The International Tourism Partnership (ITP) aims to relate green issues to the bottom line. LIZ O’REILLY spoke to director STEPHEN FARRANT about the group’s work.
What, briefly, is ITP?
The International Tourism Partnership is a global programme of the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF). It brings together the leading corporates in the hospitality and tourism industry to demonstrate that environmental and social responsibility makes good business sense.
Essentially, we do this in three ways: by showcasing examples of leadership and best practice; by providing information and insight on sustainability issues within the industry, working in partnership with other sectors and other organisations, and by providing a range of practical programmes, products and solutions. ITP members represent some of the largest travel and tourism companies in the world, comprising more than 11,100 hotel properties and 1.8 million rooms. They understand that only through collective, industry-wide action at local, destination and country levels can real progress be made towards a more sustainable hotel, travel and tourism industry.
Who and how many are its members?
ITP currently has 16 members. These are typically global hospitality companies, for example InterContinental, Marriott, Hilton, Starwood and Wyndham. We are currently looking to recruit new members from Asian markets, and would be interested in talking to any leading hospitality company in the Middle East that wanted to find out more. ITP also works in partnership with many other bodies, such as trade associations, development agencies and environmental organisations, in order to deliver its work.
Where does it operate, if worldwide, does the organisation have much to do with the Middle East?
ITP does operate globally, through attendance at key events, the delivery of many of our programmes and through the reach of our members. The Middle East is a market in which ITP would like to be more active in the future. Current members such as Jumeirah are based in the region and our highly effective Youth Career Initiative, a programme that transforms the life-chances of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, operates in Jordan, Ethiopia, Egypt and, from this year, Kenya.
Are travel and tourism professionals in the Middle East becoming more aware of the need for sustainable practices?
Definitely, and the long-term trend is clear that for any business to prosper in the future, it will need a meaningful and tangible way of demonstrating its commitment to environmental and social responsibility. This is where the International Tourism Partnership comes in; we are continually sharing best practice and working collaboratively with our members to identify and develop practical solutions to the long-term challenges of sustainability – economic, environmental and social.
The interest and demand from governments, customers, employees and shareholders for genuine progress towards sustainability is increasing all the time. This pressure does not always mean additional cost to businesses and it should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat.
The way that ITP works is by bringing fierce competitors together to sit around the table at a very senior level, because they all recognise that their long-term business interests are fundamentally and inextricably linked to environmental, social and economic stability and that these challenges are far bigger than one company and far bigger than any sector.
Has the ‘green agenda’ taken a back seat in favour of the industry clawing its way out of recession?
Encouragingly, the green agenda is every bit as important now as it was before the economic crisis of the last two years. The market, and people’s definition of ‘value’, is evolving; investment decisions and the corporate purchasing of products and services, whether in travel and tourism or elsewhere, is increasingly taking account of environmental and social factors alongside price.
What are a few of the things that hotels, for example, can do to make themselves more sustainable?
There is a lot that any hotel can do. I think it is helpful to think of sustainability as a long-term direction that involves continual improvement, rather than a simple tick-box process.
A good place to start is to conduct an audit of current practices and to engage the enthusiasm and creativity of all members of staff, at all levels, to suggest ways of improving the environmental and social impact of the business. For this to happen, it first needs a clear and simple statement of commitment and leadership from the very top. For a hotel just starting out on its sustainability programme, a good and simple reference point would be our ‘Going Green’ guidelines, which can be downloaded free of charge from the International Tourism Partnership website.