PROCEEDINGS OF CMT2009
The 6th International Congress on Coastal & Marine Tourism 23 - 26 June 2009 Nelson Mandela Bay - South Africa
Anthony Albers and Peter B Myles (Editors)
INTRODUCTION
After the successful 2007 International Congress on Coastal and Marine Tourism held in Auckland, New Zealand, nobody predicted that the world was about to experience a global recession. There is no doubt that the recession in 2009 has impacted on international travel especially to long-haul destinations such as South Africa. It is indeed a great shame that a number of potential delegates who had submitted excellent papers that were subsequently refereed and accepted, eventually had to cancel their registration due to severe cutbacks on budgets at their respective universities. Even potential sponsors from the private sector and donor funding agents indicated cutbacks on their research budgets and social responsibility programs. The CMT2009 local organizing committee therefore appreciated that many of the international delegates made personal sacrifices and traveled long distances in order to share their knowledge and experience with the people of South Africa during this time of financial hardship. This is a true reflection of the “Spirit of Ubuntu” literally meaning ‘togetherness’.
Nearly 20 years have passed since the first CMT Congress was held in 1990 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Since this early beginning the need for protection of our oceans, “that lovely, living saltwater soup” (Earle, 1995: 30), and the creatures that live within the marine environment have never been greater. Although CMT is a relatively small international congress it provides a unique opportunity for countries with an interest in the coastal and marine tourism environment to interact with acknowledged specialists from around the world. Coastal and marine tourism has been researched for many years but only in the last decade has it really become recognized as a field of study.
In 2004, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth became one of the first universities in South Africa to offer Coastal & Marine Tourism as a module in the B Com Honours (Tourism) program. This decision to include CMT as a module in a postgraduate study program at a coastal university was influenced by the Proceedings of the 1999 International Symposium on Coastal and Marine Tourism and the first textbook on the subject, Marine Tourism: Development, Impacts and Management, compiled by Mark Orams PhD which includes a bibliography of over 200 useful references. This is just one small example of the value and impact of the CMT congress when it is hosted in different countries around the world.
It is therefore rewarding that 16 postgraduate students from the Class of 2009 will have an opportunity to attend the CMT2009 congress in Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay. Another milestone that perhaps illustrates the value of collaboration linked to the origin of the CMT international congress is that the NMMU introduced for the first time in March 2009 a Diploma in Maritime Studies as a direct result of a partnership agreement between the Department of Development Studies at NMMU and the School of Marine Affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle.
It was evident at the first CMT congresses that marine scientists, researchers, academics, practitioners, operators, government officials, coastal authorities etc, shared common concerns and recognized the value of greater collaboration. Tourism is under the spotlight because it is a sector that delivers considerable triple bottom line benefits but can also put huge pressure on sensitive ecosystems and natural resources if not developed and managed responsibly. The value of CMT is that it allows each host country to focus on the coastal and marine tourism issues that are of utmost concern to that country. This should influence the theme of the congress and design of the program.
The CMT2009 program includes for the first time in South Africa a Beach Tourism & Safety Workshop. Beaches are a key tourism attraction for destinations around the world. As an icon of tourism they often rank alongside culture and heritage in their importance for destination branding, as well as providing a unique backdrop for coastal resort development and tourism accommodation, fine dining, shopping and a range of recreational activities. In terms of their geomorphology, beaches are considered the most dynamic environments on earth. Successful beach tourism provides a destination with a huge competitive advantage, but it requires robust partnerships across stakeholders to protect the natural resource and use it in the most sustainable way. Clean water and safety features are the two key critical success factors for successful beach tourism development and promotion. In this regard capacity-building in the coastal and marine environment is a global imperative.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimated in 2001 that of the 77-million outbound long-haul holidays enjoyed by European tourists in 2001, some 9-million (12%) were sun and beach holidays. The annual summer beach holiday at the sea is by far the most popular holiday for the majority of domestic tourists in South Africa. However, beach tourism remains one of the most under-marketed tourism assets in South Africa. The UNWTO predicts that some 80% of the world's population will be residing within 60 km of a coastline by 2020 putting enormous pressure on coastal and marine resources.
The CMT2009 congress comes at a time when every coastal destination should be preparing for challenges likely to impact on coastal destinations. These include major issues such as global warming and climate change, beach safety and security, disaster management, clean water, integrated coastal management, coastal migration, coastal industrialization, coastal recreation and marine protected areas. CMT is an international congress that tackles all these issues holistically and collectively. The 53 papers contributed from 16 participating countries which will be featured in the Proceedings of the 6th International Coastal & Marine Tourism Congress should therefore make a valuable contribution covering a diverse range of relevant topics concerned with tourism and conservation in the coastal and marine tourism environment.
Peter Myles
Conference Chair
CONFERENCE SPONSORS
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