You have previously in the blog met Viola, Bernie and Betty and seen how Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) benefits real people in real life. Making it possible for people to grow, learn and exceed their expectations is an important dimension of Fair Trade Tourism.
Many tourists ask themselves when going on holdiay, how can I help? Well, by buying a Fair Trade Toruism-certified holiday, a share of the price you pay will be a contribution to the people directly affected by FTT. This includes workers employed by FTT-certified businesses and community shareholders in FTT-certified businesses but also indirect beneficiaries like communities living in proximity to FTT-certified businesses seeking employment, income and other livelihood opportunities linked to tourism.
Now you might wonder how money paid in your home country will en end up in a community in South Africa? Well, for every FTT holiday sold, the tour operator must pay a certain amount (5% of the rates they pay to the hotels) into the FTT Development Fund. The operational plan of the Fund, its governance and the guidelines for investment of the Fund’s money will be established in close consultation with beneficiaries. This means that the people that will benefit from the Fund will be involved in the decisions of how to spend the money. FTTSA will act as Secretariat of the Fund until such time that a governing body has been established. It is projected that the FTT Development Fund will generate approximately R 3,000,000 by the year 2016.
The Fund is intended to be used for social projects such as building schools, educate staff and building playgrounds.
Has travel ever felt so good?
Activities to create the FTT Development Fund in South Africa are expected to form the basis of a model for disbursement of funds to beneficiaries in other developing countries, as the Fair Trade Tourism process expands to incorporate both new source markets and new tourist destinations.
