Based on data which projecthonduras.com has collected
over the past six years with regard to
individuals/groups that travel to Honduras to perform
humanitarian/volunteer work, I roughly estimate that
the "social tourism" segment accounts for about
one-quarter of the revenue generated by the overall
tourism market in Honduras. In 2003, the country's
tourism market generated $400 million in revenue. I
would be more than glad to share with anyone my
methodology and assumptions.
The fact of the matter is that social tourists are
having a significant positive impact on the Honduran
economy. Though their primary impact will always have
more to do with the contribution of their time,
experience, expertise, and talents to empowering the
poor and underprivileged of Honduras, the
"side-benefit" of their presence in the country is
their monetary spending on everything from hotels,
transportation, and food to souvenirs and entrance
fees.
Thus, there is a natural synergy (... one of my
favorite words of all time) between social tourists
and the business community in Honduras. In the
process of developing our "Social Tourism Program", I
have noticed how readily owners/managers of hotels,
restaurants, shops, parks, and transport companies
have offered 10-20% discounts to social tourists.
Without really trying very hard, we now have a total
of 15 businesses in Honduras that are offering
discounts for goods and services to social tourists
(see
http://www.projecthonduras.com/socialtourismprogram).
I envision that soon we will have 100, and eventually
1,000.
I do not have all the pieces of the puzzle figured out
with regard to this program. We need to find a way to
market the program widely. We need to find a way to
administer the program in a simple, easy manner. We
need to understand the possibilities that exist for
abusing the program. That kind of stuff.
The ultimate goal of the program is three-fold: 1.
Make it easier and more economical for social tourists
to visit Honduras; 2. Encourage social tourists to see
parts of Honduras that they may not have considered
otherwise; and 3. Help businesses publicize their good
and services to a unique and well-organized market.
I would like to use the Conference on Honduras 2005,
scheduled for October 20-23 in Copan Ruinas, to help
fuel the development of Social Tourism Program. I
would like to dedicate one of the event's four days to
Honduras' tourism industry, so that representatives of
hotels, restaurants, airlines, etc. could come and
join in a dialogue on specific steps that can be taken
to fuel the growth and stability of the social tourism
market in Honduras. Exhibit space would be provided
and the program format would allow for an exchange of
views between the representatives of the tourism
industry and representatives of the
humanitarian/volunteer groups helping Honduras.
Whatever we can do to create a closer relationship
between the tourism industry and social tourists in
Honduras, I'd like to do it. Everybody wins.
Businesses make more money and social tourists are
better enabled to perform their work.
I invite representatives of the tourism industry in
Honduras to join us at the Conference on Honduras
2005. For registration information, see
http://www.projecthonduras.com/conference. If you
have any questions or suggestions, please e-mail me at
hondopost.....com. I welcome ideas for how best to
format the program.
Regards,
Marco
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