Tourism and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Acorn Tourism Consulting

This report examines the sustainability practices and strategies of Accord tourism consulting along with the ways in which tourism development is addressed by company strategies. In addition to this the degree to which United Nations SDG's have been followed by Accord is critically discussed.

Tourism and
Sustainable
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Review of Current sustainability practices and stratgies of Acorn tourism consulting..............1
Extent of sustainability strategies relation with UN SDG..........................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Sustainable tourism focuses on lowering the negative impact of tourism and travel on the
environment and preserving natural resources which support tourism. The rising consume
awareness about role of torus in climate change has increased demand of sustainable tourism
practices (Hall, 2019). This report is based on the case study of Acorn tourism consulting which
is a UK based sustainable tourism organization. This report examines the sustainability practices
and strategies of Accord tourism consulting along with the ways in which tourism development
is addressed by company strategies. In addition to this the degree to which United Nations SDG's
have been followed by Accord is critically discussed.
Background of the company: Acorn tourism consulting is dedicated towards supporting
clients in meeting sustainability goals. The company partners wit different business in the
tourism sector to create more inclusive, sustainable and competitive tourism destinations with the
help of professionals. The company primarily works tourism sector and visitor economy and has
helped businesses adopt sustainable tourism development.
MAIN BODY
Review of Current sustainability practices and stratgies of Acorn tourism consulting
Capacity building and training
Sustainable tourism practice of Acorn tourism consulting delivering a memorable visitor
experience by collaborating with government agencies, tourism businesses and local
communities (Product Development, 2022). This sustainable tourism practice involves sharing
and transferring knowledge of the company related to green tourism and lowering environmental
impact of the company to local communities and using a skilled workforce to initiate
collaboration between different parties involved in tourism. This sustainable practice leads to
engagement and education of main tourism stakeholders including government agencies and
destination communities (Higgins-Desbiolles, 2020).
An example of the Acorn tourism consulting successfully sing capacity building and
training to facilitate sustainable tourism in a destination is product development in Corozal and
Toledo. Accord tourism consulting supported sustainable tourism development in the regions of
Corozal and Toledo. The company conducted a situational analysis and supported product
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development in the region which were associated with activities which local communities were
proud of and wanted to develop.
The respective organization worked closely with local tourism committee and community
representatives to create Cultural Flavours of Toledo, a tourism corridor website which promotes
five different ethnic communities in Toldedo and directs tourists where they can enjoy culinary
traditions and local (Developing Tourism Corridors in Belize, 2022). In addition to this, the
company also promoted new and existing events where tourists can interact with locals. This
change in tourism of was initiated because of the practice of capacity building by Corozal and
Toledo Acorn tourism consulting which results positive results in terms of visitor retention.
This example of Acorn tourism consulting implementing capacity building practice to
enhance sustainability in tourism of also supported development of tourism in the region in terms
of profitability. This is because integration of local culture and ethnicity to promote tourism in
the country which high involvement of local communities leads to collective development of the
tourism sector. The involvement of local cultures in tourism helps increase profitability because
it offers, tourists and visitors unique experience which are only related to the specific tourism
destination (Lozano-Oyola and et. al., 2019). Cultural tourism and coordination between
different stakeholders helps offer tourists better fulfilment from their travelling experience and
improves profitability of a specific region.
Advantage: The sustainable tourism practice of Acorn tourism consulting helps create a
network of professionals, government agencies, communities and businesses in a specific
destination which provides long-term gains in terms of environment friendly tourism. This is
because various tourism stakeholders in a specific destination are connected and educated with
new capacity towards building greener tourism environment.
Disadvantage: The disadvantage is that connecting and training different stakeholders
requires high investment in professional training. Acorn tourism consulting offers formal training
courses to stakeholders through in-house network of professionals which requires high level of
time and capital investment. This type of investment an financially burden the company if
returns are not provided with higher tourism quickly which is disadvantage.
Destination Development and Management
Acorn tourism consulting utilizes destination development and management to contribute
to improvement in sustainability of a specific region. Destination management involves taking a
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coordinated approach to tourism in which a common vision for sustainable tourism is created on
the basis of comprehensive stakeholder engagement and local aspirations informed with the help
of profound market research.
Acorn tourism consulting works closely with destinations to develop a coherent
destination strategy which leads to collaborations between communities, public and private
sector stakeholders to create a guide for achieving the shared vision (Strategic Planning, 2022).
Destination management facilitated by the respective organization requires working with tourism
administrators, destination management organizations and place managers to assist them in
becoming strategic leaders who can provide sustainable results through collaboration.
Acorn tourism consulting was able to offer clients destination management services
which also promote environment friendly tourism in the country. The company produced 7
award winning marketing videos which promote the culture and natural resources of Guyana to
international tourist (Guyana Branding and Marketing Strategy, Promotional Videos and Digital
Marketing Services, 2022). These videos were focused on creating a brand identity of Guyana
related to the nature, wildlife, culture and indigenous ecotourism. In addition to this the company
was also contracted by the Guyana tourism authority to implement a digital marketing website
which involved creating destination Guyana website. This showcases the success respective
organization gained by implementing destination management with collaboration from private
and public sector stakeholders.
The usage of destination management strategy at Acorn tourism consulting for promoting
tourism in Guyana contributed to better profitability and long-term tourism in the country as it
helped create a specific brand identity of the region which can attract international audiences.
Advantage: The advantage of this sustainable tourism practice adopted by Acorn tourism
consulting is that it helps create a suitable vision which can act in best interests of various
stakeholders. Addressing interests of various stakeholders is an important part of sustainable
development as it improved involvement of different parties in sustainable development
activities (Nowacki and et. al., 2018). In addition to this, destination management helps create a
sustainable entity in relation of a specific tourism region. Creation of a global sustainable
identity of a destination can help attract global visitors who are seeking environment friendly
tourism.
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Disadvantage: Destination development and management involves decentralized
structure of management where different stakeholders from the private and public sector can co-
ordinate and collaborate effectively. Government agencies and authorities in most regions favour
a centralized structure and government policies are created to promote centralized business
designs (Rastegar and Ruhanen, 2021). This opposition between government favoured structures
and the most suitable structure to enable destination management and development can create
challenges in effectively achieving destination development vision and effectively implementing
sustainability strategies with full collaboration from different stakeholders.
Extent of sustainability strategies relation with UN SDG
The United Nations members adopted 17 sustainable development goals in order to
achieve sustainable development in different sectors as a part of 2030 agenda to support positive
actions for peace, prosperity, people. planet and partnership. Acorn tourism consulting has taken
action to achieve various sustainable development goals. The ways in which Acorn tourism
consulting has contributed to attainment of sustainable development goals is explained below: Goal 1- End Poverty: Acorn tourism consulting has collaborated with local communities
for educational partnerships and offers in-kind donation for education in order to support
end of poverty. Goal 2- Zero Hunger: Acorn tourism consulting has taken action for wildlife and
ecosystem protection as a part of sustainable tourism development for attainment of zero
hunger goal by promoting better and fair trade supply chains. Goal 3- Good health and well-being: The respective company has supported health
prevention programmes and donated to disaster awareness as part of promoting well-
being (Sustainable Development Goals, 2022). Goal 4- Quality education: In-house professional training provided by Acorn tourism
consulting to local communities related to sustainable tourism along with education for
culture and heritage lead to better education opportunities. Goal 5- Gender Equality: The respective organization has given in-kind donations to
fight sex-tourism and promoted non-discrimination in workplace to attain this goal. Goal 6- Clan water and sanitation: Acorn tourism consulting has preheating in
prevention programmes for security which promote usage of clean water sources in
different areas.
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 Goal 7- Affordable and clean energy: The company uses green technologies in business
operations to promote clean energy usage. Goal 8- Decent work and economic growth: This goal aims to create sustained, inclusive
and sustainable economic growth along with fair employment for all (Pizzi and et. al.,
2020). Diversity management and investment in local purchases in different tourism
destination are the actions which help Acorn tourism consulting create economic growth
through tourism. Goal 9- Industry innovation and infrastructure: Eco-design and waste management
technology sage are the two areas which assists Acorn tourism consulting in sporting
innovation in sustainable tourism management. Goal 10- Reduced inequalities: Acorn tourism consulting promotes community
involvement in tourism to help local communities grow economically and reduce
inequalities. Goal 11- Sustainable cities and communities: Certification and sustainability awareness
campaigns are some of the ways through which respective firm supports creation of
sustainable tourism destination and communities. Goal 12- Responsible consumption and production: Acorn tourism consulting utilizes
energy efficient technologies and renewable energy resources in various business
operations to ensure responsible resource consumption at every level. Goal 13- Climate Action: This is directly related with sustainability as this UN SDG
focuses on taking immediate action to tackle on-going climate change (Schaltegger,
Beckmann and Hockerts, 2018). Wildlife, ecosystem and landscape protection are some
of the steps which have helped Acorn tourism consulting in achieving action to reduce
climate change. Goal 14- Life below water: Ecotourism and green purchases by Acorn tourism consulting
support attainment of positively impacting marine life across the globe and initiating
sustainable marine tourism. Goal 15- Life on Land: Promoting local community involvement in ecotourism of
natural areas has helped Acorn tourism consulting ensure that tourism activities do no
harm wildlife and natural resources of the area.
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 Goal 16- Peace, justice and strong institutions: Human rights awareness and respecting
staff diversity are the primary actions taken by the respective organization to promote
sustainable tourism.
 Goal 17- Partnership for the goals: Professional partnerships with public and private
sector authorities are the main activities which support partnership for sustainability by
Acorn tourism consulting
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that sustainable tourism activities and strategies
require heavy community involvement as it supports collective growth in the tourist destination.
In addition to this destination management is another effective strategy for supervising
sustainable tourism development of a specific area. These practices and strategies can be used by
tourism consultancy companies to achieve various sustainable development goals promoted by
the United nations.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hall, C. M., 2019. Constructing sustainable tourism development: The 2030 agenda and the
managerial ecology of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(7).
pp.1044-1060.
Higgins-Desbiolles, F., 2020. The “war over tourism”: Challenges to sustainable tourism in the
tourism academy after COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(4). pp.551-569.
Lozano-Oyola and et. al., 2019. Sustainable tourism tags to reward destination
management. Journal of environmental management, 250. p.109458.
Nowacki and et. al., 2018. Strategic planning for sustainable tourism development in
Poland. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 25(6).
pp.562-567.
Pizzi and et. al., 2020. Management research and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs):
A bibliometric investigation and systematic review. Journal of cleaner production, 276.
p.124033.
Rastegar, R. and Ruhanen, L., 2021. A safe space for local knowledge sharing in sustainable
tourism: an organisational justice perspective. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, pp.1-17.
Schaltegger, S., Beckmann, M. and Hockerts, K., 2018. Collaborative entrepreneurship for
sustainability. Creating solutions in light of the UN sustainable development
goals. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 10(2). pp.131-152.
Online
Developing Tourism Corridors in Belize, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://acorntourism.co.uk/projects/developing-tourism-corridors-in-belize-p676681>
Guyana Branding and Marketing Strategy, Promotional Videos and Digital Marketing Services,
2022. [Online] Available through <https://acorntourism.co.uk/projects/guyana-
branding-and-marketing-strategy-promotional-videos-and-digital-marketing-services-
p676381>
Product Development, 2022. [Online] Available through <https://acorntourism.co.uk/what-we-
do/product-development>
Strategic Planning, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://acorntourism.co.uk/what-we-do/strategic-planning>
Sustainable Development Goals, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://acorntourism.co.uk/sustainable-tourism/sustainable-development-goals>
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