Comparison between France and Switzerland in tourism’s policy

"Tourism in international Relation"
Lecturer : Drs. Usmar Salam MIS

Name : Antonius Galih S.
NIM : 06/196137/SP/21736
Subject : Tourism in International relation study’s perspective
Theme : Tourism policy based on Sustainable Tourism development concept
Title : Comparison between France and Switzerland in tourism’s policy based on Sustainable Tourism development Perspective

Comparison between France and Switzerland in tourism’s policy
(based on Sustainable Tourism development Perspective)

A.Sustainable Development and Sustainable Tourism development concept
Since eighteen’s decade, world started to realize the urgent of environmental issue. Some environmental issue got priority to handle by state and international organization. Such issues were followed: global warning, pollution, food security, deforestry, etc. As respond, UN (United Nation) released sustainable development concept that defined as "development that meets the needs of the present also consider for compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Originally, the concept emphases on political and economic sector.
The issue got concern bigger and bigger and waded to tourism sector. The tourism development paradigm moved from a mass tourism concept towards to sustainable tourism development1 concept that consider on the importance of ecological and socio-cultural aspects in tourism development. Previously, mass tourism concept was mainly on economic orientation but the raising of nature destruction’s number, this concept wasn’t relevant with the condition anymore. World needed new concept that can cope two points in same time: tourism as economic activities but also as effort to keep environmental sustainability. Then arose the term “sustainable tourism development “. The World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as “tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be filled while maintaining cultural integrity, essentials ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems2. This concept generally involves four pillars of sustainability:
1.Economic sustainability : Profitable in short and long term
2.Ecological sustainability :Development that also concern on ecological, biological and nature resources sustainability
3.Cultural sustainability : Increase the control to community in order to show culture and values that sign social identity
4.Local sustainability : Design to give opportunity for local community raising their income.
Like I said before, sustainable tourism development is a respond from states and other international political actor to manage the environmental aspect as support living factor in human life as part from economic and political way. Then the question is how some states realize and imply this concept as their policy. This essay will try to descript and compare: how France and Switzerland imply the concept into their tourism policies. The problem is how can we decide that the policies put ecological consideration as important objection or not? To answer that question, author will use four pillars of sustainability that mention above to evaluate the policies. Also some indicators that can show goals of implementation of sustainable tourism development, they are as follows:
1. Sustainable tourism development provides the opportunity to take proactive approaches based on broad participation by stakeholders, which would contribute to more effective policies and plans. This would increase the opportunities to realize the full social and economic potential of the tourism industry.
2. Sustainable tourism development creates the opportunity for governments and all stakeholders in the tourism sector to aim at ensuring long-term prosperity and quality of life for future generations.
3. Sustainable tourism development also creates opportunities to preserve natural and cultural heritages for tourists and local people in ways that address development problems and reduce risks to the environment and ways of life

B.France and Switzerland policies on tourism
B.1 France

France is the most popular country for tourist as their destination. France noted as first rank3 for amount of tourist that visited this country. Since 2005 showed average of tourists spent in France for about 10,6 nights4. Tourism distributed income for about 10 billion Euro or 11,4 % from GDP. Data above indicates that France is successful in tourism sector but that data only note as economic aspect. Does France care to environment as part as their tourism business development? If Yes, What is the indicator, in this case how does France government adopt sustainable tourism development?
France was elected as one initiators state for program “The Marrakech Process on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)” by The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The UN Departement for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in 2002. Members of SCP have duty to support execution of sustainable tourism by development some factor and projection of blue print for other countries. Focuses of SCP are climate exchange, natural diversity, cultural and cultural heritance also local development.
France initiates some characters of tourism policies to support SCP such as: the use of enviromental resources, assist and preserve on natural resources, reservation for indigenouse culture, secure the native values in addition to focus on economic activities in short and long term that give social and economic advantages for all stakeholder. Some of the main projects under development include raising awareness of tourism and climate change, sustainable Coastal Tourism (Integrated Coastal Zone Management or ICZM), promoting natural and cultural heritage as assets for sustainable tourism development, a Communication Campaign on Sustainable Holidays, capacity building for the environmental management of small and medium enterprises in the accommodation sector and the launching of the Green Passport Campaign to raise awareness in the tourism community.\We can mention some programs: Integrated Coastal Zone Management atau ICZM, promoting natural and cultural legacy as tourism asset, campaign of indigenouse community, development of capacity for minor and middle business scope in tourism sector and launcing of Green Pasport to increase the consideration of green tourism destination.5 Those policy are regulated by France government especially: Department of Ecology and sustainable Development, Department of tourism and Department of foreign affair.

B.2 Switzerland

In Switzerland, Tourism distributes foreign income SF 11,4 billion in 1998 and put tourism as contributor for about 10% from total foreign income. This Country is famous with great natural scenery especially snow mountain. Beside that, there are unique culinary: cheese and chocolate that known by over the world. Switzerland also has good tourisms management system, it can be indicated by having hotel with high rank and complete also elegant tourism education. Some resorts are: Jenewa (historic and artistic city), Zurich (twin gothic towers: church Grossmunster and Fraumunster), Lugano (city with Italy culture and famous with night life), Lucerne (city with free car area), St. Moritz, Alpine (snow tourism), Monteux, Interlaken, and Berne
A basic tourism policy of Switzerland is documents namely conception suisse du tourisme1 in 1979 and more detail in Rapport sur la politique du tourisme de la Confederation, that signed May 29, 1996. Strategy of Switzerland’s tourism policy includes: (i) create contusive condition for tourism. (ii) support the market’s circle. (iii) Increase the interest to tourism destination. (iv) Research and development. (v) International cooperation. In Switzerland, These policies are handled by: Suisse Tourism (ST) or Switzerland tourism office, and Societe suisse de credit hotelier (SCH).
In Fact, Switzerland produces some tourism policies that indirectly adopt sustainable tourism development such as: Government conduct Zermat as city without fueled by gasoline vehicle so this city called no-vehicle city to create free pollution area. In old town like Jenewa, Government provides 1600 bicycles for tourist rounding this historic and artistic town. In other place, Zurich has special bicycles line.
In accommodations part such as hotels, Switzerland has implied system that friendly with environment: hotel moschberg use concept “united with nature” by using organic material as food and no smoking area in all part of the hotels.
About cultural reservation in tourism destination, Switzerland has Organization “ViaStoria” in Bern that promote tourism program called Cultural Routes of Switzerland6 to protect historic route and manage it as tourism asset. Cultural Routes of Switzerland uses method “slow travel”
(emphases on infrastructure development of walk’s route, improve the use of vehicle that run by renewable fuel and combine both of those two methods.

C. Analysis
Actually, France’s tourism policy can be transformed into this category:
1.Ecological Sustainability:
France provides alternative vehicles like taxi hybrid that more efficient in fuel consumption and bicycle (new mobility and ecological walks.)7. France also apply high standards for their resort like beaches, mountains and rural tourism such as obligation to use food organic in rural area and farm, procedure to manage garbage and rubbish, prohibition to use unfriendly ecological vehicle in some area, create a reservation for some creature, etc.
2.Cultural Sustainability:
France has bureaus to teach France for foreign tourists. By that course, foreign tourists will understand diversity of local culture. Government also has regulation about conservation some building that decided as cultural haritance8.
3. Economic sustainable
National government has a great attention to support local tourism industry such as government creates rural tourism that encourage participation of local community or farmers to animalize their asset and improve their income.
4.Local sustainability:
There are some areas9 that know as souvenirs center and controlled by local people. Beside that, every resort provide guide to assist tourist that usually come from local people. This guide also can be mentor for France language.
But in Switzerland, their policy can be categorized into such:
1.Ecological sustainability
Government has establish some policies that friendly with environment such development a bicycle track in some city, improve the use of renewable fuel, reduce the air pollution by deciding some areas as prohibited for vehicle and promote a system in order to optimalize nature potency (by using organic material as food and no smoking area in all part of the hotels)
2.Culture and local sustainability
Organization like “ViaStoria” indicates that Switzerland cares to sustainability of historic and artistic area. By this program, government tries to protect and secure the building, monument etc that has historic and cultural high values. The Government also supports the local culture development as tourism asset like Lugano, as tourists destination to recognize and enjoy the Italian culture in Switzerland. As information: Switzerland is influenced by three biggest cultures: Italia, German, France and Rumanian. And those culture lives harmonically. Even some towns use their unique culture to attract visitor/tourist.
3.Economic Sustainability
Switzerland is country with highest rank of welfare their people. And Tourism contributes 10 % from total foreign income. From those two data, it’s clearly that tourism has great influence for national development. Even, Those data say that, tourism only give income in formal sector but the state income from tourism is manage for welfare of the people. Rarely, informal sector handle this sector because people it’s self trust that state can handle this sector well and they have other formal job. Beside that, the welfare of people has secured by state well.

D. conclusion
It has proven that in both countries, Tourism has been a crucial sector for nation income. Historically each country set their tourism as a great bisnis. France and Switzerland has succeeded to optimilize their potency (nature and human recourses) as tourism asset. So those two countries are familiar with tourism. By consider this situation, they have to keep the sustainability their tourism resources. Along with the raise of environment issue, two countries realize that sustainable tourism development have to imply in their tourism policies. France even be a motivator for other countries applying this concept. In ecological side, this two approve that first step that must be taken to secure nature as their tourism asset is applying the system based on effort to counter global warming such as reduce the use of unrenewable resources like gasoline and transform into friendly fuel like organic fuel and bicycle, unpollition vehicle and adopt a system tourism management that more friendly with nature. This policies apply not only for secure the nature but also this system itself has been a interest commodity, as part from marketing tourism it self. So expect to keep the resources as long term asset, this system has supported and improved the interesting of tourism in those two countries. In logical way, keep and imply the renewable resources are more advantages in short and long term. In cultural sustainability, Franc and Switzerland develop different mechanism. Frank uses a single national identity but Switzerland based on their socio dynamic, they believe in plural community as their resource. Of course this mechanism will influence how the development of their local sustainability. Frank seems simpler, that allow the community to handle their own potency in tourism because it’s similar but in Switzerland, government need to create a special organization to handle this plural potency in order to justify the distribution. Switzerland also creates a social network to accommodate those plural potency in every region to keep the sustainability local culture as long as the diversity of the state, not incline to competition in economic sector.
I believe two states can be projection for other state to adopt sustainable tourism concept. They develop the concept not only for gain the economic profit but consider the social condition. They imply the policies on natural both human resources and do it promotionally based on four pillar: ecological, economic, cultural, and local potencies they have. I believe their policies will sustainable.