Larmenier & Sacred Heart
Tourism

Tara: Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. My name is Tara Alaka.

Robert: And I am Robert Rampton.

Tara: Are you all sitting comfortably? Well don’t get too comfortable because what we’re going to tell you will waken you up and leave you with something that will make you think!

Robert: And hopefully react! What we are going to tell you today doesn’t just affect you but .... your children, your children’s children and the future generations!!

Tara: We have been investigating tourism as an issue in our local environment, Hammersmith. Our study on the local environment, is a microcosm of the larger world macrocosm.

Robert: What she really means is that our study in Hammersmith, is a smaller picture of what happens at national, international and globe level.

Tara: The focus for our study was ‘Is Hammersmith good for tourism?’ Firstly we went on a trail around Hammersmith with Sue and Ieuan, pretending we were tourists.

Robert: You mean you wanted to see Hammersmith through the eyes of a tourist ... So let’s see then. What would a tourist look for? A good hotel.

Tara: No problems there - the Novotel

Robert: OK, what about transport. How would I get around?

Tara: Ha, Hammersmith is SO central.

Robert: And what about food and drink?

Tara: There are many places where you can grab a quick bite.

Robert:I might not want to grab a quick bite.

Tara: Well, along the river in Hammersmith are some excellent restaurants. But I have to be honest - there are some things that are not quite right - there is litter, there is graffiti and there is pollution. These issues need addressing if we are to promote ‘responsible tourism’.

Robert: What’s responsible tourism?

Tara: It is where the people who are in charge of tourism need to pay more attention to what the local think. But in general, as Annette Veiss from our council says, Hammersmith offers a lot for the tourist.

Robert: So Hammersmith is good for tourism! But Tara, I have something to put to you! Think about this _ Is tourism good for Hammersmith?

Tara: What do you mean? Is tourism good for Hammersmith?

Robert: Well as a resident of Hammersmith I would want to know if tourism is damaging my local environment?

Tara: Well, we interviewed Mike Lachowicz from Friends of the Earth and he told us that he didn’t think tourism really damaged our environment.

Robert: What about the money we make from tourism - we do know that tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world today. £60 billion it earned for the English economy last year.

Tara: Yes and according to Catherine Wymer from the English Tourism Council, tourism employs 12.3 million people in the U.K. every year. Figures not to be sneezed at!

Robert: That’s precisely my point, how much of the money from tourism in Hammersmith, stays in Hammersmith? How many local people are employed, how is my life made better for having all these visitors tramping around my back yard.

Tara: You know Robert, you’re quite right. As a local you have a right to be consulted - that would be responsible tourism!

Robert: In fact that would be the smart thing to do.

Tara: We realise that tourism affects many areas of the globe. We have been emailing our partner school in Spain. Do you know that only a very small percentage of what a tourist spends stays there to benefit local people.

Robert: Thank you for that Tara, that’s all very well and good but you know, I think locals should be consulted before the big hotels, the golf courses and the flyovers are all built. Find out what we want, what we’d like to see, what we know is good for Hammersmith. We’re the experts, we live here and we’re the ones who can tell you what is unique about Hammersmith that we want to preserve.

Tara: Do you think you’re the only place in this world affected by tourism?
Hammersmith is just a drop in the ocean, a local example of the bigger world picture.

Robert: Oh yes, as you said earlier, a microcosm of the larger world macrocosm (looks to the audience - get it now?)

Tara: We need to worry about all the areas of the world. The Lord Mayor of London wants London to be a greener city - a sustainable city.

Robert: Sustainable, now there’s a good word! At the Earth’s Summit in Johannesburg this summer, leaders from countries around the world met - they had the power to make big changes. We need big changes - we only have one planet .. to live on. (beg with audience and do actions)
It must give us everything we need.
If we damage it ... by taking too much too quickly ... it may never recover - UNSUSTAINABLE.

Tara: And you children
And you children’s children ... will never be tourists. Will never see tourists in Hammersmith. But if we, take fewer resources and take them more slowly, our earth - has a chance to recover. Our planet has a chance ...

Robert: These world leaders must find a balance between protecting the environment and making money.
The environment is not getting a fair deal right now.

Tara: We can make a change - you can make a difference - think globally, act locally. Visit our web site, see what we’re doing.
From little acorns, great oak trees grow.Let Hammersmith be a little acorn, helping the great oak of our planet grow in health.

Robert: The United nations proclaimed that 2002 would be the international year of ecotourism. Ecotourism - where we can protect nature, benefit local community AND make money for our local economies.

Tara: We can make a start. You can make a start right here in Hammersmith. In the style of one great politician “Ask not what Hammersmith can do for you, but what you can do for Hammersmith”.