08.03.2005

Sustainable Tourism in Tarifa

Frans de Man had earned his living as a tourism consultant, working in the tourism paradises of this world and spending an easy life behind conference tables. He did not settle in Tarifa just to sell windsurfing gear and clothes. Why did he trade in palmtrees and pluche for a life of poniente and pushing t-shirts?

In April Big Fish Tarifa changed owners: Michael Dauner, a well-respected member of Tarifa’s windsurf community left the shop to newcomer and Dutchman Frans de Man. Until then Frans had earned his living as a tourism consultant, working in the tourism paradises of this world and spending an easy life behind conference tables. He did not settle in Tarifa just to sell windsurfing gear and clothes. Why did he trade in palmtrees and pluche for a life of poniente and pushing t-shirts?

Previously Frans had been involved in development work, initially as a student, active in action groups, then as a politician in the Green party of the Netherlands and in the EU, and later working for development organisations. On his visits to developing countries, he would always take days off as a tourist, finding the best beaches to surf. He found that in these tourism areas there was a need for his professional skills: helping local people get a fair share of the benefits of tourism. His organisation "Retour" (Responsible Tourism) specialized to become a consultant on tourism, doing projects for the European Commission and the United Nations.

Over the past decade tourism has grown to be the second important economic activity in the world and many people in developing countries are confronted with its consequences. Although tourism offers development potential to many people, it can create problems for others.

With Retour, Frans helped people in tourism destinations, to get a fair share of tourism benefits and to protect their rights. He worked with the Maasai in Tanzania, the Waza people in North Cameroun, the Saharoui  in Southern Algiers, local groups of women and youth in Asia, Latin America and Africa, small scale entrepreneurs in Costa Rica and Ecuador, and victims of tourism such as childprostitutes in Thailand, Brasil and the Gambia.

Becoming an international expert on sustainable tourism, he spent much time at conferences, discussing with and advising ministers and managers. But he got tired of three-piece suits and too much blah-blah. He wanted to work more closely with the people he was most interested in: the local people at the destinations of tourism.

For years Frans had visited Tarifa twice a year for his own holidays. For him Tarifa offers the best compromise of what tourism should be like: warm and sunny al year around, beautiful beaches, great ocean, nice people, beautiful nature, a good partyscene, loads of culture, good food, with an African atmosphere but without the unsecurity and poverty that comes with that, and with a Latin feel but without the corruption and crime that exist in Latin America. To decide what road his professional career should take, he decided to spend a year in Tarifa, surfing and going back to the basics of life.

Thus he got a closer look behind the scenes and was surprised to find that tourism development in Tarifa had many similarities with tourism destinations in Latin America and Africa: promising on one side and frightening on the other; bringing prosperity to some people, but threatening the interests of other groups; offering alternatives to existing activities such as fishery and agriculture, but also threatening the fundaments of traditional economy; bringing in foreigners with money but buying out locals; creating more income but also causing a rise in prices of goods, houses and land; putting more pressure on land and nature; creating competition for housing; changing the face of town with nicely restored buildings but also bringing in projects of a scale which is destroying the small scale cosiness of Tarifa; offering employment opportunities to local youth, but also contributing to higher drug abuse and –trafficking. All of these issues are common to regions where tourism is developing.

Challenged by these issues Frans decided to focus on a more responsible and sustainable development of tourism in Tarifa. Initially he wanted to move the office of Retour to Tarifa (or Facinas) as a Centre for Sustainable Tourism. But considering the exploding prices of real estate, he had to give up on that idea. After many nights at the beach, discussing ideas with friends over a beer and a campfire, it seemed the best way to have some influence on tourism development in Tarifa would be to “put his money where his mouth is”.

Frans decided to invest in a small scale enterprise, with the goal to earn money (and credibility) to initiate sustainable tourism development projects. The shop should be a “best practice”  to show other entrepreneurs how to be a responsible entrepreneur, earning a decent living in an honest way, with respect for the interests of local people and for nature.

When Frans heard Big Fish Tarifa was for sale he reacted immediately. He had always bought his clothes and windsurfing gear there and knew the shop had the right formula: 100% cotton t-shirts of high quality, printed by hand in ecological paint, offering locally produced articles and catering for a wide audience, local people as well as tourists. And since he became owner of BigFish he has learned much more about how Tarifa is developing and about the role of the different interest groups from inside and outside of town.

He also kept working for his foundation "Retour", visiting conferences and doing presentations on sustainable tourism. He found to his surprise that many international tourism experts were aware of Tarifa as a booming destination and as an interesting laboratory of sustainable tourism development. Speaking at an international conference of the Worldbank he was challenged to use Big Fish Tarifa as a starting point for an International Centre for Sustainable Tourism.

This should be a conference centre for small scale entrepreneurs from all over the world, where they can share experiences in responsible entrepreneurship, like those of Big Fish. For the people of Tarifa it should offer a meeting and learning place where they can join efforts to keep control of tourism development, learning from experiences in other places. The city of Tarifa could be an example to other tourism destinations as the place where you can learn about how to put sustainable tourism into practice.

Frans has taken up the challenge and has been working on plans for such a Centre. He has found some funds and is looking for partners. One of the important things to do now is to find a location. Asked whether he thinks the city could become a leading example on sustainable tourism, Frans answers that Tarifa is better equipped than any other place he knows. Much depends on choices which will be made in the near future. And the coin can still topple either way and he quotes an Indian philosopher: “Tourism is like fire, it can cook your meal but it can also burn your house down”.

Info: www.retour.net