Sustainable surf travel…does or should it matter?

indo-dreaming wrote:

Not sure if sustainable was the right word but you get the drift.

Maybe responsible instead?
Stuff worth thinking about anyway, it definitely matters but so many things to consider. All is not always what it seems, It's the way of the world though I guess, there will always be people exploiting other people and places for their own ends with no regard for anybody else.
Regulation isn't going to work in a country like Indo, it's really up to those spending the money (us) to ask questions and spend wisely.

greed and ego run that show. just go surfing

"Should we also be questioning and thinking about how other aspects of our surf travel makes an impact?"

All travel involves an impact its up to each individual to make it positive, which does not require money

"Should we be putting pressure on surf travel companies to give us better info to help make us make decisions on the resorts we stay at or charter boat we book?"

No don't use surf travel companies if you do don't kid yourself if you do that you are not part of the problem.

"And should we as customers be putting pressure on resorts or charter boats to do what we believe is the right thing?"

Yeah put the pressure on they will just charge you more to keep their massive profit margins intact. Poor little blighters still have to pay the mortgage in Sydney.

"Im talking.

Environmental: What impact is the resort or charter boat you book having on the environment?…
How has the construction of their resort affected the local environment or community? "

Massively how do you get anyone to work when a cashed up 2 weeker hands over money and joe blow from OZ built a resort that makes more than the whole local economy and takes profits away

"How do they dispose of their waste?…"
Not to Australian Standards, To AusStandards that would be a good starting point. Wont happen eats into profits

"are they minimising waste and minimising water use?"
No they are catering to people who have no concept of water minimisation, (unless like myself you live off tank water, most people have no idea) Same with people who have not concept of septic systems. Friends family come and stay and get shirty when i say 2 min shower and no beauty crap down the drain. Good luck convincing Mr And Mrs Sydney about something so simple OS when they spent $200 a night for luxury, not what it use to be a well and a bucket.

On a trip to the solomons one couple left the tap on in their room whilst they went to dinner and emptied one resort tank, the Local owned resort was freaking, this aussie couple just laughed it off. Leave the shampoo etc at home THese are resort customers

"Does raw sewerage go straight out into the ocean be it resort or charter boat? "
Probably maybe they could adopt an Australian standard doubtful they will, Cost and lack of facilities.which they will not spend on.

"Is that charter boat slowly destroying the reefs its anchoring at?"
Yes of course mooring buoys need to be in place and limited. Local boats will do the same thing on a smaller scale.

"Moral/social: should resorts or charter boats employee a certain number of people from the area that they operate?
And should we ensure that they pay a fair price to their staff or is it okay if they technically pay the local minimum wage?"

This is a mindfield that i have no answer to, you pay one and not another problems ,pay a central authority problems. Solution?

"What kind of benefit does the resort or charter boat give back to community or economy?"
Not as much as is taken by companies and expats.

"Should we support a resort that charges $600 a night and makes big profits, while on the same island less than a Kilometre away a few hundred people in a village don't even have a toilet and shit on the beach and die from simple and preventable causes…"

No i never have never will.

"should we as guest or potential guest put pressure on resorts like this to pull their weight and help the advancement of living standards or are they just a business that has no responsibility for the local community and should not get involved?"

No point putting pressure on its a profit making enterprise and highly lucrative, don't put pressure on just don't use.

"Even crowds, should we put pressure on resorts or charter boats to share around the resource of waves and support smaller operations that don't crowd line ups opposed to operations that put large numbers of guest in line ups and crowds waves as a result of maximum profits."

Why anyone would go to the Surf travel spots i have no idea ,crowds lots of operators locals use to scamming Mr 2 week holiday all surf travel spots are a circus, Once you have companies building resorts the area is screwed and other areas are now uncrowded.

"Does all this matter?…or should we just care about getting good waves and enjoying our stay?."

Each to their own Mentawais sounds like a dogs breakfast when on the same swell i could enjoy some uncrowded less hype less bullshit surf.

"My own personal view is the whole surf travel industry and us as a customer are all behind in this area."

I'm Not a customer I don't care I Am picking wheat were the locusts are not.

"I wonder if in the future we mights see surf travel companies lead the way with things like a star rating system that takes in account some of these points and rates them on some of these aspects?"

Sure its happening and guess what they claim ownership of breaks under an Eco tag and charge ridiculous amounts of money for their services. Profits go OS.

Surfspots are being incorporated in the future companies will own them.

Personally Surf companies are not required or surf brands or expats.

I detest giving money to Corporations and expats when I go OS and will go out of my way to research and find away around it if i can to support locals.
Thats all you got to do to stop
Environmental, moral and social negatives DONT FEED THE MONSTER OR IT GROWS BIGGER.

Ps One memorable Indo trip the dunny was above a raised platform above the pig pen and they were always awaiting the morning turd sustainable, environmental friendly but not good for MR AND MRS SYDNEY. Were the locals and me better off compared to now YES, No Beer bring your own water no phones no devices. No Aussie making more than the locals

"Should we also be questioning and thinking about how other aspects of our surf travel makes an impact?"

Yes. Broadly speaking, surf travel is a sub category of the travel market. This market is currently undergoing change in the way that larger businesses (often the only ones with the ability to affect change at scale) address these wants of consumers (call it responsible business)
Businesses like Intrepid are leading the way when it comes to responsible travel – There is no reason why their ethos and values cannot be applied to the sub category surf travel.

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/about/responsible-business

Recently, I went on a hiking trip to Everest Base camp in Nepal through Intrepid and was honestly impressed with the way the trip was conducted and how the trip worked WITH the local economy. Do I think that this could be applied to surf travel, a sub category of travel? Sure, why not?

"Should we be putting pressure on surf travel companies to give us better info to help make us make decisions on the resorts we stay at or charter boat we book?"

Yes, and I feel this change will most likely be a trickle-down effect from the broader travel industry in time. All it takes is one big player in the market to adopt a more responsible stance in order to satisfy a requirement from consumers to drive a competitive advantage. The market will then follow suit or remain uncompetitive to consumer wants.

"And should we as customers be putting pressure on resorts or charter boats to do what we believe is the right thing?"

Sure, but don’t blame your boat driver and shrug it off. Take some ownership and ensure it’s communicated to the business which is running the trip.

It’s actually tricky problem because there are actually a couple of issues in the conversation. There is responsible travel and a sustainability aspect to what we’re talking about. The first is exactly how it sounds, its businesses acting in a responsible manner towards local people and local government. The second, in my opinion, isn’t you buying a bunch of bananas from the locals and feeling better because you’ve done your part. Its developing systems and projects in order to improve the wellbeing of people in areas of need, at scale, and for the future.

Slight tangent - 40k did an interesting study in India about projects/fundraising and sustainability. What they found was the most effective projects (I’m paraphrasing) weren’t the ones that were handouts from fundraising. But were actually based on analysis of what locals could afford. So 40k would roll up to a location, identify they had a lack of sanitation, look at what the locals could afford to develop the correct means of sanitation (example $2/week), and start a project with a monetary value backed by local currency and local need. This turned out to be a much better way to develop these projects.

So I do think business can do good.

Anyway, I certainly hope to make a difference with my time on this planet, and with that in mind, I’m hoping to work with SurfAid on my stuff.

Given the choice for more responsible travel, I'll certainly take it.

Yeah it will happen in time, but only if we, as consumers, seek this kind of change.

You're right, this is in the same vein as the Bail dolphins. But it's up to consumers whether they accept this kind behavior or look for alternatives. I don't know heaps about the incident, but from what I've read, its not isolated to the one resort, so indicative of a more wide-spread practice.

I certainly, don't think resort owners are doing it for sport. It's clearly to make money from tourists. Which means it up to them, and us, to decide whether we're happy to transact with kind of behaviour.

Hi Indo-dreaming, I am from the other thread with the mention of the hotel website that donate to charities. That's exactly what these guys are doing actually which I find really cool and responsible.
Basically after I finished paying for my booking I was asked to choose a charity within a list of 5 or 6 (I took Sumba Foundation) and 1% of my booking money was going to be donated to them.
It wasn't much because the total price of my booking wasn't expensive however it can add up very fast I guess. One dollar + one dollar + one dollar + ....
Here is goes again for those who didn't see the url: http://www.bedforest.com