Sustainable Tourism & Cultural Heritage

Tourism and International Cooperation for Development

October 6, 2014

UNWTO.Themis Foundation & George Washington University

A Case Study from Dogon Country, Mali

Yuri Horowitz Managing Partner

Navigo International

My Background • Raised around tourism

– Worked in: • Hotels • Snowboard Instructor • Bakery/restaurants, etc.

– Love traveling and photography!

• Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa – Dogon Country Dream…

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Case Study

• Dogon Country – Region of Mali, West Africa

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What does Dogon Country look like?

• Video: http://vimeo.com/29055653

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• Major destination after Timbuktu

• Famous for Indigenous • Culture • Religion • Dances • Music

• Lonely Planet • 3rd Best Trek

in the World!

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Dogon Country, Mali

• Challenges?

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Dogon Country, Mali

• Water scarcity

• Sanitation

• Others?

Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance Project

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Dogon Country, Mali

Ensure local population was benefiting economically and help protect the local culture and environment

• Some people were involved, many were not • Include more towns in the region

Partnerships, lots of Partnerships!

• Funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

• International Partners • SNV & GIZ • U.S. Forest Service • Peace Corps

• What local stakeholders should be involved?

• How do you identify them? • Malian Ministry of Tourism • Dogon Cultural Center

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GSTA/PD, Mali

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• Fundamentally a Community Tourism project – “Everybody in the Room” meeting with all the region’s

stakeholders: • Mayors • Village Chiefs • Non-Profits • Guides • Hotel Owners • Restaurateurs • Artisans • Etc.

• Guidebook: Dogon Journal • Website and Social Media Marketing • Support local tourism council • Tour Operator Training

– Marketing and Social Media

• Financial Literacy Training

Project Components

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Dogon Journal

• Limited coverage by other guide books • Marketplace Opportunity • Accuracy

• 16 Villages in 1st Edition – 4 main towns (i.e. gateway communities) – 9 most visited villages by numbers – 3 off-the-path villages – Potential for at least 60-100 villages in

future editions

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Dogon Journal: About

“The Travels in Dogon Country Journal is not your typical guidebook. Using this book, the reader has an opportunity to be an active part of Dogon Country. The histories and rich stories about different villages have been told by the Dogons themselves. The journal also offers the chance for a reflective record of your own impressions and thoughts as you travel this beautiful land. Most importantly this book is a great souvenir of your time in Dogon Country and helps contribute to the economic development of the Dogon people through its purchase and the enjoyable adventure of filling it with stamps. The income received from the stamps is pooled into a community fund, which the community then decides how best to use for the development of their village. If you wish to donate more than the cost of the stamp to the community fund, please feel free to do so. Be sure to fill out the visitor registration ledger so that villagers know you stopped by. The income from these souvenirs is a welcome addition to that earned through agricultural or other means. Thank you for your contribution to the development of tourism in Dogon Country.”

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DJ: Process Overview

• Village selection • Establish contacts in villages • Collect oral histories and folklore from elders • Compile information and design • Establish and train “Village Tourism Committees” • Print guidebook and establish distribution channels • Launch!

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Project Planning

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• Direct • Indirect • Induced

Impacts: Examples?

Impacts

• Tourism typically benefits: – Guides – Hotels – Tour Operators

• Stamps spread the benefit

even further! • Average villagers

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Stamp: benefits

• Impact: $1 x thousands of visitors/year = $$$$ • Sense of stewardship • Value and protect tourism assets

– Product = Tourists’ Experience – Brand = Dogon Country

• They are separate villages, but tourists always visit more than one. • Must come together to solve challenges.

• Increase participation and interaction between tourists and locals

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Stamp: benefits

• Decrease harassment – Children ask if they’ve gotten their stamp!!?

• Increase Awareness – Tourists = positive benefit to their community.

• Village vs. Outside Priorities – Their development agenda

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Village Tourism Committees

• Village Tourism Committees • Stakeholder engagement and empowerment at community level

– Characteristics of members • Active members of community • Engaged • Respected • Influential • Know needs of community • Able to read/write • Interested to participate

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Village Tourism Committees

• Representatives of community: 10 people – Women (at least 2) – Youth – Tourism stakeholders (e.g. guides, hoteliers, etc.) – Elders – …

• Manage money and how to decide projects/priorities – Each village is different, adapt to each unique situation

• Buy-in and ownership from community – They’re making the decisions!

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Training • Community involvement to determine priorities • Facilitated (the process) meetings vs. Lecture

– Guide the discussion so that they come up with the answers – • Ownership!

• Role playing or skits to practice • What to do when tourist come looking for a stamp?

– Community sensitization on: • Dogon Journal • Tourism in general and benefits of

• Opened dialogue to discuss tourism, its impacts and what they want from it.

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Partnerships

• Partnership with Peace Corps – Succession Planning

• Built-in to improve the chances of success • 40 years continuous presence in Mali and Dogon Country

– volunteer would be replaced…

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Interpretive Information Panels

• Partnered with the U.S. Forest Service – International Programs Unit • Design and production

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Distribution

• Distribution strategies • Cover different market segments: Group, FIT, etc. • Pricing scheme, retailed for $15, sold for $8

– Tour Operators – Hotels – Information Center

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Launch Event • Create “BUZZ” and get press coverage

– Continue community engagement, buy-in, open forum for discussion and exposure for project.

– Skit • Demonstrating how an interaction with a tourist would take place.

• FAM Trip for Tour Operators and Press – Major operators from the capital and the region – Take them on a purposed itinerary to demonstrate the appeal

and feasibility of some less visited villages, encouraging them to think out of the box and be more creative with their itineraries.

• National TV coverage on ORTM:http://youtu.be/k8kNSgiyX2Q

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• Collaborative effort with communities • Site Selection • Website and Social Media Marketing • Outreach

• Hotels, guides, restaurants • Tour Operator Training on Marketing • Awareness building

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Product Development

Lessons Learned

What are some lessons

learned?

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Lessons Learned

• Empowerment • Checks & Balances

– Stamp purchase and accountability • Explanation in Dogon Journal of how the process works • Explanation in the registry of how the process works • Bonus of capturing visitation!

– Tourism Committee • Ways to remove/replace members

– Communicating with and explaining process and goals to tourists and villagers

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Lessons Learned

• Power of Travel Philanthropy – Ability to give to a community they care about and

have confidence it will be used responsibly. – While don’t have to buy stamp even if have book,

also not limited to only the price of the stamp or can even get a stamp on something else if they don’t have the “Dogon Journal”

• What is the ultimate purpose or goal of the program?

• Champions in the community to advocate for tourism

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Thank you! Yuri Horowitz

yuri@navigointernational.com www.navigointernational.com