UNWTO-INSTO

Precursors and Context

The INSTO Network

The International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) Program is one of the programs developed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in conjunction with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) that seeks to attain the objectives of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


An examination of the INSTO web page Observatories – UNWTO INSTO indicates that 35 Observatories were operating in, among others, the USA, Spain, Brazil, Greece, Thailand, and Indonesia. The highest number of INSTO centers are in China, with the oldest continuing monitoring programs (set up on 28 September 2010) under the auspices of the College of Tourism Management at Sun Yat-Sen University. There is no sustainable tourism observatory from the Philippines in the network yet.


A key parameter of the INSTO programs is an insistence on a monitoring process that retains a thread of repetition in the research process. The traditional “one-shot” cross-sectional survey of tourism impacts is of less value as an aid to policy-making and decision-making about destinations. An analysis of patterns of change can come from repetitive research projects on sustainability issues at the destination level. Within the INSTO framework, there are 11 areas mandated to be monitored. These include resident satisfaction, employment, economic benefits, governance, climate change, and accessibility, to name a few examples Framework – UNWTO INSTO. Trends relating to the rapidity of change, directions of change, volumes of change, and consequences of change require establishing starting points and the continuous collection of data in an organized fashion that can produce timely information to aid decision-making. The need for a sustained commitment requiring high levels of research expertise might partly explain the involvement of many universities from around the world. Details can be found of the research institutions involved in the Observatories on the above web page and many of the Observatories additionally possess their web pages. A brief background about Batanes


Batanes is found in the northernmost province of the Philippines. Composed of six municipalities, it is located about 162 km north of the Luzon mainland in the Luzon Strait. The largest and only inhabited islands of this island group are Itbayat, Batan, and Sabtang. It is home to the Ivatans, the province’s indigenous people. Conservationists note that Batanes is one of the last remaining areas in the Philippines retaining unique natural physiographic features including wave-cut cliffs, cave-like outcrops, and secluded white sand beaches. This is attributed to its geographic location at the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea meeting points. Consequently, strong winds and fast currents combine to create its morphology.


Because of its position, Batanes is home to distinct flora and fauna. Pink and red corals (Corallum sp.) abound in its marine environment. Seven of 42 known flowering plants in the country are found only in Batanes. Migratory birds pass through its mountains on their way to a warmer climate. Researchers have also determined that it was the stepping stone long ago in the migration of Austronesians through the Philippines and beyond.


Culturally, the province is the only area in the Philippines where traditional architecture is of stone in response to the winds and monsoon weather rather than the more typical, tropical, impermanent materials (wood, bamboo, thatch) commonly used in the village architecture.
Because of these qualities, the Batanes group of islands was declared in 1994 as the Batanes Protected Landscapes and Seascapes. It is the only province that has earned this distinction. Authorities are currently working to have it included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Currently, there are 19 sites for nomination on the World Heritage List (https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/521/), of which the Batanes Protected Landscapes and Seascapes are one.


Tourism has grown in Batanes in recent years and is now considered its primary industry. In 2017, it received 40,000 visitors - twice its resident population. Demand is expected to increase in the coming years as more Filipinos see beyond its reputation as a typhoon- prone area and appreciate its natural and cultural wonders.


To date, there has yet to be a systematic assessment of the capacity of the islands and their people to support tourism growth. Like many other destinations of the country, any monitoring and evaluation of how tourism impacts the physical, social, cultural, and environment is lacking. Thus, there is a need for a methodical, continuing approach to meet the development needs of all stakeholders, including the local residents and indigenous peoples.


Among other connections, monitoring sustainability in Batanes coincides with the “Adoption of Manila Call for Action” on measuring sustainable tourism - a global commitment that eventuated during the Sixth United Nations World Tourism Organization International Conference on Tourism Statistics held in Manila from 21-23 June 2017. Among provisions that acknowledge how tourism contributes to the 17 SDGs of the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and how credible and comprehensive data on sustainable tourism is key for effective evidence-based policies and management, is a stipulation that call upon all actors to facilitate the necessary means and resources for the development and subsequent in-country implementation of a framework for measuring sustainable tourism (MST). The agreement also recognized that “the development and implementation of an MST Framework is a strategic and ongoing endeavor, requiring wide and consistent stakeholder engagement, collaboration, inter-institutional coordination and political leadership.

Implementing Agenda 2030 at the National Level and the Opportunity for Batanes to Join INSTO

In a joint publication, Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journal to 2030 (UNWTO, 2017), it is noted that public reporting on the progress of the goals is an essential means of securing the desired objectives. It is also noted that 41 of the 64 Voluntary National Reviews made before December 2017 referred to tourism, with frequent reference to goals 8, 12, and 17. These goals are “Decent work and economic growth,” “Responsible Consumption and Production,” and “Partnerships for the Goals .” However, the UNWTO (2017) also points out that policymakers may also be underestimating the contribution that tourism could make to other objectives, including managing waste and water supplies and sustaining communities and diversity. This brings the issue of measurement into focus.

If one is seriously considering SDGs’ transformative agenda, it is imperative to ask - how will sustainability be measured? In the absence of available information sets, how crucial is the process in determining the problem to be measured, and who gets to decide on the targets and indicators to be measured? The Philippines has integrated the SDGs in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), 2017-2022, as well as in the various sectoral development plans in the country. Through a joint memorandum circular by NEDA and DILG, guidelines of PDP anchored on SDGs were cascaded out to the local government units. However, monitoring and evaluation of tourism impacts in Batanes are not well-established. In 2018, tourism posed a challenge on the Ivatans in terms of over-tourism with around 50,000 visitors, more than twice its residents’ population. But things have changed at the onset of the pandemic. Batanes borders were completely closed to local and foreign tourists for two years, and only on 01 March were double-vaccinated tourists allowed to travel in the province. Cognizance must be taken of the evidence-based planning and management of tourism to prevent a replay of over-tourism after COVID-19.

On 01 January 2023, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) released its National Development Plan (2023-2028). Chapter 16 describes the monitoring and evaluation of indicators to assess progress toward achieving the Plan reinforcing the urgent need to monitor indicators of progress/targets, the functions they serve, and the implications and consequences involved in the process. To what extent tourism policies and activities were effective; how well are the policies being implemented and meeting the needs as in the case of the Ivatans? These questions are part of the issues being investigated by the research program in the islands.

Objectives of the longitudinal research program in Batanes

  1. Collection of data and information about the impacts of tourism in varying dimensions - physical, socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and governance that can: 
        • Inform policy recommendation and quality decision.
        • Enable better planning of tourism.
        • Generate benefits for local community in terms of employment, income and to achieve these objectives without incurring environmental and social costs that the community would not wish to bear.
  2. Identification of projects and market segments built on participatory approach.
  3.  Involvement of students from the Batanes State College in practical learning environments that enhance their own understanding of tourism and its impact while contributing to the benefit of their own province.

The Batanes Tourism and Hospitality Monitoring Center (BTHMC)

The BTHMC is the research group that spearheads and coordinates the monitoring of tourism sustainability in the Batanes Islands. It was physically set up in 2021, but actually started virtually in 2019. The Center is located at the University of the Philippines Diliman. This year (2023), Batanes has been officially affiliated to the INSTO.

The photo above shows the team, which comprises the BTHMC. During the TWG meeting in April 2019, the stakeholders from multi-sectoral groups identified the vision and objectives of the Monitoring Center:

Vision

A well-preserved natural and cultural environment that supports sustainable tourism, promotes heritage conservation and social equity, through healthy collaboration and data from the observatory.

Objectives

ii.

Build participatory approach

by creating awareness and support capacity-building in sustainability and resiliency among tourism stakeholders

ii.

Develop and provide methodological references and recommendations

for a sustainable and resilient Batanes

iii.

Systematic monitoring and evaluation of indicators of sustainability and resiliency

in support of future decision and policy making

iv.

Identify and disseminate good practices

in the process of facilitating the exchange and comparison of information

v.

Promote a condition of balanced tourism

that empowers and legitimizes the Ivatan’s control over its activities and management practices.

Program achievements and future activities

Program activities commenced through stakeholders’ mapping, which occurred in early April 2019. During this activity, the proposed INSTO longitudinal project was introduced to the following: the Batanes Provincial Government Office, DENR-PAMB, NCIP, and the Batanes State College.

The 1st TWG meeting that the Monitoring Center organized was held on 20 January 2020 at the Batanes State College Library in Basco and gathered key stakeholders. Representatives from Batanes tourism-related government agencies and non-government and private organizations identified key issue areas of sustainability, including waste management, food security, labor / human resources profiling, the need to expand tourism activities, housing stress, road congestion, conflicting laws and ordinances, and carrying capacity limits.

Of the abovementioned issues, four areas were identified by them, which served as the research focus for 2021-2022. These include resident satisfaction, governance, solid waste management, and carrying capacity. While the onslaught of COVID-19 beginning in March 2020 put the on-site activities on hold, the research team met with the stakeholders via Zoom on 29 June 2021 and it was participated in by 18 members. The meeting discussion focused on the COVID-19 experience in the island province in comparison with the pre-COVID issues and concerns relative to tourism, including (1) stakeholders’ perspectives on tourism development in the context of economic, socio-cultural, physical and environmental settings; and (2) implications of COVID-19 on tourism policies and related issues.

The 3rd TWG meeting was held on 07 December 2021 via Zoom with 24 participants from various organizations in Batanes, seven from the University of the Philippines Diliman Research Team, and the international adviser from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Each research proponent presented the results of the pilot study conducted from 26 August to 05 September 2021.

The 4th TWG meeting eventuated on August 2 and 3, 2022, with Basco-based tourism and related organizations participating on 02 August at the Batanes State Meeting Hall and those from Sabtang Island on 03 August held at the National School of Fisheries. BTHMC Monitoring Indicators were identified, discussed, and finalized, with each participant signing their commitment to the specific key issue and respective monitoring indicators applicable to their line of work.

Besides these meetings and workshops, the research program has undertaken the following research activities:

    • Collection and continuing analysis of PAMB resolutions from 1994 to 2022
    • Batanes-wide survey in 2022 of residents’ opinions and attitudes on tourism development including carrying capacity, governance of protected areas, the islands as a home, behavior regarding solid waste and its management. The full survey was preceded by a pilot survey in Basco in 2021
    • Field research to support solid waste characterization, carrying capacity analysis, resident satisfaction analysis

These activities have translated into the following research outputs: Book chapter:

    •Protected area tourism in Batanes. In Transformations in Protected Area Management and Gateway Communities: Alternative Approaches to Tourism and Community Engagement, S. Slocum, P. Wiltshier., & J.B. Read IV (eds.). Oxford: CAB International. 2022re
    •Importance-performance analysis of management effectiveness of protected area tourism in Batanes, Philippines: Findings from a pilot survey. Managing Tourism Across Continents – Tourism for a Better World, 24-27 March 2022, Ankara, Turkey [virtual conference]
    •Perceptions of tourism impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Batanes Island, Philippines. Asia Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (APaCHRIE), 23-25 May 2022, Sunway University School of Hospitality and Service Management, KL, Malaysia [virtual conference]
    •Planning for the United Nations World Tourism Organization-International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (UNWTO-INSTO): The case of Batanes Island Groups. 15th National Convention on Statistics. Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, 03 October 2022.
    •Determining the physical carrying capacity of the Batanes Group of Islands – pilot study results. 5th Philippine Research Conference on Tourism and Hospitality, UP Diliman, 28-29 October 2022.
    •Exploring policy stability and change in the Batanes Protected Landscapes and Seascapes, 1994 to 2003. 5th Philippine Research Conference on Tourism and Hospitality, UP Diliman, 28-29 October 2022.
    •Solid waste management recommendations for tourism areas in the Islands of Batanes. 5th Philippine Research Conference on Tourism and Hospitality, UP Diliman, 28-29 October 2022.
    •Muddling through the emerging impacts of tourism in Batanes, Philippines. 2nd International Conference of Critical Tourism Studies Asia Pacific, Wakayama University, Japan, February 17-19, 2020.

Activities moving forward


Upon admission into the network, an observatory is required by INSTO to monitor the 11 key issue areas within three years. These areas are as follows:

Governance

Resident satisfaction

Destination economic benefits

Employment and human resources

Tourism seasonality

Energy management

Solid waste management

Wastewater management

Water management

Climate change

Accessibility

Thus, research activities for the current year (2023) will include the continuing monitoring of indicators related to resident satisfaction/carrying capacity, solid waste management, and governance and extend to four additional core areas: employment, water management, cultural diversity, and tourist satisfaction.

The Batanes Research Team attended the formal recognition for the official membership of Batanes to INSTO in Cambodia on June 16, 2023. It was held during a formal dinner hosted by the Department of Tourism for members of the UNWTO and INSTO and attended by the DOT Secretary herself, Christina Garcia Frasco. DOT has shown their full support of the INSTO application to achieve aspirations for a well-preserved natural and cultural environment that nourishes other desirable outcomes for the community, including social equity and sustainable tourism livelihoods. The assplication was also endorsed by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Provincial Governor of Batanes, UP Diliman Chancellor, and the National Economic Development of Authority (NEDA).

Below illustrates the core team, and in another, the team is joined by Dirk Glaesser, Director for Sustainable Development of Tourism, UNWTO, and Ms Cordula Wolthumer, INSTO Coordinator. The last part provides a brief profile of the Research Team.



Survey Results

Ivatan Mataw
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS OF TOURISM AREAS IN THE ISLANDS OF BATANES

Workshop on Solid Waste Management

Ivatan House
Assessment of the Physical Carrying Capacity of the Batanes Group of Islands

The United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) has identified carrying capacity to be a crucial part for sustainable tourism destination management.

Ivatan Mataw
Residents’ evaluation of BPLS management effectiveness
Ivatan House
The Batanes Islands: Resident perceptions of tourism-induced change

maintained by the Heritage and Tourism Office of Batanes
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