assisted several tour operators in developing new and more sustainable products and services.
