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Topic 1 : What kind of global chain of trade for fair development?

Workshop 1.3 : Tourism sector: what kind of development at the local level?

Complete file of the workshop _ English and french version

Workshops Topic 1 :

Since the 1960s, the development of mass tourism has made this services sector a key component of international trade. Between 2003 and 2004, tourism generated sales of over $ 600 billion, i.e. nearly 10% of world GDP, and it accounts for 200 million direct and indirect jobs around the world.

But transnational tourism most often consists of people from the North industrial countries with strong currencies travelling to developing countries of the South, seeking the sun and cheap living. World tourism has thus developed around three seas, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Sea of China.

The organisation of work and leisure time in developed economies, and climate variations in tropical zones makes this sector heavily dependent on the seasons. This makes business fluctuate in the extreme, and employment with it, with the resultant precariousness for workers.

The discussions in this workshop will focus on the following questions:

How can the tourism industry become a force for fighting poverty?
How can we anticipate and control the effects of mass tourism on local people?
Given the role of tour-operators in structuring the supply and demand of the tourism market, what strategies can help steer this process to integrate concerns of sustainable development?
What are the predictable effects of a rise in the cost of transport on tourism practices?
How can job quality and the professionalism of the workforce be improved, given the seasonal nature of the activity and the multitude of very small businesses concerned?
Can a sustainable touristic activity and genuine encounter of peoples be achieved through ethical and responsible tourism?

This Workshop has been prepared in coordination with Christian Juyaux, Delegate general of the Bourse Européenne Emploi, Formation du Tourisme (BEEFT).

Speakers

Chair: Jean Viard, Director of Research Studies, CEVIPOF, CNRS, France

Workshop Moderator: Pascal Canfin, Development Manager, Alternatives Economiques, France

Players in the production chain:

Benoît Guizard, Director, Centre-East Region, Air France-KLM, France
Leyla Solano Pacheco, Chief Executive Officer, COOPRENA, Costa Rica
François Salamon, Executive Vice-President - COO Europe and North America, Club Med, France
Emmanuel Tchassa, Executive Secretary, Network of Competences Without Borders, Cameroon
Pierre Vial, President, ARVEL, France

Discussants:

Kerstin Howald, Coordinator, European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors and allied branches (ETLC/EFFAT)
Louis Jolin, Professor, University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada
Alain Schoenenberger, Professor, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Pascal Visintainer, Marketing Director, Maison de la France, France

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