THK Application at Hotel (13)

THK Tourism Awards WTO Endorsement
and Its Benefits for Bali

Issues on sustainable tourism development expand to all over the world since the carrying out of the World Conference on Sustainable Tourism in 1995. Tourism activity is called sustainable if it can give benefits that are economically viable, environmentally friendly, socially responsible and culturally acceptable. This concept of sustainable tourism then translated into some policies and activities by international, national and local tourism organization or the tourism industry itself.
World Tourism Organization (WTO) that headquarters in Madrid has transcribed it into a guideline that is known as the WTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
Bali as a tourist destination or renowned islands tourist destination in the world would not like either to be left behind in transcribing the concept of such sustainable tourism through an assessment system of accreditations and awards presentation for hotels, tourist attraction and object that popularly known as Tri Hita Karana Tourism Awards and Accreditations (THK Tourism Awards & Accreditations) since 2000. Pursuant to its name, the assessment system based on the philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, a life philosophy that has been rooted from the Hindu community in Bali, namely (1) harmonious relation between human and physical environment (Palemahan); (2) harmonious relation between human and its social environment (Pawongan); and (3) harmonious relation between human and the Supreme God (Parhyangan).
The accomplishment of Bali in carrying out an assessment and awards presentation of THK Tourism Awards continuously since 2000 has attracted the attention of WTO, particularly after the philosophy and carrying out of THK Awards was presented by Dr. Ir. Agung Suryawan Wiranatha, MSc. (Coordinator of Palemahan Aspect in THK Awards Team) in the 41st WTO meeting for East Asia and Pacific Commission in Siem-Reap, Cambodia in the mid of June 2004. The meeting recommended to the Secretary General of WTO in order that the presentation of THK Tourism Awards was registered on the agenda of WTO meeting on the World Committee on Tourism Ethics.
Ultimately, the opportunity of expounding the THK Tourism Awards program on the second WTO meeting achieved on the beginning of October 2004, namely before the members of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics located in the headquarter of WTO in Madrid, Spain. Members of the commission assessed and called into question accurately the concept and carrying out of THK Tourism Awards. Extraordinary support extended by Prof. Dr. Emil Salim, one of the best sons of Indonesia, who becomes the member of the commission. WTO eventually, in acclamation manner, decided that it could give international endorsement to the carrying out of THK Tourism Awards and adopted it as well.
Some reasons that served as a basis for such decision such as (1) THK Tourism Awards is implementation of sustainable tourism that carried in the WTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, (2) THK Tourism Awards activity can reduce negative impacts of environmental and cultural tourism activity and (3) the concept of THK Tourism Awards is indeed originated from Balinese local culture, but has universal features so it can be made into guidelines for similar activity either in national or regional level.
In relation to that matter, WTO also suggested to its members in Asian Region to carry out tourism accreditation activity as THK Tourism Awards.
The performance of THK Tourism Awards gives significant meaning to the passage of Bali as world tourist destination. Firstly, the sustainable tourism concept has been implemented gradually through THK Tourism Awards though it just applied restrictedly to hotels, tourism attraction and object so any attempts leading to tourism sustainability of Bali has been felt. Secondly, international endorsement of THK Tourism Awards by WTO becomes international promotion for Bali as tourist destination that comes after the world tourism trend that concerns with the environmental, social and cultural aspect. The impact of international promotion is expected to give economical advantage for tourism industry in Bali and Balinese people in general. Thirdly, it is a great challenge for Bali to stay consistent in carrying out THK Tourism Awards even should improve incessantly the performance of its implementation and expand the tourism business it assesses.Dr. Ir. Agung Suryawan Wiranatha, M.Sc.