Fair Trade - also in Tourism!

Tourism has become one of the world's most important economic sectors. Under the pressure of the current crisis, the global battle for market shares and power has increased. The various initiatives in the North and in the South - which follow in the footsteps of the successful Fair Trade movement - are most urgently needed. They are currently trying out how tourism, too, can be made fairer, so that it brings more advantages than disadvantages to local communities in the destinations. It is a both promising and challenging approach. In Fair Trade, the various actors along the supply chain are involved in measures to bring about fair trade relations. In tourism, such measures will now also need to be developed. The tourism industry, in particular, is faced with the challenge of making the principles of Fair Trade an integral part of their business philosophy and an expression of their much-cited "corporate social responsibility". The commitment of political leaders in the North and South is equally crucial. They must develop more equitable frameworks, both at national levels as well as in international finance and trade policy, for the new initiatives in tourism to bear fruit.

There are no well-defined standards for fair trade in tourism yet. In close collaboration with our partners, we have developed minimal criteria for our work on fair trade: