Vincent Tabuteau, managing director of Thailand's East West Siam group, urges hotel investors and developers to look beyond their properties if they want to protect their investments. His belief: Eco-tourism can save the day for all of tourism and stop once-beautiful destinations from "becoming ugly".

Hot on the heels of the Asia Pacific Eco-Tourism Conference held in Kuching, Sarawak, in October, eco-tourism was again put under the spotlight, this time, at a major mainstream hospitality conference.

The fact that eco-tourism has made it back on the agenda at this high-level conference attended by major investors and developers is indicative of the growing recognition being given this niche segment by bigger and more serious players.

In recent times, recognizing that eco-tourism, if executed tastefully and marketed well, can yield higher price premiums, the hotel investment and development community is re-looking at this niche segment, thanks to the success of eco-tourism operators such as Thailand's East West Siam group, which has won several awards for its products, including the Lisu Lodge in Chiang Mai.

To Vincent Tabuteau, managing director of East West Siam, who was on the panel, eco-tourism is not a trend or a product label. It is a mindset, a business approach.

His belief: An "eco-tourism mindset is the result of a business decision, it is not an NGO's agenda. Eco-tourism concerns your ROI (return on investment) and therefore, it is everybody's business".

Tabuteau said that unfortunately because eco-tourism became the label of a "product line", it became associated with "remote operations for nature tours, hobby or action holidays and adventure tours".

"As most of these kinds of operations are targeting rather young and adventurous travelers, eco-tourism became synonymous with cheap guest houses with attached outdoor programmes. No business plan. Lot of commitment but little business know-how. Little experience of international markets. No financial resources. Not a good dossier for institutional investors."

Thus, he said, it was left to NGOs and tourism boards to promote it and it "developed steadily despite its weakness because travellers love the concept".

Unfortunately, it also became the alibi for a "never mind attitude" and for careless developments, said Tabuteau.

The truth is, eco-tourism is a concept and an attitude based on the very simple reality – diversity is the essence of life.

"Biologists call it bio-diversity. Ethnologists call it cultural diversity. It is a well-documented fact that uniformity is the start of degradation of any given environment. Life is movement, life is exchange and difference .

"So what is the relationship with tourism? For us diversity is called exoticism. It is THE motivation of leisure travel or tourism. Travelers look for the difference. Different food, people, culture, language, architecture, etc.

"The eco-tourism attitude comes from the conclusion that the preservation of this diversity/exoticism is essential to remain in business. It is the path to sustainable tourism. That why it is also called "responsible tourism"."

Citing examples such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, Tabuteau said, "These destinations used to be called Rose of the North and Pearl of the South. They are now rated by the National Geographic as "becoming ugly".

"But in the same newsletter, there was a report about the opening in Chiang Mai of four, five star properties and comments about a " luxury villas property bubble " in Phuket …"

Shouldn't investors be nervous about investing millions of dollars in some "becoming ugly" destinations, he asked.

"It would be a bad business decision to ignore the becoming ugly syndrome," he said.

Clarifying, Tabuteau said, the ugliness does not come from the five star properties. "These are luxury bubbles and most have impeccable environment records. The problems come from our back streets, our public beaches, poorly developed infrastructure, local communities that develop without planning alongside our tourism investments – and will eventually threaten them."

The reason for this happening? "Most decisions are taken locally by poorly informed or educated elected officials or civil servants trying their best to manage conflicts of interests."

While Tabuteau concedes it is a difficult problem, he warned that if these issues are not tackled, then there is a danger that most beaches of Thailand end up like Tongsai Bay in Phi Phi Island "which was once paradise on earth and now looks like Omaha beach on D Day".

Tabuteau said the industry could draw some inspiration from eco-tourism practices.

"Eco-tourism has always underlined the need to involve the local community. It is an unrewarding task so this is probably where we failed. Local communities are generally driven by immediate return. Imposing rule is problematic without a mandate. It is impossible without the community's agreement and endorsement."

He shared three plans of action.

• Protect the authenticity of the local culture, preserve the exoticism.
  "Landscape our villages, our streets, our petrol stations. Some countries do that naturally: Greece, Bali, France. Some do not. It must be planned if we want to keep our resorts. In France, for example, there is a competition every year: Most beautiful village or Village Fleuri. In Greece, all house are repainted in blue and white every year. Community gets involved. It works."



• Big companies need small companies: Do not kill the diversity.
  "The most recognised picture of Phuket is a sea canoe in Phang Nga bay , not a hotel lobby. The ultimate goal of most travellers is to see a hill tribe or a remote island, or a genuine market place. Before reaching their goal, they will sit in a plane and sleep in many hotels. Again in Greece or France, accommodation is spread. Lodges, farms , small camps , homestays. Landscaping becomes a common interest for all."



• All must get involved – business, administration, NGOs, community.
  "Some have knowledge but no power. Some have power but no awareness. Some have awareness but no resources. For example, in Kao Lak, hotels are very nice and eco-friendly but the backstreet is a disaster."